USWNT – Page 4 – Women's Soccer Express

USWNT: England’s Roster for its upcoming friendly against the USA — Three NWSL players, first senior call-ups for two players (Updated)

Update (29-Nov-2024): On Tuesday, November 26th, Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy was called up due to Maya Le Tissier being in concussion protocol. Le Tissier will not be available for the USWNT’s match. (EnglandFootball.com) The text of this article has been updated accordingly.

For England’s friendly against the United States Women’s National Team, head coach Sarina Wiegman has called up nine starters from the last time the USA faced the Lionesses, along with some fresher faces, including four players who got their first England caps in 2024 and three uncapped players.

Among the uncapped players is Orlando Pride goalkeeper Emma Moorhouse, who is back for her third-straight England camp after getting called up for the first time during the summer (EnglandFootball.com feature). Two other NWSL players return: Defenders Jess Carter of Gotham FC and Esme Morgan of the Washington Spirit.

The two first-time call-ups are both midfielders from England’s Under-23 squad: Manchester City’s Laura Blindkilde Brown and Leicester City’s Ruby Mace. Both are more likely to get their first senior caps against England’s second opponent of this window, Euro 2025 host Switzerland, than against the USWNT.

While the USWNT will be without its “Triple Espresso”, the Lionesses will also be missing some key players due to injuries, most notably forward Lauren Hemp (age 24, 61 caps, 18 goals), midfielder Ella Toone (age 25, 53 caps, 19 goals), and forward Lauren James (age 23, 24 caps, 7 goals). Other players mentioned as unavailable are outside-back Niamh Charles (age 25, 18 caps, no goals) and the uncapped Lucy Parker (age 26), who played collegiately for UCLA and LSU. Meanwhile, former UNC Tarheel center-back Lotte Wubben-Moy (age 25, 13 caps, 1 goal) is just returning from a foot injury and was not called up.

USWNT: Roster for friendlies versus England and Netherlands announced — No “Triple Espresso”, First call-ups for Ally Sentnor and Phallon Tullis-Joyce

The “Triple Espresso” trio of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman will not be playing Wembley in 2024 as all three players have been left off the United States Women’s National Team roster for its final friendlies of the year due to injury issues and/or match load issues. In their place, head coach Emma Hayes has retained first-timers Yazmeen Ryan and Emma Sears from the October roster and has called up Utah Royals forward Ally Sentnor into her first senior USWNT camp. One other player has been given her first call-up this window: Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who is currently the starting goalkeeper for Manchester United in the Women’s Super League. Meanwhile, midfielder Lily Yohannes, who recently committed to the United States, returns for her first camp since June. Also, center-back Tierna Davidson returns after missing the October friendlies due to a minor hamstring strain.

Along with Smith and Swanson, four other players from the 27 players called up for the October friendlies were not named to this 24-player roster: Goalkeeper Jane Campbell, who suffered a muscle injury while training with the USWNT in October; midfielder Olivia Moultrie, who has an ankle or leg issue (Bluesky); defender Hailie Mace; and midfielder Ashley Sanchez.

Over a third of the USWNT’s roster for this camp features players with two or less senior caps: In addition to the two uncapped players, Sentnor and Tullis-Joyce, eight players have either one or two caps, including all seven of the previously uncapped players that were called up for the October friendlies plus the returning Yohannes.

USWNT News of Note: Lily Yohannes commits to the USA, Sophia Smith ankle injury update, Trinity Rodman goes the full 120, Tierna Davidson returns to Gotham’s line-up

This post was originally going to be centered around fitness updates on a few players, but stop the presses… Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes, who does not turn eighteen until next June, has chosen to represent the United States.

In not-so-good news, Portland Thorns head coach Rob Gale made some comments regarding Sophia Smith’s recent ankle injury that raises the question of whether she should be called up for the USWNT’s upcoming European friendlies against England and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, two Olympic gold medalists who were left off of the USWNT’s roster for its trio of October friendlies due to injury issues played full matches over the weekend: Gotham FC center-back Tierna Davidson returned for her first match in almost a month, while forward Trinity Rodman played the full 120 minutes in the Washington Spirit’s extra-time victory over Bay FC.

USWNT: Argentina’s Roster for the October 2024 Friendly, with Stats — Three Changes Since Original Announcement

On Wednesday, October 30th, the United States Women’s National Team will play a much younger Argentina from the squad the USA faced earlier this year in the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. Of the 20 players originally selected by head coach Germán Portanova for this camp, only 13 were on Argentina’s 22-player Gold Cup roster. However, due to injuries, three players had to withdraw. Two of those players were replaced, while the third, midfielder Romina Núñez was a late scratch, so Argentina will only have 19 players available for the friendly.

USWNT: Iceland’s Roster for the October 2024 Friendlies

For its two friendlies against the top-ranked United States Women’s National Team, 13th-ranked Iceland will be bringing 23 players, including four who played collegiately in the United States. Most notable among them is former Duke Blue Devil and Under-23 USWYNT defender Natasha Anasi, who acquired Icelandic citizenship in 2019.

Anasi, at the age of 33, is the oldest player on Iceland’s roster and the only one over the age of 30. When comparing median and average ages, the roster selected by head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson is only slightly younger, by roughly a year, compared to the USWNT’s roster for the friendlies.

USWNT: Roster Announced for October 2024 Friendlies — 6 Uncapped Players, No Trinity Rodman — Plus Match Schedule and TV/Streaming Details

Update (25-Oct-2024): Jane Campbell has been withdrawn due to a “muscle injury during training” and is replaced by Utah Royals goalkeeper Mandy Haught, who has U-20 USWYNT experience. (U.S. Soccer)

On Thursday, U.S. Soccer announced the United States Women’s National Team roster for its upcoming domestic friendlies against #13 Iceland and #33 Argentina. For the three matches, head coach Emma Hayes has called up 26 players, including six who are uncapped at the senior international level.

Among the players not called in are Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who is rehabilitating a back injury, and Catarina Macario, who was a late scratch from the USWNT’s Olympic roster. The reason given for Macario’s absence is that she is not back to being a regular starter at Chelsea (x.com post quoting Emma Hayes).

The six uncapped players include Olympic alternates Hal Hirshfelt and Emily Sams, defenders Alyssa Malonson and Eva Gaetino, plus forwards Yazmeen Ryan and Emma Sears.

Notable returnees include Kansas City Current outside-back Hailie Mace, who was last in camp with the USWNT back in January 2023, plus two members of the USWNT’s 2023 WWC roster: Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson and North Carolina Courage midfielder Ashley Sanchez.

USWNT: The USA Will Play the Netherlands in December

On Wednesday, U.S. Soccer and the KNVB announced that the United States Women’s National Team will face the Netherlands WNT on Tuesday, December 3rd, in The Hague, Netherlands. The match will take place at ADO Den Haag Stadium, which opened in 2007 and has a capacity of 15,000 (Wikipedia).

The Netherlands friendly is scheduled to kick off at 2:45 p.m. Eastern and will be televised on TNT and truTV with English-language commentary. The match will also be shown on Universo with Spanish-language commentary. Streaming options include Max (subscription required) and NBC.com (Spanish-language; requires linking one’s TV service provider account).

This will be the final match for the USWNT in 2024 and will be the second friendly of the year’s last international window. A few days earlier, on November 30th, the USWNT will take on the Lionesses of England at Wembley Stadium.

The Netherlands and England are two of the nine teams that have already qualified for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, which will be hosted by Switzerland. Twenty-eight teams are still in the hunt for the remaining seven slots. (Wikipedia)

Trivia: The Hague, Netherlands, is the birthplace of current England head coach Sarina Wiegman, who managed ADO Den Haag’s women’s team for seven seasons. (Wikipedia)

U.S. Soccer Press Release: U.S. Women’s National Team Will Face The Netherlands in The Hague on Dec. 3 to Finish 2024 Schedule

KNVB Press Release: Oranje sluit jaar af met oefenwedstrijden tegen China en USA

Concacaf takes step backward with qualifying format for the 2027 Women’s World Cup and 2028 Olympics

In mid-September, Concacaf published their plans for how women’s national teams in the region will qualify for the next FIFA Women’s World Cup and Summer Olympics. Instead of a traditional tournament with round-robin groups and a knockout phase, the final phase of qualifying will consist only of a knockout competition for the eight qualified teams. The four losing teams from the opening quarterfinals will then compete for Concacaf’s play-in spot(s).

The format change means that for the final eight teams, just one game will decide whether each gets an automatic slot into the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Brazil. A single loss in the quarterfinal stage also means elimination from qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The two highest-ranked teams in Concacaf, which will almost certainly be the United States and Canada, will have direct entry to the quarterfinal stage, so those two teams will only need to win a single match in order to qualify for the 2027 WWC. This is ridiculously lower than the minimum number of matches that the highest-ranked teams in Concacaf have traditionally been required to play. It is also embarrassingly lower than the number of qualifying matches that top teams in other confederations are required to play in order to earn a WWC slot.

Additionally, the simplified format reduces the likelihood that the best teams from Concacaf will qualify for the next WWC and Olympics. Although a loss in the quarterfinals does not eliminate a team from qualifying for the WWC, the best team(s) from the repechage have the additional burden of competing in an inter-confederation play-in tournament, which could see them face competitive teams from Europe and Asia.

NWSL News of Note: Alex Morgan announces retirement, Croix Bethune on SEI list, Magic Johnson invests in Spirit, plus lots more

Sunday, September 8th will be the end of an era as Alex Morgan will play her final professional soccer match. On Thursday, September 5th, Morgan announced her retirement via a social media video. The suddenness of Morgan’s retirement was due in part to a pregnancy, which was first publicly disclosed in the social media video.

The other major NWSL news of the week is the loss of Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune for the rest of the season due to a meniscus injury that occurred during a ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals baseball game.

Here are the rest of the notables from September 3rd to the 5th:

Washington Spirit: Earvin “Magic” Johnson joins the club’s investor group
Seattle Reign: Jordyn Huitema extends until 2026, with mutual option for 2027
Angel City: Forward Jun Endo signs on through 2027
Angel City: Sale of Controlling interest to Willow Bay and Bob Iger completed
Houston Dash: Forward Bárbara Olivieri extends for two years
Houston Dash: Forward Cece Kizer released from contract
Orlando Pride: Amanda Allen loaned to USL Super League’s Lexington Sporting Club
Utah Royals: Addisyn Merrick released, signed by USL Super League’s Carolina Ascent
Rumor: Sofia Jakobsson “close to signing” with London City Lionesses

NWSL News of Note: Olympics Break Catch-Up: Balcer-Howell Swap, Katie Zelem to Angel City, Jess Carter to Gotham, and Lots More

After a seven week break for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the USWNT once again won gold, the second-half of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season gets underway on Friday, August 23rd.

During the Olympic break, most of the teams were involved in player trades, signings, and other roster moves. The most notable (and shocking) trade during the break, just happened on Monday, when the Seattle Reign and Racing Louisville swapped forward Bethany Balcer for Racing’s captain, midfielder Jaelin Howell. Meanwhile, the most surprising signing was not a player, but an interim head coach: Landon Donovan, with the San Diego Wave.

Updates:

August 20th: Racing signs Colombian defender Ángela Barón, NC Courage loan defender Talia Staude to USL Super League side Tampa Bay Sun…

For player-related moves, as well as other developments involving all fourteen NWSL teams, including Angel City FC’s sale to Willow Bay and Bob Iger, keep reading…