The USA’s hopes of advancing to the knockouts at the World Cup come down to the results of two matches on Saturday. A draw against Australia last week means that not only do the Eagles need a big score against Samoa, they need England to rack up a heap of points against the Wallaroos. It’s not an impossibility by any means but the USA can’t afford to bring anything but their A-game to York.
Current World Ranking: 8 (72.90 points)
2025-08-30 – USA 31, Australia 31 (York)
2025-08-22 – England 69, USA 7 (Sunderland)
2025-08-01 – Canada 42, USA 10 (Ottawa)
2025-07-20 – USA 31, Fiji 24 (Washington DC)
2025-05-24 – New Zealand 79, USA 14 (Auckland)
Current World Ranking: 15 (59.72 points)
2025-08-30 – England 92, Samoa 3 (Northampton)
2025-08-23 – Australia 73, Samoa 0 (Manchester)
2025-06-27 – Australia ‘A’ 50, Samoa 22 (Canberra)
2025-06-14 – Fiji 24, Samoa 20 (Sigatoka)
2025-06-10 – Samoa 64, Tonga 14 (Sigatoka)
 |
IN | OUT |
| 12 | Gabby Cantorna | Cheta Emba |
| 15 | Sariah Ibarra | Lotte Sharp |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Avau Filimaua | Faith Nonutunu |
| 3 | Tori Iosefo | Glory Aiono |
| 4 | Ana-Lise Sio | Christabelle Onesemo-Tuilaepa |
| 8 | Joanna Fanene-Lolo | Nina Foaese |
| 11 | Drenna Falaniko | Linda Fiafia |
| 14 | Lutia Col Aumua | Davina Lasini |
| 15 | Taytana Pati Ah-Cheung | Fa’asua Makisi |
- for the Eagles to advance, they’ll have to overcome a 135 points differential… that means they’ll likely need a winning margin of at least 65-70 points in the hopes that England puts up similar numbers against Australia
- the Samoans have conceded 165 points across their first two matches… that certainly suggests that the USA at least has a chance to put up a big number… though England’s average winning margin over Australia since 2017 is only 38 points
- the USA’s only previous test against Samoa came during the WXV tournament two years ago, with the Eagles winning by only 10 points
- Cheta Emba and Lotte Sharp are ruled out for the Eagles… that sees Gabby Cantorna recalled to the midfield and Emily Henrich shifted to the wing with Sariah Ibarra starting at fullback
Sione Fukofuka (Head Coach)
“Our focus for this week is directly on our own performance and what we can control. Samoa is a physical side that although beaten in their first two matches of the World Cup, has shown fight and resolve to keep playing for the full 80 minutes. We know our side of the equation and what we need to do in our attack and defense to create opportunities and turn over possession. We will work hard to build our possession stats and to convert opportunities into points.”
The Eagles need to score early and often and give their outside backs as many opportunities as possible. Cantorna’s return adds another distributor to the midfield, and also should provide a little more distance on penalty clearances. On the bench there are impact players in Perris-Redding, Brody, and Kelter to keep the tempo high in the final quarter. The final result seems without question, but will it be enough to get the score they need? USA are heavy favorites at York.
USA
1 Hope Rogers, 2 Kathryn Treder, 3 Keia Mae Sagapolu, 4 Hallie Taufo’ou, 5 Erica Jarrell-Searcy, 6 Freda Tafuna, 7 Kate Zackary (capt.), 8 Rachel Johnson, 9 Cassidy Bargell, 10 McKenzie Hawkins, 11 Erica Coulibaly, 12 Gabby Cantorna, 13 Ilona Maher, 14 Emily Henrich, 15 Sariah Ibarra
Replacements: 16 Paige Stathopoulos, 17 Maya Learned, 18 Alivia Leatherman, 19 Tahlia Brody, 20 Georgie Perris-Redding, 21 Olivia Ortiz, 22 Kristin Bitter, 23 Alev Kelter
SAMOA
1 Denise Aiolupotea, 2 Avau Filimaua, 3 Tori Iosefo, 4 Ana-Lise Sio, 5 Demielle Onesemo-Tuilaepa, 6 Utumalama Atonio, 7 Sui Pauaraisa (capt.), 8 Jaanna Fanene-Lolo, 9 Ana Afuie, 10 Karla Wright-Akeli, 11 Drenna Falaniko, 12 Harmony Vatau, 13 Keilamarita Pouri-Lane, 14 Lutia Col Aumua, 15 Taytana Pati Ah-Cheung
Replacements: 16 Faith Nonutunu, 17 Ana Mamea, 18 Glory Aiono, 19 JayJay Taylor, 20 Nina Foaese, 21 Sinead Ryder, 22 Fa’alua Tugaga, 23 Fa’asua Makisi
Date: Saturday, September 6
Venue: York Community Stadium, Huntington
Kickoff: 13:30 local (05:30 Pacific, 08:30 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 68°F (20°C), wind S 12-18mph (19-29km/h)
Broadcasts: Paramount+ (USA), TSN 3 (Canada), RugbyPass TV
Referee: Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand)
Assistants: Holly Wood (England) & Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)
HEAD-TO-HEAD (1): USA 1, Samoa 0
2023-10-14 – USA 36, Samoa 26 (Stellenbosch)
