The U.S. Women’s National Team will also be in action in January in preparation for a busy 2021 schedule.
U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that Vlatko Andonovski will have a 27-player roster ahead of two friendlies in Orlando, Florida against Colombia. Andonovski will trim the roster down to 18 players for each match, slated for January 18th and 22nd at Exploria Stadium in front of 4,000 fans.
“A big credit goes to our players, team staff and overall medical staff for the tremendous work to make sure we have secure and healthy environments for our camps and games,” said Andonovski. “And a special thanks also goes to our game operations staff for enabling us to host two matches against a talented opponent. It’s extremely valuable to play a team we don’t see that often and it’s important for our Olympic preparation.”
This month’s friendlies will be the first for the USWNT on home soil since the 2020 SheBelieves Cup. The USWNT’s last overall match came in November against Netherlands, a 2-0 victory in a rematch from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final.
It will be the first head-to-head meeting between the two teams since a 2-2 draw at the 2016 Olympics.
Here’s a breakdown of the roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Aubrey Bledsoe (Washington Spirit), Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars).
DEFENDERS: Alana Cook (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Abby Dahlkemper (North Carolina Courage), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Fox (UNC), Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit), Margaret Purce (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit).
MIDFIELDERS : Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Jaelin Howell (Florida State), Rose Lavelle (Manchester City, ENG), Catarina Macario (Stanford), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (Manchester City, ENG), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit).
FORWARDS: Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage).
This will be a good opportunity to take a look at some new people. Based on how the U.S. looked against the Netherlands, I doubt that Columbia will have many trips across mid-field.