Racing Louisville FC will pause from action for the upcoming international break, with two players heading abroad to represent their countries with their national teams. Forwards Milly Clegg (New Zealand) and Linda Motlhalo (South Africa) both departed from Chicago for national team camp after Racing’s Saturday match against the Red Stars.
Here are their upcoming schedules over the next week:
Milly Clegg (New Zealand)
Clegg and New Zealand will play two friendlies against Japan on May 31 and June 4 in Murcia, Spain, as the Football Ferns prepare for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. After sweeping through the qualifiers in February, winning every match by three or more goals, New Zealand has been placed in a group with France, Colombia and Canada.
The call-up is Clegg’s first since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup last summer after Clegg suffered a hamstring injury that kept her out for six months. She returned to full training in Louisville at the end of April and has been named as a substitute over Racing’s past three matches. The forward earned her first cap with New Zealand in April 2023 and completed the rare trifecta of playing in the U-17, U-20 and senior World Cups in less than a calendar year. The 18-year-old has four total appearances for the senior national team.
Linda Motlhalo (South Africa)
After coming up short in the 2024 Olympic qualifiers, Motlhalo and South Africa are competing in a pair of friendlies against hosts Senegal on May 31 and June 4. Banyana Banyana is building toward next year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), where they will compete as reigning champions.
Motlhalo has been a mainstay with South Africa since she was 17. The forward currently has 20 goals in 72 appearances for Banyana Banyana. At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Motlhalo helped lead the South African team to the knockout stage for the first time in the nation’s history, with one goal in four starts.
