United States women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski named the 23-player roster headed to the World Cup, with stars Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan headlining the squad.
The American side will enter the tournament as reigning champions after historically lifting the 2015 and 2019 trophies. Now, the team heads to New Zealand for the group stage to face the Netherlands, Vietnam and Portugal before attempting to reach their third consecutive World Cup title.
To help with the feat, Andonovski will depend on veterans like Rose LaVelle, Lindsey Horan and Kelley O’Hara to use prior experience and guide the newcomers in the upcoming competition.
“The task of selecting a World Cup Team is never easy, but I’m proud of the players for their work ethic and focus during the process and of our coaching staff for doing the work to put together the best team possible,” said Andonovski.
“It’s the players that make the biggest impact on our environment, they push each other to be better and I know as a group they are extremely motivated to make our country proud at the World Cup.”
The head coach also enlisted new faces Ashley Sanchez, Trinity Rodman and Alyssa Thompson to balance out the team.
“Every player has a different journey to get to this point so our roster has some amazing stories and we have a really good mix of veterans and younger players,” Andonovski added.
“We are expecting the level of play at this World Cup to be the best it’s ever been, and all the teams must keep up with that growth. We are proud to have been one of the teams leading the way for women’s international soccer and I know the tournament will once again show the world how great these players are across all 32 teams.
“Our players understand the challenges and the competitive environment we are heading into, and they love it. We have a roster with depth and versatility and that will help us take on all the challenges that will be coming our way.”
Despite the announcement, the roster will not become official until U.S. Soccer submits the list of names to FIFA on July 9.
Here’s the full squad:
Goalkeepers:
- Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit)
- Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage)
- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders:
- Alana Cook (OL Reign)
- Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC)
- Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage)
- Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC)
- Sofia Huerta (OL Reign)
- Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
- Emily Sonnett(OL Reign)
Midfielders:
- Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC)
- Julie Ertz (Angel City FC)
- Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA)
- Rose Lavelle (OL Reign)
- Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
- Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit)
- Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
Forwards:
- Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC)
- Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign)
- Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC)
- Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC)
- Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
This article was originally published on 90min as US women's national team announced 23-player World Cup roster .