Olympics: Team Great Britain Announces its WNT Roster

On Tuesday, the Olympic women’s soccer squad for Team Great Britain was announced by its coach, Hope Powell (TheFA.com; Google cache version). Sixteen of the eighteen official players hail from England. The remaining two are both Scottish: midfielder Kim Little and defender Ifeoma Dieke. Two of the reserve players are non-English: goalkeeper Emma Higgins of Northern Ireland and forward Jane Ross of Scotland. Of the sixteen English players on the primary roster, only one was not in Germany for the 2011 Women’s World Cup: midfielder Rachel Williams, who is a veteran of the 2008 Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

Out of the eighteen players on the main roster, six play for Arsenal Ladies, while three each play for Birmingham City Ladies and Everton Ladies.

Great Britain is in Group E, along with New Zealand, Cameroon, and Brazil.

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TEAM GREAT BRITAIN’S SEMI-OFFICIAL ROSTER
(Positions are taken from FIFA.com and other sources)

Goalkeepers:
Bardsley, Karen (age 27; Linkoping FC, Sweden)
Brown, Rachel (age 31; Everton Ladies)

Defenders:
Bradley, Sophie (age 22; Lincoln Ladies)
Dieke, Ifeoma (age 31; Vittsjö GIK, Sweden)
Rafferty, Claire (age 23; Chelsea Ladies)
Scott, Alex (age 27; Arsenal Ladies)
Stoney, Casey (age 30; Lincoln Ladies)

Midfielders:
Asante, Anita (age 27; K/Göteborg FC, Sweden)
Houghton, Stephanie (age 24; Arsenal Ladies)
Little, Kim (age 21; Arsenal Ladies)
Scott, Jill (age 25; Everton Ladies)
Williams, Fara (age 28; Everton Ladies)
Williams, Rachel (age 24; Birmingham City Ladies)

Forwards:
Aluko, Eniola (age 25; Birmingham City Ladies)
Carney, Karen (age 24; Birmingham City Ladies)
Smith, Kelly (age 33; Arsenal Ladies)
White, Ellen (age 23; Arsenal Ladies)
Yankey, Rachel (age 32; Arsenal Ladies)

Reserves/Alternates:
Clarke, Jess (age 23; Lincoln Ladies)
Higgins, Emma (age 26; R Reykjavik, Iceland)
Ross, Jane (age 22; Glasgow City, Scotland)
Susi, Dunia (age 24; Chelsea Ladies)

For those wonder about veteran defender Faye White, she has retired from international football (BBC).