Lindsey Horan will not play for the U.S. women’s national team in its second friendly against New Zealand, set to kick off at 10 p.m. ET Friday.
The 28-year-old midfielder, who has been a mainstay in coach Vlatko Andonovski’s starting lineup, returned to her club team, Olympique Lyonnais, after Wednesday’s 4-0 win against the Football Ferns.
With no FIFA international match window set for January, club teams were not required to release players for national team duties.
The USWNT arranged with Lyon to allow Horan to play in the first friendly in New Zealand before she traveled back to France for her club’s Division 1 Féminine match against Montpellier on Saturday.
Horan was the only player on the USWNT roster for the New Zealand friendlies to play in a league other than the U.S.-based NWSL. As the NWSL season runs from March through November, all of the other players were available for both matches.
With many other domestic leagues playing through January, though, New Zealand is short-handed, with 13 of the Football Ferns’ regulars remaining with their clubs.
In the first game against New Zealand, Horan played all 90 minutes.
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