What Now for the USWNT?
Evaluating the future of the twenty-three players who were part of the worst World Cup performance in program history.
The United States are out of the World Cup. For the first time in the women’s tournament’s history dating back to 1991, the four-time champions did not reach at least the semifinal stage, falling two hurdles short of even that as they were eliminated Sunday night in Melbourne by Sweden in the Round of 16. It was a melancholy 120 minutes plus penalties, as the US played their best soccer of the tournament and their goalkeeper both saved and scored a penalty only for it to be just not enough.
So, what’s next? For the players, for the team? I tried to put each of the 23 USWNT players at this world cup, plus a few notable absentees, into a few broad categories based on where we are now: the end of an era in many ways, but with an Olympics quickly approaching.
Author’s note: the players are ordered in each category by how strongly I feel they belong in that tier, if that makes sense?
The Retirees
Confirmed, suspected, or encouraged.
Megan Rapinoe
Before this turgid World Cup campaign had even begun, Megan Rapinoe confirmed this would be both her final World Cup and final season of professional soccer. After a few down years following her 2019 heroics, Rapinoe rebounded to form with OL Reign in the first half of the 2023 NWSL season. But while her play was worthy of a seat on the plane, her role was much larger than expected as she was the first choice winger option off the bench ahead of Lynn Williams and Alyssa Thompson. She missed a Rose Lavelle-fed sitter vs Vietnam, looked completely off the pace vs Portugal, and struggled to make an impact before missing in the shootout vs Sweden. It’s sad that this is how her legendary career ends, but we all knew this was her last run.
Julie Ertz
Another confirmed exit, what a wild ride for Julie Ertz. After her contract in Chicago expired, Ertz simply vanished while pregnant with her first child (a son, Madden, born August 2022) and stayed out of the spotlight for a while after giving birth. However, like a sort of firefighter rushing in to try to save the mess that was the USWNT midfield, she got just enough game time with Angel City this spring and summer to be ready to start all four games at the tournament. Another unquestioned legend, it sucks that this is the reward for the immense effort it must have taken for her to be a part of this team.
Kelley O’Hara
A player who’s inclusion was the result of veteran leadership and past experience rather than form, O’Hara had only completed 90 minutes twice in 2023 before the World Cup. She’s a fighter and grizzled vet of tournament soccer and a great leader, but at age 35 she’s clearly been on the decline already for a couple years now and there are plenty of younger players who should be getting looks as the third or fourth fullback on a roster.
Kristie Mewis
Much like Rapinoe, Mewis’ form had faded over the past year or so (as part of a truly abysmal 2022 Gotham FC team) before she looked like one of the best players in NWSL in the first half of this season. She’s exactly the sort of figure you want as the 20th-23rd player on a roster: experienced, versatile, predictable, good leader. The USWNT desperately need to refresh their midfield depth options, and that combined with an only 18-player roster for the Olympics means this should be the end of her time as a national team player.
Alyssa Naeher
Given her performance against Sweden, this hurts. Having not looked great in NWSL recently but being retained as the US #1 anyway, Naeher failed to convince at times in the group stage as well before turning in a career performance that was more than good enough to win her team the game and shootout. Scoring a penalty on your first career attempt would be a badass way of going out, and fitting for Naeher. She’ll be 39 at the next World Cup, probably shouldn’t have been the starter on this team to begin with, and there is incredible depth in the player pool. It’s time for her to hand over the gloves.
Alex Morgan
This is probably the toughest call in the list. Is Alex Morgan still playing at a level that, combined with her reputation and role within the squad, justifies being on the Olympic team in 2024? I think so, despite a bad tournament. However, she’s unlikely to be a starter on that team and it’s a big stretch to think she’ll still be around in 2027. Morgan’s skillset at this point in her career doesn’t strike me as fitting the role of an impact sub; she’s best as a target-forward helping to build possession and then crashing into the box to apply a finishing touch, she’s not the sort of player you throw in hoping they can win the game on their own. The next USWNT coach will have a hell of a task trying to figure out how to get the best out of all three of Sophia Smith, Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson; the sooner work begins on finding that solution the better. Morgan deserves her flowers, and hopefully her and Naeher in particular are given the exits they deserve at the team’s friendly matches this fall. But now is the right time to move on.
Olympic Locks
Barring injury *knocks on every wood item in my apartment* these players will be (or at the very least should be) on the plane to Paris next summer. A reminder that the squad is down to 18 players for that tournament.
Naomi Girma
The standout player of the World Cup for the US without question, Girma has firmly stated her case as one of the best center backs in the world and is only likely to get better. She will start every meaningful game for this team for the next decade if possible, and may be the team’s future captain.
Sophia Smith
I thought this was going to be the Sophia Smith World Cup. A lot of people did. It wasn’t, and there’s a handful of reasons for that (playing on the wing rather than up top, the team’s tactics often just asking her to take on 3 or 4 defenders at once, a couple down performances by her standards). It would have been true even if she hadn’t missed the would-be winning penalty in the shootout. If that ball goes in, we’re having a very different conversation. That all being the case, Smith is a world class attacking dynamo and should be the centerpiece of the US attack in Paris. Hopefully this is her Carli Lloyd 2011 moment and it fuels a blistering next decade.
Rose Lavelle
It hasn’t been the summer Rose Lavelle was probably hoping it would be. After not playing from April to July, Lavelle was barely able to make an impact in the group stage but did find time to pick up two yellow cards which excluded her from the Sweden match. She continues to have fitness concerns and at 32 in 2027 may not be as key of a cog by then, but when available she’s the team’s most creative player and will be around at least as long as that’s the case.
Lindsay Horan
The captain of this perplexing ship, few players in the pool divide opinion quite like Lindsay Horan. We saw some of her at her best in this tournament as a reliable ball-carrier who can break lines with her passes and be a physical presence in duels and on set pieces, and also at times at her worst when she’s a defensive traffic cone and doesn’t appear to have the necessary fitness levels to run the team’s engine room. My two cents is that she’s a world class player when deployed properly, and while we can debate if she’s a starter long term at this point she should still be in every squad.
Emily Fox
While Girma may have been the best player in the team, I think Emily Fox was the one who positively surprised me the most. Amid the fray that was everything about these four games, Fox was everywhere both helping try to push the ball forwards and putting out fires defensively. I knew she was athletic, but her acceleration and stamina were so impressive. She can play anywhere across the backline and in midfield as well in a pinch. Whatever role she’s asked to play, I’m confident in her ability to fill it.
Crystal Dunn
If the 2024 Olympics are set up to be a swan song for anyone, it’s Crystal Dunn. After giving birth to her son, Marcel, Dunn returned to the Portland Thorns and slotted in as one of the best attacking midfielders in the league while reclaiming her left back role for the national team with no trouble whatsoever. She’s a sure thing on form alone if she keeps playing so well for club, and her versatility with being able to play just about anywhere other than center back or goalkeeper makes her a vital part of a smaller Olympic roster.
Trinity Rodman
At times awe-inspiring and at times confounding, Rodman may be the most purely talented player on this team. Still only 21-years-old, it’s hard to gauge just how high Rodman’s ceiling is or what her best position will end up being. But every time she has the ball, there’s a chance that something special is going to happen; that’s a lottery worth buying a ticket for every time.
Lynn Williams
Williams continues to be a lethal weapon when given the opportunity for the USWNT. After recovering from injury, she’s been excellent for Gotham FC and should certainly stay in the forward rotation for the Olympics next year as someone who can play anywhere across the front line.
Casey Murphy
The goalkeeper who, on form, probably should have been starting in this tournament, Murphy has regularly been alternating starts with Naeher while on national team duty the past couple years only for it to mean pretty much nothing. She deserves a tournament where she at least has a real chance to play.
Aubrey Kingsbury
See above. Kingsbury was the best keeper in the NWSL for the first half of this season, in addition to in 2021 as well with the very bizarre 2022 Washington Spirit season sandwiched in between. In a roster where there will only be two goalies, it should be these two. There will be plenty of time to open up the competition for roster spots here after the Olympics.
Emily Sonnett
Center back? Full back? Defensive midfielder? I’m not sure Sonnett even knows, which is part of the point. Every coach seems to love her, and she seems to make everyone’s day brighter. She’s a classic ‘glue guy,’ and that combined with her versatility gets her to Paris.
Alana Cook
Nobody played more minutes at center back between the Olympics and World Cup than Alana Cook. She then proceeded to not play at all at the World Cup, replaced by Julie Ertz to partner Naomi Girma after the injury suffered by veteran stalwart and captain Becky Sauerbrunn. Now, Ertz and Girma in a vacuum were an excellent partnership, and I haven’t been as high on Cook as others given her habit of an occasional bad giveaway. But life comes at you fast. You’d think with Ertz’s retirement she comes right back in. There’s going to be plenty of competition to partner Girma in the years to come, but in the short run Cook is in pole position.
*Shrug Emoji*
It’s anyone’s guess what the future holds for these players with the national team.
Andi Sullivan
Anyone who consistently watches this team has known for quite a while that Andi Sullivan as a solo #6 didn’t work. Unfortunately, the team’s coach didn’t realize this until the knockout round of the World Cup. Sullivan can be a decent passer, good ball winner, and physical presence in midfield, but man was this a rough couple weeks for her. She’s still just 27, but there are younger options a new coach may see as interchangeable for Sullivan. Her role will depend on who the next coach is. Jaelin Howell and Sam Coffey are both interesting alternatives.
Savannah DeMelo
After two spot stars in the Rose Lavelle role, Savannah DeMelo promptly disappeared. One of many victims of Andonovski’s refusal to make substitutions, DeMelo will stay in the conversation as long as she continues to play well for Racing Louisville. The data is limited so far, but she looked ‘good not great.’ In fairness, it’s hard to evaluate her individual impact given the mess the US midfield often was at this tournament. She’s right on the bubble for the Olympics
Alyssa Thompson
Alyssa Thompson was plucked from the boys club team she was playing on, given her debut vs England at Wembley Stadium and became a key player for Angel City. Amid all of this, she missed out on some typical things you do as an 18-year-old like prom and high school graduation. For all of that acceleration/sacrifice, she got… 16 minutes. That was it. I feel like she was done dirty here. The US might as well have brought another forward (Ashley Hatch?), and allowed Thompson to gradually transition into professional life while still getting to be a kid. An 18-player roster will be tough for her to crack given the US’s forward depth.
Sofia Huerta
The assumed starting right back for much of the Andonovski era, her stock clearly fell over the last year as Fox’s rose. She’s probably not quite defensively solid enough for the international level, but she’s excellent going forward and a fantastic crosser of a ball. The US don’t exactly have a conveyor belt of young fullbacks coming through so it’s hard to say where she lands in the pool going forward.
Ashley Sanchez
Sanchez’s performances in a US shirt have left a lot to be desired over the last couple years as the default alternative to Rose Lavelle. But she kept playing well for the Spirit, and whatever the reasoning kept getting called into camp. She played 0 minutes at the World Cup. It’s all very confusing, and it’s anyone’s guess what her future role with this team is.
Hurt, But Worth a Mention
Mallory Swanson was in the form of her life this spring before a rupture of her patella tendon. She will start the opener of the Olympics if she’s fit and back in anything resembling that form. Meanwhile, the great hope and also great mystery of the future of this team, Catarina Macario should hopefully be back playing soccer at long last following a longer than expected ACL recovery. She recently signed for Chelsea from Lyon, so keep an eye out for her to make her WSL debut in September. I don’t know what position she’ll play for the US, but she’ll play.
We Didn’t Know It Was Goodbye
I expect we have seen Becky Sauerbrunn play elite soccer for the last time. Given her age and the timing of her injury, I doubt we’ll see any sort of rush to return to the field for the Thorns by the end of 2023. A legend in every sense of the word, there’s both a coaching and media career ahead of her if she wants either of them.
Of all the injury absences, the saddest might be Sam Mewis. When she first had knee surgery in August of 2021, it was thought she’d be back up and running for 2022. She hasn’t played since. It would be wonderful to see Sam play soccer again, at any level. A return to the national team feels too far gone at this point, and I hope she’s able to just get back to the sport she loves.
Meanwhile, currently busy with recapping USWNT games are Christen Press and Tobin Heath. Press suffered yet another setback in her recovery from an ACL injury and, like Sam Mewis, is likely more focused on playing soccer at all rather than getting back to the national team. Meanwhile, Heath has been in trophy wife mode for a while now and though she never announced her retirement, she’s not the sort of person who likes to be the center of attention.
This is the point where I could rant for a while about Vlatko, but we’re over 2500 words in and plenty has already been said. He will not be the coach of the USWNT next summer in Paris. I have no idea who will be and I don’t have any ideas off the top of my head beyond “throw a large bag of money at Sarina Wiegman.” This tournament was in many ways depressing despite talented players; we should immediately turn our focus to how exciting the future is because of those players.
Way way way way way too early Paris squad prediction.
Kingsbury, Murphy
Cook, Dunn, Fox, Girma, Casey Krueger, Sonnett
Coffey, DeMelo, Horan, Lavelle, Macario
Rodman, Smith, Swanson, Thompson, Williams