THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) heads into this month's World Cup with the expected heady blend of youth and experience. The final squad selection [full squad shown below] was completed after a friendly match with Wales, July 9.
Trinity Rodman scored twice in the last 20 minutes of play in a comfortable 2-0 warm-up win, which means the team has won all eight of their games this calendar year by a margin of 19-1. The game was played a day after leading figure Megan Rapinoe announced her retirement from the sport at the end of the domestic season, but she didn't get to play in this match played in San Diego so will have to wait for her 200th appearance in National colors.
Manager Vlatko Andonovski was enthused with his team's performance and reflected on his selection for the forthcoming matches in New Zealand and Australia, as the USWNT bids to retain the World Cup: "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. 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," he said.
Coach Andonovski was aware of how far the game has grown in such a short space of time, and even though favored, his players will have to be at their best to avoid any embarrassing upsets. He 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. For years, we've been able to see firsthand where the game is going and that's exciting. 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."
Defender Kelley O'Hara and forwards Morgan and Rapinoe have been selected to their fourth World Cup. Two players are named to their third consecutive World Cup: goalkeeper Naeher and midfielder Ertz. Four players, defenders Dunn and Sonnett and midfielders Horan and Lavelle, make their second World Cup. For the other players this will be their first Women's World Cup.
The USWNT start their campaign against Vietnam on July 22, then follow this up with a more testing match against the Netherlands on July 27, before finishing the group stage on August 1 against Portugal.
https://www.ussoccer.com/teams/uswnt
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup will be broadcast live / streamed in the UK on the BBC, iPlayer, ITV & ITVX.
