Preliminary USWNT roster set for 2018 Tournament of Nations

CHICAGO (Via U.S Soccer) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named 25 players to the training camp roster for the 2018 Tournament of Nations.

The USA will gather on July 20 for several days of training before opening the tournament against Japan on July 26 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas (6 p.m. CT on FS1). Ellis will name a 23-player final roster prior to the start of the four-team tournament, which will also include games against Australia on July 29 in East Hartford, Conn. (7 p.m. ET on FS1) and against Brazil on Aug. 2 in Bridgeview, Ill. (7:30 p.m. CT on FS1). Japan, Australia and Brazil have all qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Five Things About the 2018 ToN, Presented by Thorne

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position; Caps/Goals

GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 16/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 29/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 19/0), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 8/0), Jaelene Hinkle (NC Courage; 8/0), Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 139/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 21/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 17/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 75/6), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 61/15), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 51/5), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 8/2), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 254/100), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 36/7), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 39/6), McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 2/0)

FORWARDS (7): Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 64/23), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 133/19), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 142/86), Kealia Ohai (Houston Dash; 3/1), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 100/44), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 137/37), Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC; 131/30)

USA Once Again Welcomes World’s Top Teams

The 2018 SheBelieves Cup that U.S. Soccer hosted last March featured the teams currently ranked 1-4 in the world. The 2018 Tournament of Nations will feature the top-ranked USA, Japan (#6), Brazil (#7) and Australia (#8) and many of the world’s top players on display over six games. This is the second time U.S. Soccer has staged the Tournament of Nations, which is planned to be held every summer that does not feature a World Cup or Olympic Games, meaning the competition will return in 2021. Australia won last year’s tournament, while the USA finished second, Japan third and Brazil was fourth.

Said Ellis

“This is again an opportunity to host and play against some of the world’s best teams. We will see different styles and scenarios, which for sure will benefit us down the line, but ultimately our players love to compete and they are driven to win medals. Outside of our injured players, the core of our team has been together since January and even with just a few days of prep, this group will be excited and ready to get back on the field together against Japan.”

World Cup Qualifying on the Horizon

The USA has five matches remaining before kicking off the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship that will be held from October 4-17, a tournament that will determine this region’s three representatives at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Two of those games will come against Chile in California (Aug. 31 in Carson and Sept. 4 in San Jose) after the U.S. tackles a three-match set at the Tournament of Nations. The USA’s 25-player roster for ToN reflects a narrowing of the pool in preparation for World Cup qualifying. The roster features 22 players who have played for the USA this year. The other three are uncapped goalkeeper, Adrianna Franch, forward Kealia Ohai, who last played for the USA in November of 2016, and defender Jaelene Hinkle, who last played for the USA in February of 2016. All have had quality NWSL seasons for their clubs so far. The roster also marks the return of defenders Casey Short and Emily Sonnett from injury. Short last appeared for the USA in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, while Sonnett missed the most recent friendlies in June against China PR.

2018 TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS SCHEDULE

Did You Know…

• For the first time in a long while, the U.S. roster features all domestic-based players, with 24 playing in the NWSL along with rising Stanford junior Tierna Davidson. All nine NWSL teams are represented.
• Davidson is once again the youngest player on the roster. She does not turn 20 until September.
• The three goalkeepers in camp are all starters for NWSL clubs currently in the playoff hunt. Alyssa Naeher of the Chicago Red Stars leads the way with 29 caps, six earned this year, followed by Ashlyn Harris of the Orlando Pride with 16 caps, two earned this year. Adrianna Franch, who recently returned from injury and has been outstanding in goal for Portland Thorns FC, has seen extensive training time with the U.S. team but has yet to earn a cap. This is Franch’s first call-up since January of this year, after which she was injured early in the NWSL season. Naeher is the only player on the roster who hails from Connecticut.
• North Carolina Courage defender Merritt Mathias earned her first cap when she played against China on June 12 in Cleveland, becoming the 25th player to earn a first cap under Jill Ellis.
• Christen Press earns her first call-up since returning to the NWSL to play for Utah Royals FC after a brief stint in Sweden. Press earned her 100th cap on June 12 vs. China PR and will be honored for the achievement later this year.
• Lindsey Horan is tied (with Australia’s Sam Kerr) for the NWSL lead in goals with nine. Crystal Dunn and Megan Rapinoe are tied (with Christine Sinclair) for fourth in the NWSL with seven goals each.
• Rapinoe and Kerr are tied for second in NWSL in shots with 58 each. Dunn is in fifth place with 44.
• Dunn is tied (with Japan’s Yuki Nagasato and Sinclair) for the league lead in assists with five each, Rapinoe and Jaelene Hinkle are tied for fourth with five other players.
• Allie Long scored her first two international goals in East Hartford, Conn, tallying twice against Colombia in April of 2016.
• Casey Short hails from Naperville, Ill., outside of Chicago.
• As has been the case for the past two years, the roster features a good mix of veterans and younger players. Eleven players on the roster have 51 or more caps and 13 players have 36 or less.
• Australia and Japan qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup by finishing first and second, respectively, in Group B at the 2018 AFC Asian Cup in Jordan. The two countries tied 1-1 in group play, and both won their semifinal matches: Australia over Thailand in penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie in regulation and Japan over China, 3-1, setting up a rematch in the championship game. Japan came out victorious, 1-0, on an 84th minute strike from Kumi Yokoyama.
• Brazil qualified for the Women’s World Cup by finishing in first place in the final stage of the 2018 Copa América Femenina in Chile. Brazil won all four of its opening-round games by a 22-1 margin to advance to the four-team final stage, where it beat Chile (3-1), Argentina (3-0) and Colombia (3-0). In front of huge home crowds, Chile finished second in the final stage group to also qualify for France, while Argentina finished third and will face the fourth-place finisher from the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in a two-game playoff for a final World Cup berth.