The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) revealed its 23-player roster for the upcoming 2023 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, which begins play next month on July 20.
Looking for their fifth-ever World Cup title in the tournament’s ninth edition, the USWNT are the two-time defending world champions that return a sizable portion of the 2019 title-winning squad.
Three members of NJ/NY Gotham, defender Kelley O’Hara, midfielder Kristie Mewis, and striker Lynn Williams, got the call from head coach Vlatko Andonovski to represent the United States.
Mewis and Williams are two of 14 players that will be participating in their first World Cup as the Americans will boast a younger side that will feature an 18-year-old striker in Angel City FC’s Alyssa Thompson.
They’ll be led by the core of multi-World Cup winners in forwards Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and O’Hara — all of whom will be appearing in their fourth World Cup.
Here is the full roster:
2023 USWNT Women’s World Cup Roster
Attackers
- Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC)
Morgan on making her fourth World Cup squad: “It’s always a special moment to hear a coach say that you made a roster for a major tournament… I’m just as excited and nervous as I was for my first World Cup.”
- Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign)
Andonovski on Rapinoe’s change in status, playing time in her fourth World Cup: “She’s probably going to have a different role than the previous two World Cups. She’s going to have different types of minutes but her role from a leadership standpoint is so important.”
- Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
Andonovski on Rodman: “Ever since she came to the NWSL, we could see the energy and the creativity and the intensity that she brings. Every time she gets the ball, there’s a little bit of expectation or a feeling that something will happen. She’s an exciting player, a creative player.”
- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC)
Smith on making her first World Cup team: “This is something I’ve dreamed of for I don’t know how long. Just to get that call was such a big relief and I felt pure joy because the last few months have been a little stressful… The clock has been ticking, I knew the time was coming, and to get the call was pretty surreal.”
- Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC)
Andonovski on Thompson making the World Cup Roster at 18 years old: “What a turn of events in the last nine months if you think about in October, she was playing youth soccer and now in July, she’ll be on the biggest stage in women’s soccer. We’re very excited for her… She’s a great player with some exceptional skills and exceptional abilities and we think she’s going to be important for us in the World Cup.”
- Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham)
Andonovski on Williams: “She’s one of those players that will have a certain role on the team. We’ve seen before when you need Lynn, you can count on her. She will provide… Lynn won’t surprise us when called upon. We’ll see a true, hard, team player. We’re going to see the intensity, we’re going to see goals from Lynn and hard-working support as well.”
Midfielders
- Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC)
Andonovski on DeMelo becoming the first uncapped player to make a USWNT World Cup roster since 2003: “We were very happy and one thing we wanted to see from her was consistency in the upcoming season. She did very well and her performance in the league was the biggest reason why she was on the team. Based on the needs that we had… we see Sav as being very important for us going forward.”
- Julie Ertz (Angel City FC)
Andonovski on Ertz’s role: “We know that she has the ability to play different positions. We saw her in the 2015 World Cup playing as a center-back. It’s definitely something that’s on our minds and we’ll be exploring that option.”
- Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyonnais Féminin)
- Rose Lavelle (OL Reign)
Andonovski on Lavelle nursing an injury: We expect Rose to have minutes in our send-off game and we’ll move on from there and manage the minutes accordingly.
- Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham)
“She is a mature player, a player that knows what it takes to be a successful player… she has been so selfless in camp and understands her role to a T. The one thing we love about Kristie is that when she is on the field if it’s 15 minutes, then we know we’re going to get the best 15-minute player in the world. She knows that, she understands it, and she executes it very well.”
- Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit)
- Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
Defenders
- Alana Cook (OL Reign)
- Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage)
- Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC)
Dunn on her journey to making her second World Cup team: “I’m most proud of the strength that I’ve endured. This is a hard day for a lot of people and I always go back to the 2015 roster that I didn’t make. I could’ve easily let that moment define my career as a player moving forward… From there on, I learned to invest in myself, be proud of myself, and give myself grace… As women, we don’t celebrate ourselves enough.”
- Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC)
Girma on making her first World Cup: “I was so excited when I got the call. I immediately called my family, I was so happy. This has been a dream for me and doing it alongside these players makes it all the more special.”
- Sofia Huerta (OL Reign)
- Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham)
- Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)
Goalkeepers
- Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit)
- Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage)
- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
For more on the USWNT and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, visit AMNY.com
