Representing Space City on the international stage at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, four Houston Dash players are set to play for their home countries—and will be competing against each other.

While Dash forward Michelle Alozie will stand in for Nigeria, three other teammates will represent their home of Canada on the pitch. Captain and midfielder Sophie Schmidt, defender Allysha Chapman, and forward Nichelle Prince are primed to face Alozie in Canada’s very first match of the games, to be played against Nigeria on July 20.

“When we’re on the field, we’re going to compete,” Prince told ABC13 in an interview. “We’ll be friends afterward. We’ll talk and hang out. It’s going to be a competitive game. It always is when we play Nigeria. I’m looking forward to that one.”

Alozie’s addition to the national Nigerian team is just another accomplishment for the athlete. When not on the soccer field, the Yale graduate uses her degree in molecular biology as a research technician at Texas Children's Hospital, where she works on pediatric leukemia research with pediatric oncologist Dr. Alex Stevens.

Schmidt, Prince, and Chapman have been critical players for the Houston Dash team since they joined in 2015, 2017, and 2018 respectively. This will be Schmidt’s fifth World Cup appearance since making her debut at the games in 2007, while Chapman is playing for the third time.

A two-time Olympic medalist, Prince is a surprising addition to the Canadian team after suffering a rupture to her Achilles’ heel while playing for Canada during a friendly against Brazil in São Paulo only months ago.

The Houston Dash is Texas’s only National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team. The Dash joined the NWSL in the 2014 season, after the Houston Dynamo, the city’s Major League Soccer team, expanded its franchise with a women’s squad. The two teams share Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, and the Dash won its first championship in 2020.

The Houston Dash has four wins, five losses, and six draws in its current NWSL season. They still have seven games left to play in the regular season, which concludes in October, plus three UKG Challenge Cup games.

The four players will transform from teammates to rivals today at 9:30 p.m. CST. The game, which will be played in Melbourne, can also be watched live on FOX US