Getty The USWNT lift the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup trophy in celebration after defeating Japan in the final 5-2.
United States Women’s National Team coach Jill Ellis has released the 23 names that will be representing the U.S. in France this summer in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
🗣 BACK FOR FOUR
23 players on the squad. A nation at our back. Our World Cup roster is here.
Among the players who made the final cut, 11 of them will be making their world cup debuts and six of them will be playing in their third world cup with Carli Lloyd reaching the impressive milestone of her fourth world cup. The 23-woman roster averages about 80 international caps per person with a combined total of 94 Women’s World Cup appearances.
“Selecting a World Cup team is a long process, and I want to thank the players – the ones that made the final team and the ones that didn’t – for all of their hard work over the past two and a half years,” head coach Jill Ellis said in a statement. “They all pushed each other in every training session and every game and challenged the coaches to make some tough decisions.
Of the 23 who made the final roster, 12 of them were apart of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship squad. The roster is as follows:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch* (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris** (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher** (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper* (NC Courage), Tierna Davidson* (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn* (NC Courage), Ali Krieger*** (Orlando Pride), Kelley O’Hara*** (Utah Royals FC), Becky Sauerbrunn*** (Utah Royals FC), Emily Sonnett* (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Morgan Brian** (Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz** (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan* (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle* (Washington Spirit), Allie Long* (Reign FC), Samantha Mewis* (NC Courage)
FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath*** (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd**** (Sky Blue FC), Jessica McDonald* (NC Courage), Alex Morgan*** (Orlando Pride), Christen Press** (Utah Royals FC), Mallory Pugh* (Washington Spirit), Megan Rapinoe*** (Reign FC)
* First Women’s World Cup
** Second Women’s World Cup
*** Third Women’s World Cup
**** Fourth Women’s World Cup
Led By The Veterans
This 2019 squad has some formidable veteran depth to it, as Carli Lloyd, Ali Krieger, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath have all played 10 or more matches in world cup play.
These vets, defined by more than just experience, have combined for 11 out of 17 goals in the past seven matches. 2 goals coming from Lloyd, 3 from Morgan, 3 from Rapinoe and 3 from Heath.
GettyMegan Rapinoe wraps her arms around Alex Morgan as they celebrate Morgans 100th international goal against Australia.
Coming away from the SheBelieves Cup with one victory (1-0 vs. Brazil) and two draws (2-2 vs. Japan and England), the USWNT hopes to build a bit more momentum in May with just six weeks before their first world cup group stage match. Beginning May 12th, the USWNT will go on a sending off tour, before heading to France, with matches against South Africa (May 12th in Santa Clara, California on FOX), against New Zealand (May 16th in St. Louis, Missouri on ESPN 2) and against Mexico (May 26th in Harrison, New Jersey on ESPN).
USWNT Looks To Win Fourth World Cup
Coming off of a FIFA World Cup championship in 2015, the USWNT hopes to build on their tradition of winning to grab their fourth all-time world title. In 2015, the U.S. won all of their games except for one (0-0 draw vs. Sweden) leading up to the championship where they decimated Japan 5-2 after hopping out to a 4-0 lead, on back of Carli Lloyd’s historic first-half hat trick.
Looking ahead to the 2019 World Cup, the United States will have to fight through a group consisting of Thailand, Chile and Sweden. After group play, the biggest threats to the United States will most likely come from the remaining top five teams in the world, Germany, England, Canada and host France.
GettyCarli Lloyd of the United States celebrates scoring the opening goal against Japan in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off Friday, June 7th, with France taking on South Korea, and runs through July 7th. The USWNT’s first game is on June 11th, when they take on Thailand in Reims, France. All games are available on Fox, FS1, FS2 or through Fox streaming services.