Team Europe and Team Usa have announced their teams

Team Europe and Team USA have announced their respective squads ahead of the historic head-to-head duel The Match, which will be held in Minsk, Belarus on 9-10 September.

European stars include 2017 world champions Pawel Fajdek, Ramil Guliyev, Mariya Lasitskene, Sandra Perkovic and Ekaterini Stefanidi and 2018 European champions on Team Europe include Armand Duplantis, Paulina Guba, Michal Haratyk, Elvira Herman, Wojciech Nowicki, Paraskevi Papahristou, Thomas Rohler, Lea Sprunger, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and Miltiadis Tentoglou.

Host country Belarus has been guaranteed at least 10 places in Team Europe and their domestic presence includes Herman in the 100m hurdles as well as reigning world U20 champion Karyna Taranda and European silver medallist Maksim Nedasekau in the high jump and former European champion Tatsiana Khaladovich in the javelin.

The standout names on the American squad include reigning Olympic champions Michelle Carter and Brianna McNeal as well as multiple global title winners Allyson Felix and Brittney Reese. Felix will be contesting the 400m in Minsk, the distance over which she was crowned world champion in 2015.

The American men's team has a host of recently minted US champions who will be on their way to the forthcoming IAAF World Championships in Doha including Craig Engels, Hillary Bor, Jeron Robinson, Sam Mattis and Conor McCulloch.

The Match – which is a four-a-side contest in each of the individual events and features two teams apiece in the relays – will be the first ever outdoor meeting between the two powerhouses of global athletics. The full list of confirmed athletes for Team Europe and the Team USA competitors can be found on the official website of the event in the "Competitions" section.

“I am thrilled that so many of our continent's top stars have accepted the invitation to defend Europe’s honour next month and that our rivals Team USA has selected a strong squad to make this a truly memorable encounter. Both teams feature many, many world class stars of our sport and The Match will be compelling watching,” said European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen.

“I am confident that The Match will become a regular fixture on the international athletics calendar but I want people to remember the spectacle that was the first edition. I am sure they will thanks to all these great athletes,” he added.

USATF CEO Max Siegel said: “The Match is a phenomenal opportunity for American athletes to represent the U.S. in what is sure to be a stellar competition in Belarus”. Team USATF features an impressive variety of Olympians and world champions, as well as up-and-coming athletes. We are excited to revive this old rivalry between Team USATF and Europe in a great battle for bragging rights.” 

The Match will be the last major athletics meeting before this year’s World Championships and will take place in the Dinamo National Olympic Stadium in the Belarusian capital. The stadium was fully refurbished in 2018 and seats 22,000 spectators. It was packed close to capacity for the inauguration of Dynamic New Athletics during the European Games in June. 

Eurovision Sport, who have secured the broadcast rights, will ensure wide free-to-air coverage of The Match across Europe. The Match will also be broadcast live on NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold in the U.S.A.