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2023 Women’s World Cup rosters in Australia, New Zealand
- ESPN
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will soon kick off in Australia and New Zealand, and all 32 teams are finalizing their rosters for the tournament.
Each team must submit a final 23-woman roster to FIFA by July 10, with the games starting on July 20 and culminating with the Aug. 18 final in Sydney.
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Some teams have announced a larger, provisional squad ahead of the deadline, while some teams, such as England, have already submitted a final list.
The defending champions United States will submit on June 26, which is when coach Vlatko Andonovski will gather the USWNT players for a pre-World Cup camp.
Here you can find the squads for every country as each is announced, and the dates of their group stage games.
Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
Group B: Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada
Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan
Group D: China, Denmark, England, Haiti
Group E: Netherlands, Portugal, United States, Vietnam
Group F: Brazil, France, Jamaica, Panama
Group G: Argentina, Italy, South Africa, Sweden
Group H: Colombia, Germany, Morocco, South Korea
GROUP A
NEW ZEALAND
Matches: Norway (July 20), Philippines (July 24), Switzerland (July 30)
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Final roster yet to be announced.
NORWAY
Matches: New Zealand (July 20), Switzerland (July 25), Norway (July 30)
Goalkeepers: Cecilie Fiskerstrand (LSK Kvinner), Guro Pettersen(Vålerenga), Aurora Mikalsen (Brann)
Defenders: Anja Sonstevold (Inter Milan), Tuva Hansen (Bayern Munich), Guro Bergsvand (Brighton), Maren Mjelde (Chelsea), Thea Bjelde (Vålerenga), Mathilde Harviken (Rosenborg), Sara Horte (Rosenborg), Marit Bratberg Lund(Brann)
Midfielders: Ingrid Syrstad Engen (FC Barcelona), Vilde Boe Risa(Manchester United), Guro Reiten (Chelsea), Frida Maanum (Arsenal), Amalie Eikeland (Reading), Julie Blakstad (Manchester City), Emilie Haavi (Roma)
Forwards: Ada Hegerberg (Lyon), Sophie Roman Haug (Roma), Karina Sævik(Vålerenga), Anna Josendal (Rosenborg)
PHILIPPINES
Matches: Switzerland (July 20), New Zealand (July 24), Norway (July 30)
Provisional squad released; final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Kiara Fontanilla (Central Coast Mariners), Kaiya Jota (LA Breakers), Olivia McDaniel, Inna Palacios (Kaya-Iloilo)
Defenders: Maya Alcantara (Georgetown University), Alicia Barker (Pacific Northwest), Angela Beard (Western United), Reina Bonta (Santos), Jessika Cowart (IFK Kalmar), Malea Cesar (Blacktown City), Sofia Harrison, Hali Long(Kaya-Iloilo), Dominique Randle (Þór/KA)
Midfielders: Tahnai Annis (Þór/KA), Ryley Bugay, Anicka Castañeda (Mt Druitt Town Rangers), Sara Eggesvik (Norway KIL/Hemne), Kaya Hawkinson(Cal State), Eva Madarang (Blacktown Spartans), Jessica Miclat (Eskilstuna United DFF), Isabella Pasion (Lebanon Trail High School), Quinley Quezada(Red Star Belgrade), Jaclyn Sawicki (Western United)
Forwards: Sarina Bolden (Western Sydney), Isabella Flanigan (West Virginia University), Carleigh Frilles (Coastal Carolina University), Katrina Guillou(Piteå IF), Chandler McDaniel, Meryll Serrano (Stabæk)
SWITZERLAND
Matches: Philippines (July 20), Norway (July 25), New Zealand (July 30)
Final roster yet to be announced.
GROUP B
AUSTRALIA
Matches: Republic of Ireland (July 20), Nigeria (July 27), Canada (July 31)
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Provisional roster announced June 18; final roster to be announced on July 3.
Goalkeepers: Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham United FC), Teagan Micah (FC Rosengård), Jada Whyman (Sydney FC), Lydia Williams (Brighton & Hove Albion FC).
Defenders: Ellie Carpenter (Lyon), Steph Catley (Arsenal FC), Charlotte Grant(Vittsjö GIK), Clare Hunt (Western Sydney Wanderers FC), Alanna Kennedy(Manchester City), Aivi Luik (BK Häcken), Courtney Nevin (Leicester City), Clare Polkinghorne (Vittsjö GIK).
Midfielders: Alex Chidiac (Racing Louisville FC), Kyra Cooney-Cross(Hammarby IF), Katrina Gorry (Vittsjö GIK), Chloe Logarzo (Western United), Amy Sayer (Stanford University), Emily van Egmond (San Diego Wave FC), Clare Wheeler (Everton), Tameka Yallop (SK Brann).
Forwards: Larissa Crummer (SK Brann), Caitlin Foord (Arsenal FC), Mary Fowler (Manchester City FC), Emily Gielnik (unattached), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Hayley Raso (unattached), Remy Siemsen (Leicester City FC), Kyah Simon(unattached), Cortnee Vine (Sydney FC).
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Matches: Australia (July 20), Canada (July 26), Nigeria (July 31)
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Reading), Megan Walsh (Brighton & Hove Albion), Sophie Whitehouse (Lewes)
Defenders: Harriet Scott (Birmingham City), Aine O’Gorman (Shamrock Rovers), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Diane Caldwell (Reading), Hayley Nolan (London City Lionesses), Claire O’Riordan(Celtic), Megan Campbell (Liverpool), Chloe Mustaki (Bristol City), Tara O’Hanlon (Peamount United)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ruesha Littlejohn (Aston Villa), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Ciara Grant (Hearts), Lily Agg (London City Lionesses), Sinead Farrelly (NY/NJ Gotham), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Erin McLaughlin (Peamount United)
Forwards: Heather Payne (Florida State University), Leanne Kiernan(Liverpool), Abbie Larkin (Shamrock Rovers), Kyra Carusa (London City Lionesses), Amber Barrett (Potsdam Turbine), Marissa Sheva (Washington Spirit), Saoirse Noonan (Durham WFC)
NIGERIA
Matches: Canada (July 20), Australia (July 27), Republic of Ireland (July 31)
Final roster yet to be announced.
CANADA
Matches: Nigeria (July 20), Republic of Ireland (July 26), Australia (July 31)
Provisional roster, final squad yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Sabrina D’Angelo (Arsenal), Lysianne Proulx (SCU Torreense), Kailen Sheridan (San Diego Wave).
Defenders: Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea), Allysha Chapman (Houston Dash), Vanessa Gilles (Lyon), Ashley Lawrence (Paris Saint-Germain), Jayde Riviere(Manchester United), Jade Rose (Harvard University), and Shelina Zadorsky(Tottenham).
Midfielders: Marie-Yasmine Alidou (Famalicao), Simi Awujo (University of Southern California), Jessie Fleming (Chelsea), Julia Grosso (Juventus), Quinn(OL Reign), Sophie Schmidt (Houston Dash), and Desiree Scott (Kansas City Current).
Forwards: Jordyn Huitema (OL Reign), Cloe Lacasse (Benfica), Clarissa Larisey (BK Hacken), Adriana Leon (Portland Thorns), Nichelle Prince(Houston Dash), Deanne Rose (Reading), Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns), Evelyne Viens (Kristianstads)
GROUP C
SPAIN
Matches: Costa Rica (July 21), Zambia (July 26), Japan (July 31)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Cata Coll (Barcelona), Elene Lete (Real Sociedad), Misa Rodriguez (Real Madrid), Enith Salon (Valencia).
Defenders: Ivana Andres (Real Madrid), Ona Batlle (Manchester United), Olga Carmona (Real Madrid), Laia Codina (Barcelona), Jana Fernandez(Barcelona), Rocio Galvez (Real Madrid), Sheila Garcia (Atletico Madrid), Oihane Hernandez (Athletic Club), Irene Paredes (Barcelona).
Midfielders: Teresa Abelleira (Real Madrid), Fiamma Benitez (Valencia), Aitana Bonmati (Barceona), Irene Guerrero (Levante), Jennifer Hermoso(Pachuca), Maite Oroz (Real Madrid), Maraa Perez (Barcelona), Alexia Putellas(Barcelona), Claudia Zornoza (Real Madrid).
Forwards: Mariona Caldentey (Barcelona), Marta Cardona (Atletico Madrid), Athenea del Castillo (Real Madrid), Inma Gabarro (Sevilla), Esther Gonzalez(Real Madrid), Eva Navarro (Atletico Madrid), Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona), Alba Redondo (Levante)
COSTA RICA
Matches: Spain (July 21), Japan (July 25), Costa Rica (July 31)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Priscila Tapia (Saprissa FF), Daniela Solera (Sporting FC), Noelia Bermudez (Alajuelense), Genesis Perez (University of Central Florida)
Defenders: Mariana Benavides (Saprissa FF), Maria Paula Elizondo (Saprissa FF), Daniela Cruz (Atlas), Lixy Rodriguez (Libre), Valeria del Campo(Monterrey), Maria Paula Porras (Sporting FC), Yesmi Rodriguez (Sporting FC), Fabiola Villalobos (Alajuelense), Maria Paula Coto (Alajuelense), Gabriela Guillen (Alajuelense)
Midfielders: Katherine Alvarado (Saprissa FF), Mariela Campos (Saprissa FF), Gloriana Villalobos (Saprissa FF), Emilie Valenciano (Libre), Melissa Herrera (Bordeaux), Cristin Granados (Sporting FC), Yerling Ovares (Sporting FC), Emily Flores (Sporting FC), Alexandra Pinell (Alajuelense), Raquel Rodriguez (Portland Thorns)
Forwards: Catalina Estrada (Saprissa FF), Priscila Chinchilla (Libre), Carolina Venegas (Libre), Sofia Varela (Libre), Maria Paula Salas (Monterrey)
ZAMBIA
Matches: Japan (July 22), Spain (July 26), Costa Rica (July 31)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Catherine Musonda (Tomiris Turan), Eunice Sakala (Nkwazi), Hazel Nali (Fatih Vatan), Chitete Munsaka (Elite Ladies), Letisha Lungu (ZESCO Ndola Girls)
Defenders: Esther Banda (BUSA), Margaret Belemu (Shanghai Shengli), Mary Mulenga (Red Arrows), Agness Musase (Green Buffaloes), Lushomo Mweemba(Green Buffaloes), Jackline Nkole (Indeni Roses), Vast Phiri (ZESCO), Esther Siamfuko (Green Buffaloes), Judith Soko (YASA), Martha Tembo (BIIK Shymkent), Pauline Zulu (Elite Ladies)
Midfielders: Susan Banda (Red Arrows), Hellen Chanda (BIIK Shymkent), Rhoda Chileshe (Indeni Roses), Prisca Chilufya (Fatih Karagumruk), Avell Chitundu (ZESCO Ndola Girls), Evarine Katongo (ZISD), Ireen Lungu (BIIK Shymkent), Comfort Selemani (Elite Ladies), Mary Wilombe (Red Arrows), Misozi Zulu (Hakkarigucu)
Forwards: Barbra Banda (Shanghai Shengli), Grace Chanda (Madrid CFF), Regina Chanda (ZANACO), Racheal Kundananji (Madrid CFF), Ochumba Oseke Lubanji (Red Arrows), Xiomara Mapepa (Elite Ladies), Hellen Mubanga(Zaragoza), Maylan Mulenga (Green Buffaloes), Racheal Nachula (Zaragoza)
JAPAN
Matches: Zambia (July 22), Costa Rica (July 25), Spain (July 31)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Ayaka Yamashita (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Momoko Tanaka(Tokyo Verdy Beleza), Chika Hirao (Albirex Niigata)
Defenders: Risa Shimizu (West Ham), Moeka Minami (Roma), Saki Kumagai(Roma), Shiori Miyake (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Kiko Seike (Urawa Reds), Miyabi Moriya (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Rion Ishikawa (Urawa Reds), Hana Takahashi (Urawa Reds)
Midfielders: Fuka Nagano (Liverpool), Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai), Hikaru Naomoto (Urawa Reds), Jun Endo (Angel City), Yui Hasegawa(Manchester City), Hina Sugita (Portland Thorns), Honoka Hayashi (West Ham), Aoba Fujino (Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
Forwards: Riko Ueki (Tokyo Verdy Beleza), Mina Tanaka (INAC Kobe Leonessa), Maika Hamano (Hammarby), Remina Chiba (JEF United)
GROUP D
CHINA
Matches: Haiti (July 22), Denmark (July 28), England (Aug. 1)
Final roster yet to be announced.
DENMARK
Matches: China (July 22), England (July 28), Haiti (Aug. 1)
Final roster yet to be announced.
ENGLAND
Matches: Haiti (July 22), Denmark (July 28), China (Aug. 1)
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Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Aston Villa), Ellie Roebuck (Manchester City)
Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Laura Coombs (Manchester City), Jordan Nobbs (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona) Katie Zelem (Manchester United)
Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Bethany England (Tottenham Hotspur), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly(Manchester City), Alessia Russo (Manchester United), Katie Robinson(Brighton & Hove Albion).
Standby: Emily Ramsey (Everton), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United) and Jessica Park (Everton)
HAITI
Matches: England (July 22), China (July 28), Denmark (Aug. 1)
Final roster yet to be announced.
GROUP E
NETHERLANDS
Matches: Portugal (July 23), United States (July 26), Vietnam (Aug. 1)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Daphne van Domselaar (FC Twente), Lize Kop (Ajax), Barbara Lorsheyd (ADO Den Haag), Jacintha Weimar (Feyenoord)
Defenders: Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City), Caitlin Dijkstra (Twente), Merel van Dongen (Atletico Madrid), Kika van Es (PSV), Stefanie van der Gragt(Inter Milan), Dominique Janssen (Wolfsburg), Aniek Nouwen (AC Milan), Lynn Wilms (Wolfsburg)
Midfielders: Jill Baijings (Bayer Leverkusen), Danielle van de Donk (Lyon), Damaris Egurrola (Lyon), Jackie Groenen (PSG), Wieke Kaptein (FC Twente) Victoria Pelova (Arsenal), Jill Roord (Wolfsburg), Sherida Spitse (Ajax)
Forwards: Lineth Beerensteyn (Juventus), Esmee Brugts (PSV), Tiny Hoekstra (Ajax), Renate Jansen (FC Twente), Fenna Kalma (FC Twente), Romee Leuchter (Ajax), Lieke Martens (PSG), Shanice van de Sanden(Liverpool), Katja Snoeijs (Everton), Alieke Tuin (Fortuna)
PORTUGAL
Matches: Netherlands (July 23), Portugal (27), United States (Aug. 1)
Goalkeepers: Rute Costa (Benfica), Ines Pereira (Servette), Patricia Morais(Braga)
Defenders: Ana Seica (Benfica), Carole Costa (Benfica), Catarina Amado(Benfica), Diana Gomes (Sevilla), Joana Marchao (Parma), Lucia Alves (Benfica), Silvia Rebelo (Benfica)
Midfielders: Ana Rute (Braga), Andreia Norton (Benfica), Andreia Jacinto(Real Sociedad), Dolores Silva (Braga), Fatima Pinto (Deportivo Alaves), Kika Nazareth (Benfica), Tatiana Pinto (Levante)
Forwards: Ana Borges (Sporting CP), Ana Capeta (Sporting CP), Carolina Mendes (Braga), Diana Silva (Sporting CP), Jessica Silva (Benfica), Telma Encarnacao (CS Maritimo)
UNITED STATES
Matches: Vietnam (July 21), Netherlands (July 26), Portugal (Aug. 1)
Final roster yet to be announced.
VIETNAM
Matches: New Zealand (July 9), United States (July 21), Portugal (July 27)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Tran Thi Kim Thanh (Ho Chi Minh), Khong Thi Hang (Than KSVN), Doan Thi Ngoc Phuong (Ho Chi Minh), Dao Thi Kieu Oanh (Hanoi)
Defenders: Ha Thi Ngoc Uyen (Ha Nam), Chuong Thi Kieu (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thi Thu (Ho Chi Minh), Hoang Thi Loan (Hanoi), Tran Thi Hai Linh(Hanoi), Le Thi Diem My (Than KSVN), Luong Thi Thu Thuong (Than KSVN), Nguyen Thi My Anh (Thai Nguyen), Tran Thi Thuy Nga (Thai Nguyen).
Midfielders: Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung (Ha Nam), Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Thi Thuy Trang (Ho Chi Minh), Tran Nguyen Bao Chau (Ho Chi Minh), Ngan Thi Van Su (Hanoi), Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha (Hanoi), Thai Thi Thao (Hanoi), Duong Thi Van (Than KSVN), Nguyen Thi Truc Huong (Than KSVN).
Forwards: Nguyen Thi Tuyet Ngan (Ho Chi Minh), Pham Hai Yen (Hanoi), Vu Thi Hoa (Ho Chi Minh), Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang (Than KSVN), Huynh Nhu(Lank Vilaverdense)
GROUP F
BRAZIL
Matches: Panama (July 24), France (July 29), Jamaica (Aug. 2)
Final roster yet to be announced.
FRANCE
Matches: Jamaica (July 23), Brazil (July 29), Panama (Aug. 2)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Mylene Chavas (Bordeaux), Solene Durand (Guingamp), Pauline Peyraud-Magnin (Juventus), Constance Picaud (PSG)
Defenders: Selma Bacha (Lyon), Estelle Cascarino (Manchester United), Elisa De Almeida (PSG), Sakina Karchaoui (PSG), Maelle Lakrar (Montpellier), Eve Perisset (Chelsea), Wendie Renard (Lyon), Aissatou Tounkara (Manchester United)
Midfielders: Kenza Dali (Aston Villa), Laurina Fazer (PSG), Grace Geyoro(PSG), Amandine Henry (Angel City), Oriane Jean-Francois (PSG), Lea Le Garrec (FC Fleury), Amel Majri (Lyon), Sandie Toletti (Real Madrid).
Forwards: Viviane Asseyi (West Ham), Vicki Becho (Lyon), Kadidiatou Diani(PSG), Naomie Feller (Real Madrid), Eugenie Le Sommer (Lyon), Clara Mateo(Paris FC)
JAMAICA
Matches: France (July 23), Panama (July 29), Brazil (Aug. 2)
Final roster yet to be announced.
PANAMA
Matches: Brazil (July 24), Panama (July 29), Panama (Aug. 2)
Final roster yet to be announced.
GROUP G
ARGENTINA
Matches: Italy (July 23), South Africa (July 27), Sweden (Aug. 2)
Final roster yet to be announced.
ITALY
Matches: Argentina (July 23), Sweden (July 29), South Africa (Aug. 2)
Final roster yet to be announced.
SOUTH AFRICA
Matches: Sweden (July 22), Argentina (July 27), Italy (Aug. 2)
Provisional squad, final roster yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Andile Dlamini (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Kaylin Swart (JVW FC), Regirl Ngobeni (UWC), Kebotseng Moletsane (Royal AM), Asa Rabalao(University of Pretoria).
Defenders: Asande Hadebe (Sunflower WFC), Karabo Dhlamini (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Fikile Magama (UWC), Cimone Sauls (JVW FC), Lebohang Ramalepe (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Tiisetso Makhubela (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Lonathemba Mhlongo (UWC), Noko Matlou (SD Eibar), Bambanani Mbane (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Bongeka Gamede (UWC).
Midfielders: Thubelihle Shamase (UJ FC), Kholosa Biyana (UWC), Thalea Smidt (University of Pretoria), Refiloe Jane (Sassoulo FC), Sibulele Holweni(UWC), Nomvula Kgoale (TS Galaxy), Linda Motlhalo (Glasgow City), Robyn Moodaly (JVC FC), Amogelang Motau (UWC).
Forwards: Nicole Michael (TS Galaxy), Gabriela Salgado (JVW FC), Sphumelele Shamase (UJ FC), Jermaine Seoposenwe (FC Juarez), Noxolo Cesane (Tigres Femenil), Melinda Kgadiete (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Nthabiseng Majiya (Richmond Ladies), Lelona Daweti (Mamelodi Sundowns FC), Wendy Shongwe (University of Pretoria), Ntombifikile Ndlovu (UWC), Hildah Magaia (Sejong Sportstoto), Thembi Kgatlana (Racing Louisville)
SWEDEN
Matches: South Africa (July 22), Italy (July 29), Argentina (Aug. 2)
Goalkeepers: Jennifer Falk (BK Hacken), Zecira Musovic (Chelsea), Tove Enblom (KIF Orebro)
Defenders: Linda Sembrant (Juventus), Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea), Jonna Anderson (Hammarby IF), Amanda Ilestedt (PSG), Nathalie Björn (Everton), Hanna Lundkvist (Atletico Madrid), Anna Sandberg (BK Hacken)
Midfielders: Caroline Seger (Rosengard), Kosovare Asllani (AC Milan), Olivia Schough (Rosengard), Elin Rubensson (BK Hacken), Filippa Angeldahl(Manchester City), Hanna Bennison (Everton), Johanna Rytting Kaneryd(Chelsea).
Forwards: Sofia Jakobsson (San Diego Wave), Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal), Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona), Lina Hurtig (Arsenal), Madelen Janogy(Hammarby IF), Rebecka Blomqvist (VfL Wolfsburg)
GROUP H
COLOMBIA
Matches: South Korea (July 24), Germany (July 30), Morocco (Aug. 3)
Final roster yet to be announced.
GERMANY
Matches: Morocco (July 24), Colombia (July 30), South Korea (Aug. 3)
Provisional roster, final squad yet to be announced.
Goalkeepers: Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea), Merle Frohms (VFL Wolfsburg), Stina Johannes (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ena Mahmutovic (Duisburg)
Defenders: Sara Doorsoun (Eintracht Frankfurt), Marina Hegering (VfL Wolfsburg), Kathrin Hendrich (VfL Wolfsburg), Sophia Kleinherne (Eintracht Frankfurt), Sarai Linder (1899 Hoffenheim), Sjoeke Nusken (Eintracht Frankfurt), Felicitas Rauch (VfL Wolfsburg), Carolin Simon (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: Sara Dabritz (Lyon), Chantal Hagel (1899 Hoffenheim), Svenja Huth (VfL Wolfsburg), Paulina Krumbiegel (1899 Hoffenheim), Lena Lattwein(VfL Wolfsburg), Melanie Leupolz (Chelsea), Lina Magull (Bayern Munich), Lena Oberdorf (VfL Wolfsburg)
Forwards: Alexandra Popp (VfL Wolfsburg), Nicole Anyomi(Eintracht Frankfurt), Jule Brand(VfL Wolfsburg), Klara Buhl(Bayern Munich), Laura Freigang(Eintracht Frankfurt), Lea Schuller(Bayern Munich), Tabea Waßmuth(VfL Wolfsburg), Sydney Lohmann(Bayern Munich)
MOROCCO
Matches: Germany (July 24), South Korea (July 29), Morocco (Aug. 3)
Final roster yet to be announced.
SOUTH KOREA
Matches: Colombia (July 24), Morocco (July 29), Germany (Aug. 3)
Final roster yet to be announced.
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Why losing Sauerbrunn will hurt the USWNT’s World Cup quest
- Jeff Kassouf
Jun 20, 2023, 10:58 AM ET
There are captains, and then there is Becky Sauerbrunn.
The U.S. women’s national team defender is, as several teammates have described her over the past couple of years, the team’s “moral compass.” She is the liaison between head coach Vlatko Andonovski and a team of young players who mostly were not around for the past two World Cup triumphs, each of which featured Sauerbrunn anchoring the back line.
Becky Sauerbrunn is irreplaceable for the USWNT as a leader on and off the field. And yet, Sauerbrunn will not be at the 2023 World Cup, confirming Friday that she will miss out on a fourth World Cup and a shot at a third title due to injury.
It’s worth noting this wasn’t a new injury. Sauerbrunn missed all of May with a foot injury, returning to action for her club, Portland Thorns FC, for 24 minutes off the bench on June 3 in a victory over rival OL Reign. That brief appearance caused a significant setback, sources tell ESPN — significant enough that even the month remaining before the U.S. opens its campaign, it was deemed insufficient for her to heal.
“Heartbroken isn’t even the half of it,” Sauerbrunn said in a statement posted to her social media accounts late Friday.
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On the field, Sauerbrunn leaves a void in a position lacking both depth and experience.
For the past year, Andonovski had settled on a rotation of three primary center backs: Sauerbrunn, Alana Cook and Naomi Girma. Cook and Girma are promising young talents, but between them they have just 39 international caps. Sauerbrunn has 216 caps. She was the only carryover on the back line from the USWNT’s 2015 World Cup win to the 2019 repeat win. Her performance in 2015, when the U.S. tied a World Cup record for consecutive shutout minutes, cemented her as one of the world’s best defenders.
Despite that abundant talent, the bigger loss for the U.S. at the World Cup will be Sauerbrunn’s leadership. She is the constant veteran presence on a team that is more inexperienced than it has been in decades as it works through a generational transition. Sauerbrunn’s analytical mind is an asset on and off the field, both to teammates and technical staff.
“Becky is someone that I bounce lots of ideas off, lots of things,” Andonovski told ESPN earlier this month, just before Sauerbrunn’s injury setback. “If I have a question or if I’m not sure about something, I bounce it off of Becky. Even simple questions.
“Literally, right now, I called her yesterday afternoon and I said, ‘Hey Becky, tell me what you hear when I say this.’ It’s a great understanding of — she feels safe telling me what she feels knowing that there won’t be any repercussion no matter what. She’s not afraid of telling me things that I sometimes don’t want to hear.”
Andonovski and Sauerbrunn go back a decade, to a time before either of them had really grown to fame. The arcs of their careers are inherently intertwined, with Sauerbrunn rising from a U.S. reserve player to irreplaceable starter, and Andonovski going from being a self-proclaimed “nobody” to having one of the biggest coaching jobs in the sport.
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The coach and player crossed paths somewhat by chance in 2013 at the start of the National Women’s Soccer League. Sauerbrunn was allocated to FC Kansas City, a team that had little information around it and whose ownership lacked any background in the women’s game. Andonovski had played for the indoor soccer team of shared ownership while taking up coaching. He marched into his FC Kansas City interview over-prepared, with binders of research he had poured over, and got the job.
Six years later, he did the same thing with U.S. Soccer, this time as a coach with two NWSL championships under his belt — with Sauerbrunn as his captain for each — and as a coach now known to have an eye for development. He had prominently called his shots, too, like when he said Sauerbrunn would become one of the best defenders in the world.
Andonovski initially waited to name a captain when he took the USWNT coaching job in late 2019 after coach Jill Ellis stepped down. He wanted to observe the team in its element first and then decide, putting aside any biases since he’d coached so many players in the NWSL. Still, he arrived in a familiar place: with Sauerbrunn as captain.
“Vlatko knows what I’m about, I know what he’s all about, so I think it does afford us a bit more open communication,” Sauerbrunn told ESPN in an interview earlier this year. “When one of us is — not stepping out of bounds, but if I feel like he could be doing this and it would be perceived in a way that he doesn’t see it being perceived as, I can say that to him and I think he will trust me. Even though he doesn’t initially see it, I think he’ll trust that I’m hearing it this way so a lot of other people would be hearing it that way.
“I think that has helped us troubleshoot some issues through the years. And he’s done that for me as well. I think he can look at me and be like, ‘What’s wrong?’ And I’m like, ‘OK, I can tell you what’s wrong.'”
Bridging the USWNT’s generations
Humility is Sauerbrunn’s defining characteristic, and part of why she is so universally admired. Sauerbrunn was not pegged for greatness at an early age. She has said through the years that she wasn’t sure if she was good enough for the international stage. When she made the 2011 Women’s World Cup roster, her surge through the USWNT ranks had seemingly come out of nowhere. Fifteen years after her debut, however, Sauerbrunn’s name is now among the best.
“Not at all something I would have envisioned,” Sauerbrunn told ESPN earlier this year. “I feel like I barely scraped by making that 2011 roster. Then to make it three more after that, and to have won two of them — hopefully a third — I never expected one cap with the national team, let alone potentially going to a fourth World Cup. So, this has all been a very pleasant surprise.”
One of the recent goals of Sauerbrunn, who was previously a U.S. co-captain in 2016 and 2017 under Ellis, has been to create a more welcoming atmosphere for young players. Many joined the team for the first time over the past two years. After the 2021 Olympics, where the U.S. scraped by to salvage a bronze medal, Andonovski implemented mass changes with an eye toward the 2023 World Cup. A generational transition was afoot, and an influx of young, hopeful talent was about to get an extended tryout.
The constant among the veterans was Sauerbrunn. Other younger regulars with World Cup experience, like Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle, stayed with the team, but Sauerbrunn was initially the last standing of the old guard. Forwards Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe spent time away and eventually earned their recalls in 2022, but Sauerbrunn held the task of introducing an entire new group of players to the team’s culture.
USWNT training camp is a notoriously difficult place, one where the 1% of 1% constantly fight to earn or keep a place. Distinguishing the difference between a starter and someone dropped from a roster can be difficult for the untrained eye. In the past, when U.S. Soccer contracts were the primary forms of income for players, there were major financial implications, raising the stakes.
“When I first got onto the team, I would say that it could be really lonely,” Sauerbrunn said, noting that she heard the same from other newcomers in recent years. Things have changed lately — she hopes, at least.
“This environment, through the years, has gotten progressively more difficult just for the team that we’re on and the stage that we’re on and the eyes that are on this team, the competition that is in play,” Sauerbrunn said. “So, it’s already extremely stressful, so what we tried to do was make a conscious effort to not add stress by making it, you come in and no one’s really greeting you or no one’s explaining things or giving you pointers. So, we’ve made a really conscious effort to be more welcoming. You’re either going to make it or you’re not, and a lot of it has to do with that stress and how you deal with it.”
There have been major setbacks along the way to this World Cup.
Most obvious is the long list of injuries that now includes Sauerbrunn. Catarina Macario, the team’s generational attacking player capable of dominating in the No. 9 or No. 10 role, tore her ACL last spring and won’t play at the World Cup. Mallory Swanson, the dynamic, goal-scoring winger, tore her patella tendon in April. Midfielder Sam Mewis had a lingering knee problem that turned into a long-term injury.
Then there were the red flags from matches late in 2022. Consecutive defeats to England, Spain and Germany brought the first three-game skid for the USWNT in 20 years. The midfield, an area of dominance for the team at the 2019 World Cup, struggled throughout the past year.
Now comes the World Cup spotlight, a more intense one than many players have ever witnessed. Although Sauerbrunn won’t be with the players, she has laid the groundwork for the culture that could make the USWNT’s World Cup.
“It is still ongoing,” Sauerbrunn says about young players adapting to the national team. “Vlatko has a very different style that is probably different from how they’ve been coached, whether [in college], high school. In some ways, Vlatko can be very blunt, and for some players, that’s just not a coaching style that they’ve had before. I think getting over that initial ‘woah,’ where your head goes back a little bit and just knowing that he’s only telling you things because he wants to make you better — the more he talks to you, the better it is — I think that’s kind of a mindset shift that some players needed to realize.”
Andonovski said Sauerbrunn does not just talk the talk, but she walks the walk. This is true away from the pitch, too.
In 2020, Sauerbrunn became the first president of the USWNT Players Association. She was one of five high-profile players to file a formal equal-pay complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016, a motion that formally began a six-year legal battle with the federation that ultimately led to a new collective bargaining agreement with improved conditions for the women and shared World Cup prize money with the men.
Earlier this year, she wrote an opinion piece defending transgender youth in sports and pushing back against proposed legislature in her home state. In addition to solidarity with Canadian players ahead of that Feb. 16 match in Orlando as Canadian players fought with their federation over pay, U.S. women’s players wore tape around their wrists with the saying, “Defend Trans Joy,” a show of support for transgender people in a state where their rights have been challenged.
Sauerbrunn’s growth into a leader could be seen as a natural maturation. Andonovski says it is more noticeable now, but it was always there. Look back to the 2015 World Cup semifinal, when a young Julie Johnston (now Ertz) broke down in tears on the field thinking she was going to be sent off for a challenge as the last defender. She was spared with just a yellow card. Stepping up to calm her in the moment was Sauerbrunn, who Ertz later that day called “her backbone.”
When Sauerbrunn was named captain in 2021, Mewis said: “Sometimes I look to Becky like my moral compass. Like whatever she is doing is what I know is right, so I should probably do the same thing.”
Jill Ellis compares current USWNT to her World Cup winners
President of San Diego Wave FC Jill Ellis talks about the differences between the current USWNT team and her teams in the past.
This underscores why not having Sauerbrunn in Australia and New Zealand for the World Cup starting in July is such a loss for the USWNT — and also why Sauerbrunn’s impact on the team won’t disappear without her physical presence there either.
In the statement she posted Friday, Sauerbrunn said the team has her “unwavering support” and “unyielding belief.” She also shifted attention back to the roster of set to be announced on Wednesday — those 23 players are tasked with winning the World Cup without her.
Sauerbrunn has been keenly aware that despite her influence as a veteran who has anchored the team, it’s the newer, younger players who must ultimately lead the way for the USWNT in this World Cup. Now, they embark on a journey to New Zealand without her, their captain, their leader. They will carry with them Sauerbrunn’s lessons.
“It’s an interesting dichotomy,” Sauerbrunn told ESPN earlier this year, “because I am part of these two [World Cup titles] but not a lot of my teammates were part of that, too, so this is a completely new thing for them. For them, they are not defending anything. I don’t want to feel like that, either. To win a third would be amazing. That’s what this team wants to be about. We want to be a team that does something like that. It’s trying to keep everything into perspective and not putting too much into one thing.”
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