Warner Bros. Discovery Sports will present live soccer coverage of the U.S. women’s national team against New Zealand on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 10 p.m. ET, on HBO Max.

The broadcast will kick off live sports programming for HBO Max in the United States.

Luke Wileman will provide play-by-play for the USWNT against New Zealand. He will be paired with National Soccer Hall of Famer and co-commentator Julie Foudy. The third member of the game crew, Melissa Ortiz, will report live from Wellington, New Zealand.

Studio coverage – starting at 9:30 p.m. ET with the U.S. Soccer Pregame Show – will be led by Sara Walsh and three National Soccer Hall of Famers – Shannon Boxx, DaMarcus Beasley and Foudy. Programming also will include halftime and postgame coverage recapping the night’s action.

The USWNT’s second match against New Zealand on HBO Max – Friday, Jan. 20, at 10 p.m. ET – will feature the same commentator assignments.

Two U.S. men’s national team matches will round out WBD Sports’ first month of live soccer coverage. The USMNT will make its HBO Max debut against Serbia on Wednesday, Jan. 25, at 10 p.m., before the team faces Colombia on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m. on TNT. Programming and production details for the two upcoming USMNT matches will be announced soon.

WBD Sports and the U.S. Soccer Federation are in the first of an eight-year multimedia rights agreement that made TNT and HBO Max the exclusive English-language home to more than 20 USWNT and USMNT matches every year.

 

 

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.