CHICAGO (November 20, 2023) – US Women’s National Team interim head coach Twila Kilgore named a 26-player training camp roster for the two December home friendlies against China PR that will close out the US schedule. USA by 2023.
The United States will face the Steel Roses on December 2 at DRV PNK Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale. Lauderdale, Fla. (3 pm ET on TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Max and Peacock) and December 5 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas (7 pm CT / 8 pm ET on TruTV, Universo, Max and Peacock).
The USWNT enters the two games against China PR with a 12W-4D-0L record in 2023 and will look to remain undefeated in regulation this calendar year.
China PR is the second most common opponent in US history (after Canada) and these games will mark the 59thth and 60th Encounters between lifelong enemies. While the United States and China used to face each other quite frequently, sometimes several times a year, these will be the first matches between the two countries since the summer of 2018.
“As we move forward with the next steps, we need more opportunities to see the players in our group in our unique National Team environment, both in training and in games, so that we can evaluate whether they could contribute to the Olympic Games and how to do it”. said Kilgore, who chose the roster as part of the overall strategy and plan that US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker has put together with Kilgore and Emma Hayes, the newly named USWNT head coach who will officially join the USWNT in May after the conclusion of the season with his current club, Chelsea. “We value these players who were recently in camp or played in the World Cup and were not chosen for this list and of course they are still part of our group, but we know what they bring to the table on and off the field. At the same time, we must also continue to evaluate and bring in players in the right way to give the team the best opportunity for success.”
US Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals) – December Friendlies vs. China PR
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 7), Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 16)
DEFENDERS (7): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 29/1), Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave FC; 79/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 50/1), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage; 37/1), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 24/0), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars; 41/0), MA Vignola (Angel City FC; 1/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; 0/0), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 5/0), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC; 6/0), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 137/30 ), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 91/24), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign; 81/2)
FORWARDS (8): Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC, ENG; 2/1), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 5/21), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 4/24), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 6/26), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 2/1), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 36/14), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 8/0), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 58/17)
The roster includes two midfielders: 2023 NWSL Rookie of the Year Jenna Nighswonger and Paris Saint-Germain’s Korbin Albert, selected for their first full training camp with the national team.
The roster marks the return of veteran defender Abby Dahlkemper, who returned to the field after recovering from major back surgery to help the San Diego Wave win the 2023 NWSL regular season title. Dahlkemper, starter in the 2019 Women’s World Cup title-winning team, has 79 caps, but this is her first call-up since April 2022. Defender Tierna Davidson, the youngest member of the 2019 World Cup champions, also returns after recovering from a facial injury suffered during NWSL play. Davidson, who suffered a torn ACL in March 2022, was not part of the United States’ 2023 World Cup squad but returned to action for the USWNT in September 2023. Midfielder Rose Lavelle is a part of their first squad since the end of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Cup after also overcoming an injury.
The roster includes two players who played their first caps and scored their first goals in the WNT this fall: 19-year-old forward Jaedyn Shaw, who hails from Frisco, Texas, and will enjoy a homecoming of sorts during the second game , and forward Mia Fishel. , who scored dramatically in his hometown of San Diego on October 29 in a 3-0 victory over Colombia, the same game in which Shaw scored his first goal.
TICKETS
Tickets for both matches are on sale through ussoccer.com. Groups of 20 or more fans can also order online at ussoccer.com. Coaches Circle and Presidents Circle members who support the US Soccer Development Fund can receive individual customer support and concierge services for their ticketing needs. Click here or contact circles@ussoccer.org for more information.
Additional notes:
- The list is packed with NWSL award winners, led by NWSL Defender of the Year Naomi Girma, who won for the second year in a row, as well as Nighswonger Rookie of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year Jane Campbell.
- Six NWSL Best XI first-team selections are on this list: Campbell, Girma, Shaw, midfielder Sam Coffey and forwards Lynn Williams and Sophia Smith. Smith also won the Golden Boot as the league’s top scorer, scoring 11 goals in 17 regular season appearances.
- Defenders Nighswonger, Emily Fox and MA Vignola, midfielder Savannah DeMelo and forwards Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman made up the NWSL Best XI second team.
- The United States’ two most recent matches against China were 1-0 and 2-1 victories in June 2018 in Sandy, Utah and Cleveland, Ohio, respectively.
- Campbell, who recorded a career-high eight shutouts for the Houston Dash, returns to the roster for the first time since November 2021, when he was in training camp in Australia but did not play in either of the team’s two games. journey. . His most recent international match was on October 26, 2021 against Korea Republic. He has four shutouts in his seven career appearances with the United States.
- Thirteen players called up for this camp were on the United States squad at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and five (Dahlkemper, Davidson, Horan, Lavelle and Sonnett) were on the squad of the 2019 Women’s World Cup champions.
- Twenty-three of the 26 players called up for this camp compete nationally in the NWSL with Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC, ENG) and Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), former Notre Dame star who signed directly with PSG after college, being the only players currently with clubs outside the US.
- Albert’s call-up adds four players to this training camp who played at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, along with Olivia Moultrie, Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompson.
- Moultrie, Shaw and Thompson were part of the team that won the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Under-15 Championship in Bradenton, Florida.
- The squad features three teenagers in Moultrie (18), Shaw (19) and Thompson (19) and a total of nine players who were born after the historic 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will celebrate its 25thth anniversary next year.
- Ten different NWSL clubs are represented on this list. NWSL champions NJ/NY Gotham FC, Washington Spirit, OL Reign, San Diego Wave and Portland Thorns FC each have three players.
- Jenna Nighswonger, the fourth pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft out of Florida State, appeared in 20 games for Gotham while playing over 1,500 minutes in her first professional season. She scored three goals, tied for second among all rookies. Nighswonger has played for the US Women’s Youth National Teams at the U-16, U-17, U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels. She helped the United States win the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, starting all six games, but the World Cup for that age group was canceled due to the global pandemic, so she never played in a Cup. Youth World Cup.
- Korbin Albert, the other one called up for the first time, has experience with the U-15, U-17 and U-20 Women’s Youth Teams. He has six international caps for the Under-20s and one goal. Two of those appearances came at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. Albert had two more seasons of eligibility remaining at Notre Dame when he signed with PSG in January 2023. Since then, he has played 17 games for the Parisian club with 10 starts during the second half of last season and the beginning of this season. . . Of those 17 matches, 12 have been in the league, three in the UEFA Champions League and two in the French Cup, including last year’s final in which PSG lost to Lindsey Horan’s Olympique Lyon 2-1.
- China struggled to score goals at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, losing to Denmark 1-0, beating Haiti 1-0 and then losing to England 6-1, to finish third in Group D and fail to advance. Wang Shuang of Racing Louisville FC scored both goals for China in Australia.
- China will miss the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after finishing third in Group B during the Second Round of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Despite hosting the group in Xiamen, China lost to North Korea 2-1, beat Thailand 3-0 and then drew 1-1 with South Korea, in a match they needed to win.
