CHICAGO ( May 2, 2019 ) - With 40 days until the USA's opening match of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, 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. 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.
2019 United States 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
"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."
Players Share Their Thoughts
Forward Carli Lloyd was named to her fourth Women's World Cup roster, becoming the ninth U.S. Women's National Team player to be selected for four or more tournaments. Six players were named to their third consecutive World Cup roster in defenders Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O'Hara and Ali Krieger and forwards Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. Ellis also named five players who make a second World Cup roster and 11 for whom this will be their first. Ellis selected 12 players who were part of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup championship squad. The roster averages 80 international caps per player and has a combined total of 94 Women's World Cup appearances.
THREE MORE HOME GAMES BEFORE FRANCE
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.
Fans can follow all the upcoming WNT matches on @uswnt ( Twitter, Instagram ) and U.S. Soccer on Facebook.
USA KICKS OFF GROUP F ON JUNE 11
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 growth of the women's game around the world is not something that's taken us by surprise. We've seen it first hand, especially over the past five years," said Ellis. "Our players have been steeled in this highly competitive environment and that's helped develop an entire roster that has the depth and versatility we need to navigate what will be a tremendously difficult and exciting tournament."
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup runs from June 7-July 7, and all 52 games will be shown live on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 and on tablets and mobile devices through the FOX Sports app.
WORLD CUP HISTORY
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup will be the eighth time FIFA stages the event and the second to include 24 nations. Sixteen teams participated in the four World Cups held from 1999-2011. The 1991 and 1995 WWC featured 12 teams. 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.
The USA is making its eighth appearance in a FIFA Women's World Cup and is one of seven countries to appear in all eight editions of the tournament. The others are Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway and Sweden.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Of the 23 players named to the roster, Carli Lloyd has the most experience in the Women's World Cup, having played 18 matches while scoring seven goals, six at the 2015 tournament. Lloyd is the oldest player on the roster at 36. Five players own double-figure World Cup cap numbers in Ali Krieger ( 13 World Cup caps ), Alex Morgan ( 12 ), Megan Rapinoe ( 12 ) and Tobin Heath ( 10 ).
Crystal Dunn, Morgan Brian, Julie Ertz and Samantha Mewis were part of the U.S. team that won the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan, while Alyssa Naeher and Morgan were part of the U.S. team that won the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Chile. Harris was part of the team that won the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup in Canada.
Sixteen players on the roster have represented the USA in a FIFA Women's World Cup at the U-17 level, U-20 level or both.
Davidson is the youngest player on the roster at age 20. Pugh turned 21 on April 29. Brian was the youngest player on the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team at age 22. Just under half the roster ( 11 players ) are in their 30s and 12 are in their 20s.
Two players make their first World Cup roster at age 31 in Long, who was a member of the 2016 Olympic Team, and McDonald, who is the top American scorer in the history of the NWSL. McDonald is also the only mother on the World Cup Team. She has a seven-year-old son.
The average age of the U.S. roster is 28 years old, the same as the USA's 2015 Women's World Cup Team.
Six players have previously scored in a Women's World Cup tournament, totaling 16 goals.
The roster features players from 13 different states. Five players on the roster are from California, three are from Georgia, while two each are from New York, New Jersey, Arizona and Colorado.
Franch becomes the first player from the state of Kansas to make a U.S. Women's World Cup roster.
All 23 players on the roster play domestically in the National Women's Soccer League. Eight of the nine NWSL clubs are represented on the roster with the Portland Thorns FC, reigning champion North Carolina Courage and the Chicago Red Stars having four players each. The Utah Royals and Orlando Pride have three players each while Reign FC and the Washington Spirit have two each. Sky Blue FC has one.
