Yalla Shoot :Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz Headline USWNT’s 2023 Women’s World Cup Roster | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
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Exactly one month from their first match in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the roster for Team USA has been announced with stalwarts Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz leading the group.
Goalkeepers: Alyssa Naeher, Casey Murphy, Aubrey Kingsbury
Defenders: Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Alana Cook, Emily Sonnett, Kelley O’Hara, Sofia Huerta
Midfielders: Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Julie Ertz, Andi Sullivan, Savannah DeMelo, Ashley Sanchez, Kristie Mewis
Forwards: Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, Megan Rapinoe, Alyssa Thompson, Lynn Williams
This will mark the fourth consecutive World Cup for Rapinoe, Morgan and Kelley O’Hara dating back to 2011. Ertz is making her third straight appearance in the tournament.
O’Hara, Kristie Mewis and Lynn Williams were the first three players officially announced for the squad on NBC’s Today.
“Honestly, it felt like I was getting called for the first time to go to a World Cup,” O’Hara said on the show. “I’m so excited. This is my fourth one, but when I got the news I honestly broke out in tears I was so excited.”
The 2023 squad is very much a group in transition, with 14 first-timers on the World Cup roster.
Team captain Becky Sauerbrunn announced last week she would be unable to participate in this year’s tournament due to a foot injury:
Catarina Macario also announced she would miss the World Cup as she continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered in June 2022.
There was some question about Rose Lavelle’s status for the World Cup after OL Reign manager Laura Harvey announced on May 24 she had “a little bit of a setback” in her recovery from a knee injury suffered in April.
Head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s decision to include Lavelle on the final roster seems like a good indication she will be ready to go.
Rapinoe suffered an apparent calf injury early in OL Reign’s June 10 match against the Kansas City Current. She didn’t play Saturday’s match against the Houston Dash.
To make up for some of the missing talent, Andonovski opted to go with six wingers including Morgan.
Savannah DeMelo will be the first player in 20 years to make their first USWNT appearance in the World Cup.
Ashley Hatch, who has seven goals in 18 matches this year between Team USA and the Washington Spirit, is among the notables who did not make the final cut.
Despite all of the roster turnover, Team USA is still ranked No. 1 in the FIFA world rankings leading up to the World Cup. The squad won the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship last summer and the SheBelieves Cup for the fourth consecutive year in February.
The United States has won each of the previous two World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 with a combined record of 13-0-1 in 14 matches.
Team USA will play in Group E with the Netherlands, Portugal and Vietnam in the 2023 World Cup. Their first game will be against Vietnam on July 21.
