U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named the 23 players who will represent the United States in France this summer.
“Selecting a World Cup team is a long process, and I want to thank the players – the ones that made the final team and the ones that didn’t – for all of their hard work over the past two and a half years,” said Ellis. “They all pushed each other in every training session and every game and challenged the coaches to make some tough decisions. These 23 players have been through adversity and success, and it’s a group that has the talent, confidence, experience and desire to help us win the World Cup.”
2019 USA FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch* (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris* (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher* (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper* (NC Courage), Tierna Davidson* (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn* (NC Courage), Ali Krieger* (Orlando Pride), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC), Emily Sonnett* (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz* (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle* (Washington Spirit), Allie Long* (Reign FC), Samantha Mewis* (NC Courage)
FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath* (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd* (Sky Blue FC), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage), Alex Morgan* (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC), Mallory Pugh* (Washington Spirit), Megan Rapinoe* (Reign FC)
* First Women’s World Cup
Second Women’s World Cup
* Third Women’s World Cup
** Fourth Women’s World Cup
The roster will not become official until it is submitted to FIFA on May 24, which is the deadline for all teams to submit their final squads. Ellis selected 12 players who were part of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship team. The roster averages 80 international caps per player and has a combined total of 94 Women’s World Cup appearances.
The Women’s World Cup roster will make up the squad for the USA’s final three matches before departing for Europe. The Send-Off Series, Presented by Volpi Foods, takes place in May and will start when the USA faces South Africa on Sunday, May 12, at 1:30 p.m. PT at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. From there, the USA will travel to St. Louis, Missouri for its second match, facing New Zealand on Thursday, May 16, at 7 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium.
The U.S. players will then have their final break before the World Cup and regroup in New Jersey to conclude the Send-Off Series vs. Mexico on Sunday, May 26, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. The match will kick off at 12 p.m. ET.
This summer, the USA will face Thailand, Chile and Sweden in Group F at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The U.S. will open Group F play against Thailand on June 11 (3 p.m. ET) at Auguste Delaune Stadium in Reims. The USA then faces Chile on June 16 (12 p.m. ET) at Parc des Princes in Paris, followed by Sweden on June 20 (3 p.m. ET) at Stade Océane in Le Havre.
The format calls for seven matches to win the tournament, including four in the knockout rounds, up from six matches it took to win the Women’s World Cups for all the tournaments from 1991-2011.
