USWNT training camp roster announced ahead of 2021 WNT Summer Series

CHICAGO – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has named 23 players for a training camp and games during the 2021 WNT Summer Series.

The USA’s three games of the Summer Series begin with a match against Portugal on June 10 at BBVA Stadium in Houston (broadcast on FS1 begins at 7 p.m. CT with kick-off at 7:30 p.m. CT / 8:30 p.m. ET), followed by a meeting with Jamaica on June 13 (9 p.m. CT / 10 p.m. ET on FS1), also at BBVA Stadium. The USA will then travel to Austin to face Nigeria on June 16 (8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2) at Q2 Stadium in what will be the first soccer match at the brand new, state-of-the-art venue.

The roster features 19 NWSL players and four from clubs in Europe. These matches will mark the final games before Andonovski and his staff choose the final Olympic Team roster for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Summer Games.

“These games and the few training sessions we’ll have are just more tests, more challenges and more learning opportunities, for the players and coaches,” said Andonovski. “The three matches will certainly be important in the selection of the Olympic Team, but we are also focused on the big picture and the overall body of work the players have put together over the past year or so for the National Team and their clubs. During these games we’ll also focus on preparing for the Olympic group matches, so we need to balance all of that, as well as manage the overall physical load on the players.”

The USA will also play two Olympic send-off matches in early July before leaving for Japan. At the Olympic Final Draw on April 21, the USA was drawn into Group G where it will face Sweden (July 21 in Tokyo), New Zealand (July 24 in Saitama) and Australia (July 27 in Kashima) during group play. The Summer Series schedule, with two rest days between games, will mimic the cadence of Olympic group play.

USWNT Training Camp Roster — 2021 WNT Summer Series

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (8): Alana Cook (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Abby Dahlkemper (Manchester City, ENG), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit), Margaret Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais, FRA), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)

FORWARDS (6): Carli Lloyd (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Manchester United, ENG), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage)

Forward Tobin Heath will also join camp as a training player as she continues her comeback from a knee injury. Midfielder Julie Ertz has been ruled out of the Summer Series due to an MCL injury suffered while playing with the Chicago Red Stars in the first game of the new NWSL season.

Once the teams arrive in Houston, and for the USA and Nigeria in Austin, all the players and staffs will operate inside highly controlled environments at the host hotels. The staging of trainings and the matches will fall under the comprehensive U.S. Soccer Return to Play Protocols and Guidelines and in accordance with the Concacaf Return to Play Protocols. Everyone entering the controlled environment will be tested for COVID-19 before traveling, upon arrival and periodically thereafter. The teams will not begin full team training until the results of all arrival tests are confirmed.

Additional Notes:

• Forward Carli Lloyd, who earned her historic 300^th cap on April 10 vs. Sweden in Stockholm, will be honored for the achievement prior to the USA’s June 16 match vs. Nigeria in Austin.
• Lloyd’s next goal will be the 125^th of her international career. She is currently six behind Kristine Lilly, who is in third place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list.
• Lloyd is by far the most experienced player on the roster with 301 caps. The next most experienced player — defender Becky Sauerbrunn – is 117 caps behind her with 184. The other players on the roster with over 100 caps are forwards Alex Morgan (175), Megan Rapinoe (175), Christen Press (144), and defenders Kelley O’Hara (136) and Crystal Dunn (111).
• Ten players on the roster have 36 or fewer caps.
• The average caps per player on this roster is 76.
• The average age of the roster is 28.
• Rapinoe leads the USA in scoring so far in 2021 with seven goals. Rapinoe’s all-time high in a calendar year for the USWNT is nine goals, achieved in 2019.
• Ten other players have scored for the USA this year, led by midfielder Samantha Mewis with three.
• Rapinoe’s next goal will be her 60^th and would make her just the 11^th player in USWNT history to score 60 or more goals in her career.
• Lloyd and Lindsey Horan are tied for the most assists so far this year with four each.
• The youngest player on the roster is 20-year-old forward Sophia Smith who was four years old when Lloyd made her USWNT debut. When Smith debuted against the Netherlands last November, she became the first player born in the aughts to earn a senior team cap.
• Mewis and midfielder Rose Lavelle come into camp after returning to the NWSL from Manchester City in England where they helped the club to a second-place finish in the Women’s Super League and an FA Cup title.
• Defender Alana Cook, who is playing in France with first-place Paris Saint-Germain, may come to camp as a Division 1 Feminine champion with the title-deciding clash against arch-rival Lyon set for May 30.
• Midfielder Catarina Macario will also join the U.S. team from France where she is on a roll with Lyon, having scored in five consecutive games before not tallying in Lyon’s 1-0 win vs. Bordeaux over the weekend.
• With both Kristie (30-years-old) and Samantha Mewis (28) named to the roster, the Mewis sisters will once again have the possibility to play together for the USA. They already hold the USWNT record for most games played together as sisters with four games. They most recently shared the field on April 10 against Sweden in Stockholm. With 22 and 72 caps respectively, they are approaching a combined 100 caps between the sisters. The record for sisters is 123 caps between Lorrie Fair (120) and Ronnie Fair (3).
• Of the USA’s five previous meetings with Nigeria, four came in the World Cup and one in the Olympics, all wins for the USA. In fact, the USA faced Nigeria in group play in three consecutive World Cups – 1999, 2003, 2007 – and also in 2015.
• The USA and Nigeria most recently met in group play at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a 1-0 victory on Abby Wambach’s final World Cup goal.
• The USA has played Portugal nine times, all wins, and most recently met on Sept. 3, 2019, on the Victory Tour after the Women’s World Cup, a 3-0 win in St. Paul, Minn. behind a Lloyd brace and a goal from Horan.
• On Nov. 8, 2018, against Portugal, the USWNT earned its historic 500^th victory in program history, winning 1-0 in Lisbon.
• The USA has played Jamaica just three times in its history, all in Concacaf qualifying matches, most recently a 6-0 win in qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Like with Nigeria, this will be the first friendly between the teams.