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USWNT will head to Brazil for a pair of matches in June

The U.S. women’s national team will play Brazil in a pair of matches in June at venues in Sao Paulo and Fortaleza that will host Women’s World Cup games in 2027.

It is the first time the United States will play the Brazilians on their home soil since 2014. The two teams will play at Sao Paulo’s Neo Química Arena on June 6 and then at Fortaleza’s Arena Castelão on June 9.

“We want to play the best teams in the most difficult environments at venues across the world as often as we can, and these two games check all those boxes,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said in a statement Thursday. “We need more games in which every fan in the stadium is cheering loudly against us and I’m looking forward seeing how our team performs and grows in these adverse conditions.”

The U.S. under-23 women’s team will travel along with the senior team and play Brazilian club teams in Sao Paulo.

The United States has played Brazil six times in the South American nation, going 2-2-2. The Americans played in Brazil at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics but did not face the hosts.

The U.S. and Brazil last met twice in April 2025 in the United States, with the Americans winning 2-0 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, then falling 2-1 at PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

The United States defeated Brazil 1-0 for the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Overall, the U.S. is 34-4-5 against Brazil.

Hayes continues to prepare the team for World Cup qualifying at the CONCACAF W Championship starting in late November.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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