Top Stories

Morgan, Rapinoe, Lloyd headline final USWNT roster for Tournament of Nations

1 Shares

U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis named the final 23-player roster ahead of the 2018 Tournament of Nations.

The USWNT will see a mix of experience and youth to the squad, with 11 players from the 2015 World Cup winning squad on the roster. Those 11 include a number of familiar faces, including Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe.

Ellis initially called in 25 players to camp on July 18, but Houston Dash forward Kealia Ohai and North Carolina Courage defender Jaelene Hinkle have been sent back to their respective clubs. Hinkle will join her team in the Women’s International Champions Cup tournament.

Ohai’s departure from the squad is not entirely surprising, as the forward faced stiff competition to find time at forward in what is certainly the USWNT’s deepest, most experienced position.

The 2018 Tournament of Nations kicks-off at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, KS, on Thursday, July 26, with Brazil v. Australia at 4:15 p.m. ET, followed by the USWNT’s match against Japan at 7 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

Here’s a closer look at the roster.

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), 24-Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 16/0), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 29/0)

DEFENDERS (6): 7-Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 19/0), 12-Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 8/0), 11-Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 139/0), 14-Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 21/0), 22-Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 17/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): 6-Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 75/6), 2-Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 61/15), 9-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 51/5), 16-Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 8/2), 10-Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 254/100), 3-Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 36/7), 20-Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 39/6), 5-McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 2/0)

FORWARDS (6): 19-Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 64/23), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 133/19), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 142/86), 23-Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 100/44), 15-Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 137/37), 8-Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC; 131/30)

 

Comments

  1. This is a strong line-up for the USWNT. However, in a typical 3-3-4 formation, you don’t need
    8 midfielders. You should have 8 defenders. I would scratch Allie Long, and insert Ali Kreiger on the back line. Kreiger has been looking as good as ever playing for Orlando, dominating the opposition and scoring goals to boot. In comparing Kreiger to Long in terms of ability, its not even close. If Kreiger is still coming back from an injury, I could see where they may not want to bring her in to the USWNT just yet. However, other than that, she should be out on the field.

    Reply

Leave a Comment