The U.S. Women’s National Team is a number of days away from vying for his or her third straight title on the FiFA Girls’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, which formally kicks off on Thursday.
The USWNT, at the moment ranked No. 1 in the world, will open their bid towards Vietnam in Eden Park, New Zealand’s nationwide stadium, on Friday at 9 p.m. ET. As for the remainder of their group stage, the workforce will play towards the Netherlands on July 26 at 9 p.m. ET and Portugal on August 1 at 3 a.m. ET.
This World Cup marks the USWNT’s first cup for the reason that workforce and U.S. Soccer, which oversees each USWNT and the lads’s workforce, settled their equal pay lawsuit final yr. Since then, U.S. Soccer mentioned each will obtain the identical compensation for all competitions and similar business income sharing mechanism. The winner of this yr’s Girls’s World Cup will obtain $4,290,000, based on FIFA.
Who might be on USWNT’s beginning roster for the World Cup?
The complete 23-woman roster options an eclectic mixture of gamers with World Cup expertise and 14 first-timers who will take the large stage. The typical age of the gamers is 28 and a half years previous because the workforce seems to usher in a brand new period for USWNT.
Starters might be named nearer to match time, however the full roster contains:
- GOALKEEPERS: Aubrey Kingsbury, Casey Murphy and Alyssa Naeher
- DEFENDERS: Alana Cook dinner, Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Sofia Huerta, Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett
- MIDFIELDERS: Savannah DeMelo, Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Kristie Mewis, Ashley Sanchez and Andi Sullivan
- FORWARDS: Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Alyssa Thompson and Lynn Williams
These are a number of the gamers to look at within the upcoming match:
Trinity Rodman
Rodman, 21, is the second-youngest participant on the roster – and already a famous person within the Nationwide Girls’s Soccer League (NSWL). At 19 years previous, she grew to become the highest-paid participant within the league. The ahead is enjoying in her first World Cup and can put her scoring abilities to the take a look at, and is broadly anticipated to play a big function on the workforce.
She’s additionally the daughter of NBA corridor of famer Dennis Rodman. Final yr, she spoke to CBS Mornings about her well-known dad and creating her personal legacy.
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Sophia Smith
Smith, 22, can also be going to characterize america within the World Cup for the primary time. The Portland Thorns star is main the NWSL in goals scored — securing a hat-trick earlier than leaving for the match. Smith is taken into account to be a rising star on the squad.
Brad Smith/USSF
Alyssa Thompson
Thompson’s the primary teenager to make the U.S. roster for a Girls’s World Cup since 1995. The 18-year-old was the primary general choice within the 2023 NSWL Draft when she was chosen by Los Angeles’ Angel City FC. The speedy ahead is seen as one of many faces of the brand new era of USWNT gamers.
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Megan Rapinoe
It is formally her swan music within the pink, white and blue uniform. The OL Reign winger — who at 38 years previous is the oldest participant on the USWNT roster — has announced she will retire after the tip of her NWSL season. It is her fourth World Cup, and though she’s not anticipated to be a starter, she’s going to possible make her two hundredth look for workforce USA, turning into the 14th participant in USWNT historical past to achieve the milestone.
Brad Smith/USSF
Alex Morgan
Morgan, like Rapinoe, will make her fourth World Cup look, however she has already appeared in additional than 200 video games for the U.S. The legendary ahead ranks on the prime within the USWNT’s historical past in targets, assists and multi-goal video games. Morgan might be counted on as one of many workforce’s captains together with midfielder Lindsey Horan.
Fiona Goodall – FIFA/FIFA by way of Getty Photos
Naomi Girma
A constant pressure on the defensive finish, Girma is poised to carry stability to the USWNT’s backline. She was the highest choose of the 2022 NSWL draft for the San Diego Wave FC and continues to be one of many league’s prime defenders.
Brad Smith/USSF
Rose Lavelle
Lavelle will play in her second World Cup and look to proceed to develop as a pacesetter on the workforce. She advised CBS Sports earlier this month that she must push herself out of her “consolation zone just a little to be extra of a pacesetter.” The OL Reign participant and passing-savant has been nursing a knee damage however is working to get proper earlier than the match begins.
Brad Smith/USSF
Lynn Williams
Williams, 30, could also be enjoying in her first World Cup, however she has had a profitable professional profession earlier than getting the decision. The NJ/NY Gotham FC star has gained a number of NSWL championships and has the second-most goals within the historical past of the league. Williams, who grew up on a pecan farm in Clovis, California, will now get to indicate the world they have been lacking out on.
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