Jill Ellis names 24-player U.S. WNT roster for European tour

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named a 24-player roster for a two-game European tour that will see the USA travel to face Portugal in Lisbon on Nov. 8 (1 p.m. ET on ESPN2) and Scotland in Paisley on Nov. 13 (2 p.m. ET on FS1 & UDN).

Ellis and her staff will name 18 players to the gameday roster for each match. These will be the first friendly matches for the USA since it secured a berth to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Eighteen of the 24 players on the squad who helped the USA qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup at the recently completed 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship were named to this roster. Two additional players on the Europe-bound roster, goalkeeper Adrianna Franch and defender Merritt Mathias, both of whom have seen consistent time with the USA this year, trained with the team during the qualifying tournament.

+READ: USA roster announced for 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

In addition, a trio of midfielders are back in the fold. Danielle Colaprico gets her first call-up since October of 2016; Allie Long, who was last with the USA at the 2018 Tournament of Nations this past summer; and Andi Sullivan, whose most recent call-up came in April of this year for the two friendlies against Mexico. Forward Jessica McDonald, who had a stellar 10-goal season with NWSL champions North Carolina Courage and then scored once in the semifinal and twice in the championship game to help her club claim the title, gets her first call-up since the 2017 SheBelieves Cup. McDonald also led the NWSL in assists with eight.

Defender Emily Fox, a veteran of the USA’s last two FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Teams and one of the top outside backs in the college game, gets her first senior team call-up. The University of North Carolina sophomore earned 34 caps and scored four goals at the U-20 level.

“It’s been a year of working hard to take strides to improve, so I think finishing the year off with two solid performances would be a fitting end to 2018. The players, medical team, and technical staff worked very hard to ensure we peaked for World Cup qualifying and got the job done, so these two friendlies will be a chance to continue that work and end this period on a high note with a good feeling of what’s to come.”

• Ellis Q&A: U.S. WNT Brings 2018 to a Close in Europe

U.S. WNT Roster by Position – Portugal-Scotland Tour ’18 (Caps/Goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 18/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 37/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 28/0), Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 73/24), Emily Fox (UNC; 0/0), Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 147/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 27/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 24/0)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars; 0/0), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 71/18), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 61/7), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 18/6), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 39/6), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 40/8), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 10/0)

FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 142/25), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 263/105), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 1/0), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 151/97), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 106/46), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 41/12), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 144/41)

These will be the final games of a highly competitive 2018 schedule in which the USA has compiled a 16-0-2 record. The next victory for the U.S. Women’s National Team will mark an impressive milestone as it will be the 500th win in program history. Since its inception in 1985, the U.S. WNT has compiled a record of 499 wins, 65 losses and 74 ties.

Additional Notes:

• These will be the first away games for the U.S. Women this year and the first trip to Europe since the summer of 2017, when the USA earned 1-0 victories against Sweden and Norway.
• Between 1994 and 2015, the USA played 79 matches at 20 Algarve Cup tournaments, all held on the southern coast of Portugal, but this will be the USA’s first game in the capital of Lisbon. The match will be played at Estadio António Coimbra da Mota, the 8,000-seat home to Second Division club G.D. Estoril Praia. The venue is in Estoril, a suburb of Lisbon.
• The match against first-time World Cup qualifier Scotland on Nov. 13 will be staged at The Simple Digital Arena, the 8,000-seat home of Scottish Premier League side St. Mirren FC. The stadium is in Paisley, just outside of Glasgow. It will be the USA’s first friendly match in Scotland and in the United Kingdom outside of England. OF note, the USA did play two games at the famed Hampden Park in Glasgow during the 2012 Olympics.
• Alex Morgan is three goals away from scoring 100 times for her country. She would join six other American players to have achieved that distinction. She is currently behind Abby Wambach (184), Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (130), Michelle Akers (107), Carli Lloyd (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100).
• The USA is coming off a highly successful run at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship where the team went 5-0-0 and scored 26 goals while allowing zero. Ten players scored during the tournament: Morgan (7 goals), Tobin Heath (4), Lloyd (3), Megan Rapinoe (3), Rose Lavelle (3), Julie Ertz (2), Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan, Christen Press and Samantha Mewis.