With a stadium crumbling but still standing in Mission Valley and a dedicated fan base surrounding it, San Diego remains a destination city for international soccer. The U.S. women’s national team is coming again, for the third time in two years.

The U.S. women will face rising European power Denmark on Jan. 21 at SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm) to open its 2018 schedule. Kickoff for the Sunday game is set for 4:30 p.m. and it will be televised by ESPN.

The Americans haven’t faced Denmark since 2014, but even then there was evidence that the gap that once separated the two national teams was shrinking. The Danes won 5-3, the most goals allowed in U.S. women’s national team history.

Last summer, the Nordic nation of 5.7 million took another step toward soccer prominence, reaching its first-ever final of the European Championships before losing to the Netherlands. It has won its two qualifiers for the 2019 Women’s World Cup by a combined 10-1.


The Danes have something else in common with the U.S. team: labor strife.

Negotiations grew so contentious that Denmark forfeited a World Cup qualifier against Sweden last month. The impasse ended last weekend, with the Danish federation and its players agreeing to a four-year collective bargaining deal that will increase pay by 60 percent (plus tournament bonuses) and the federation’s investment in the national team by more than $300,000.

The U.S. women last visited San Diego on July 30 to play Brazil in the four-team Tournament of Champions. It was another example of the new world order in women’s soccer, with the U.S. trailing Brazil 3-1 just three days after losing to Australia for the first time in 27 all-time meetings.

The Americans staged a stirring comeback before an announced crowd of 21,096, scoring three times in nine minutes for a 4-3 victory.


“You can’t really say what’s the new normal because we don’t really know what’s happening next,” said forward Christen Press, who subbed on to score one goal and assist on another. “It’s evolving right in front of us as we’re on the field … We want that. We want more opportunities for women’s players throughout the world.

“It continues to push us. It’s going to make our job harder and harder, but we embrace that challenge.”

The game against Denmark caps the team’s annual January training camp in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m., available online at ussoccer.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.


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mark.zeigler@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutzeigler