Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage has named a 23-player preliminary roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal, and there are no surprises in the bunch.
Abby Wambach, Hope Solo and Alex Morgan are among the usual suspects who will compete in the tournament's Group B along with Denmark, Norway and defending World Cup champion Japan followed by a placement game from Feb. 29-March 7. Germany, Sweden, China and Iceland make up Group A, and the two group winners will meet in the tournament's championship game.
Here's the 23-woman roster, which will be trimmed to 21 ahead of the tournament:
GOALKEEPERS: Nicole Barnhart, Ashlyn Harris, Hope Solo.
DEFENDERS: Rachel Buehler, Stephanie Cox, Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg, Amy LePeilbet, Heather Mitts, Kelley O'Hara, Christie Rampone, Becky Sauerbrunn.
MIDFIELDERS: Shannon Boxx, Tobin Heath, Lori Lindsey, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Megan Rapinoe, Amy Rodriguez.
FORWARDS: Lauren Cheney, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach.
What do you think of the roster? How do you see the U.S. women faring in the tournament?
Share your thoughts below.
They should really take up the opportunity and perform like a wonderful team.
I don’t know but I’ll take a long hard look.
I’ll be here all week. Try the veal.
Classy.
In the photo above, does anyone know whether that is Alex Morgan and Hope Solo in the back row? It’s hard for me to recognize those two ladies unless they’re naked.
Ballers!
Nice! 2 Sounders, love it!