Subaru Park in Chester will be the site in April of a first-ever soccer match between the U.S. Women’s National Team and a former Soviet republic, Uzbekistan, writes Anne M. Peterson for the Associated Press, as reported at WHYY.

Two games are scheduled, April 9 in Columbus, Ohio; and April 12 in Chester.

Uzbekistan, which gained its independence in 1991, is ranked 45th in the world. The team has never qualified for the World Cup or an Olympics.

The U.S. Women are unbeaten in their last 65 matches at home. The last goal they gave up at home was on March 11, 2020, writes Kevin Baxter at the Los Angeles Times.

The two teams were thrust together because of international COVID-19 restrictions, creating scheduling issues.

The U.S. Women had games planned with a team from the Asian soccer confederation, but the team from that unnamed country backed out because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, according to the Times article.

The top European teams and lower-ranked teams in CONCACA are playing in World Cup qualifiers in April so were unavailable.

In July, the United States will play its World Cup qualifiers in Monterrey, Mexico.

Read more at WHYY and the Los Angeles Times about the U.S. Women’s National Team and Uzbekistan in Chester.