Yesterday, June 13, 2022, the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying roster for the United States Women’s National Team dropped and produced a lot of emotions. This roster will be for the two friendlies at the end of June against Colombia as well as the qualifying matches in July within the expectation of a few players who will only be with the team for the friendlies. The roster consists of three goalkeepers, seven defenders, six midfielders, and seven forwards, with eight defenders and eight midfielders during the friendlies.
Full Roster
Goalkeepers (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 4), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 80)
Defenders (8*): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 9/0), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC; 13/0), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 1/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 12/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 152/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 202/0), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 65/0), Carson Pickett (North Carolina Courage; 0/0)*
Midfielders (8*): Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 109/25), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave FC; 0/0), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 71/20), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 38/5), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 7/2), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 27/3), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0)*, Jaelin Howell (Racing Louisville; 5/1)*
Forwards (7): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 8/4), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC; 190/115), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 72/23), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 14/3), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign; 187/62), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 3/1), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 15/4)
Key:
Club; Caps/Goals
*these players are only joining the team during the June friendlies
This roster marks the return of Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe who have not played for the U.S. since October 2021. Defenders Becky Sauerbrunn and Emily Sonnett are also making their returns after missing April friendlies due to injury. Forwards Catarina Macario and Christen Press both miss out on this roster after ACL injuries for both of them. Although, Vlatko Andonovski stated in his press conference that Press was not a part of his plans even before her injury. Additionally, it marks the first senior call-ups for midfielders Taylor Kornieck of the San Diego Wave, Sam Coffey of the Portland Thorns, and defender Carson Pickett of the North Carolina Courage.
Here are four idea player changes:
Goalkeepers:
Seeing a younger goalkeeper such as Phallon Tullis-Joyce receive a callup during this period even if it was just for the friendlies would have been amazing as the goalkeepers that were called in are all starting to reach an age where they won’t be playing for much longer. Tullis-Joyce has been exceptional so far this NWSL season, leading the OL Reign to four clean sheets in their last six matches. The likes of Kingsbury, Murphy, and Naeher all have the experience needed for club level to be in the USWNT fold and despite Tullis-Joyce not having the same experience quite yet, it would have been exciting to see her get a call-up but it is good to note that she is listed on the provisional roster, therefore, Andonovski has her in mind for the future when she has more experience.
Defenders:
Kelley O’Hara made this roster having played her first minutes in a month on June 12, 2022, after being out due to an injury. O’Hara is reaching the end of her national team career and although younger defenders are being brought in, I would have taken the likes of Carson Pickett over O’Hara for this roster. Pickett has been playing for the last month and has been in good form while O’Hara is mending yet another injury. Luckily, we will still be seeing Pickett as she was chosen to join the team for their two June friendlies against Colombia. Andonovski has spoken about wanting to have fully fit players in camp with the team so why bring in a player that just played her first minutes in over a month?
Midfielders:
Andi Sullivan, similarly to Kelley O’Hara, has been out with injury for the last week, although it may be minor, Andonovski is relying solely on Andi to play the role of the 6 (defensive midfielder) based on his selections. Bringing in a player like Jaelin Howell, who will be joining the team for the games against Colombia, would allow a fully healthy player to be working in that 'six' position rather than betting on Sullivan to be ok when the time comes. Hopefully, in the June friendlies, we will see Howell over Sullivan to both allow Sullivan some more rehab time and rest time as her club schedule has been quite demanding.
Forwards:
Despite her quick rise to stardom and accumulation to the NWSL, Trinity Rodman still isn’t quite ready for the big stage that is the international game. She does have three caps and a goal to her name but her NWSL play this season hasn’t quite gone her way with only one goal to her name in eight regular-season appearances. A more veteran player such as Sydney Leroux would have been good to see again in the fold after her name was listed for the provisional roster. Leroux brings a different style than a player such as Morgan or Rapinoe and her play with the Orlando Pride has shown she is ready to be back in the competitive environment of the national team again.