U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis
has named the 23 players who will represent the United States in France
this summer.
“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,” said Ellis.
“They all pushed each other in every training session and every game and
challenged the coaches to make some tough decisions. These 23 players have
been through adversity and success, and it’s a group that has the talent,
confidence, experience and desire to help us win the World Cup.”
2019 USA FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (Club)
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
The roster will not become official until it is submitted to FIFA on May
24, which is the deadline for all teams to submit their final squads. Ellis
selected 12 players who were part of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup
championship team. The roster averages 80 international caps per player and
has a combined total of 94 Women’s World Cup appearances.
THREE MORE HOME GAMES BEFORE FRANCE
The Women’s World Cup roster will make up the squad for the USA’s final
three matches before departing for Europe. The Send-Off Series, Presented
by Volpi Foods, takes place in May and will start when the USA faces South
Africa on Sunday, May 12, at 1:30 p.m. PT at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara,
California. From there, the USA will travel to St. Louis, Missouri for its
second match, facing New Zealand on Thursday, May 16, at 7 p.m. CT at Busch
Stadium.
The U.S. players will then have their final break before the World Cup and
regroup in New Jersey to conclude the Send-Off Series vs. Mexico on Sunday,
May 26, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. The match will kick off at 12 p.m.
ET.
Fans can follow all the upcoming WNT matches on @uswnt (Twitter, Instagram)
and U.S. Soccer on Facebook.
USA KICKS OFF GROUP F ON JUNE 11
This summer, the USA will face
Thailand, Chile and Sweden in Group F at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The U.S. will open Group F play against
Thailand on June 11 (3 p.m. ET) at Auguste Delaune Stadium in Reims. The
USA then faces Chile on June 16 (12 p.m. ET) at Parc des Princes in Paris,
followed by Sweden on June 20 (3 p.m. ET) at Stade Océane in Le Havre.
The format calls for seven matches to win the tournament, including four in
the knockout rounds, up from six matches it took to win the Women’s World
Cups for all the tournaments from 1991-2011.
ROSTER FACTS
-
Of the 23 players named to the roster, Carli Lloyd has the most
experience in the Women’s World Cup, having played 18 matches while
scoring seven goals, six at the 2015 tournament. Lloyd is the oldest
player on the roster at 36. Five players own double-figure World Cup
cap numbers in Ali Krieger (13 World Cup caps), Alex Morgan (12), Megan
Rapinoe (12) and Tobin Heath (10).
-
Crystal Dunn, Morgan Brian, Julie Ertz and Samantha Mewis were part of
the U.S. team that won the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan,
while Alyssa Naeher and Morgan were part of the U.S. team that won the
2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile. Harris was part of the team
that won the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup in Canada.
-
Sixteen players on the roster have represented the USA in a FIFA
Women’s World Cup at the U-17 level, U-20 level or both.
-
Davidson is the youngest player on the roster at age 20. Pugh turned 21
on April 29. Brian was the youngest player on the 2015 FIFA Women’s
World Cup Team at age 22. Just under half the roster (11 players) are
in their 30s and 12 are in their 20s.
-
Two players make their first World Cup roster at age 31 in Long, who
was a member of the 2016 Olympic Team, and McDonald, who is the top
American scorer in the history of the NWSL. McDonald is also the only
mother on the World Cup Team. She has a seven-year-old son. The average
age of the U.S. roster is 28 years old, the same as the USA’s 2015
Women’s World Cup Team.
-
Six players have previously scored in a Women’s World Cup tournament,
totaling 16 goals.
-
All 23 players on the roster play domestically in the National Women’s
Soccer League. Eight of the nine NWSL clubs are represented on the
roster with the Portland Thorns FC, reigning champion North Carolina
Courage and the Chicago Red Stars having four players each. The Utah
Royals and Orlando Pride have three players each while Reign FC and the
Washington Spirit have two each. Sky Blue FC has one.
