USA vs. New Zealand Women's Soccer: Date, Time, Live Stream, Friendly Preview

The United States women's national team will continue their preparations for this year’s World Cup when they host New Zealand in a friendly at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.

Jillian Ellis’ side have been in excellent form in the build-up to this match, picking up a very impressive 2-0 win against France in the final of the 2015 Algarve Cup last time out. Having won three of their four games at the competition, the USWNT will be hopeful of beating a New Zealand team that have failed to win any of their last four matches.

Here’s a closer look at the fortunes of both teams on the cusp of this one and the information needed on where to catch the clash with New Zealand.

Date: Saturday, April 4

Time: 3:30 p.m. (ET), 8:30 p.m. (BST)

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go (US)

Television: Fox Sports 1

USWNT Continuing World Cup Preparations

Tom Dulat/Getty Images

With the Algarve Cup safely secured, this match is where the United States' work begins in earnest for the World Cup. Just four fixtures stand between them and their tournament opener against Australia, and this clash in St. Louis gives some players a perfect chance to stake a claim to be in Ellis’ XI for the tournament.

It’s the first domestic encounter of the year for the USWNT and, as we can see courtesy of their official Twitter account, preparations for Canada 2015 are beginning to get into full swing:

Ominously, this is a team that’s looked in excellent shape on the road. They won the Algarve Cup in superb style, conceding just one goal and beating an extremely strong France team 2-0 in the final. Prior to that competition, the USWNT toppled an improving England side in Milton Keynes 1-0.

Here’s a look at the highlights of this team’s most recent tournament win:

Ellis is clearly trying to build a sense of familiarity in the group, with the 25 players named in the squad for this game the same players who fared so well in Portugal. It includes a sprinkling of extremely experienced heads—including the likes of Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone and Shannon Boxx—but there is some exciting young talent to look out for too.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Julie Johnston is a player potentially filling the long-term void that’ll be left by the veteran skipper Rampone when she eventually hangs up her boots.

The 22-year-old has showcased excellent leadership skills at the back throughout her relatively short career to date and revealed being left out of the squad for World Cup qualifying last October only served as motivation to improve, per John D. Halloran of AmericanSoccerNow.com:

"

Not making the qualifying [roster] was hard, but at the same time it was a wake-up call that I needed to see how much I needed to improve and see how much I wanted to be a part of this team. I really kicked it into gear and trained harder than I ever trained before.

I really just tried to kick it into the next gear.

"

Jen Fuller/Getty Images

New Zealand will find it tough against this formidable United States outfit, but it’s a fine opportunity for the side to pit their wits against one of the genuine favourites for the World Cup. But for the Football Ferns’ coach Tony Readings, you suspect this clash will be all about the performance rather than the result.

That’s because the USWNT will be far too strong. It’ll be intriguing to see exactly what type of side Ellis picks in this friendly, but for the 25 players desperate to make it to the World Cup, this represents a brilliant chance to make a strong early impression in the tournament run-in. As such, expect a refined performance from those representing the United States.

Prediction: United States 3-0 New Zealand