Women’s World Cup 2023 team guides: USA
The USWNT are hunting their third consecutive title – but it won’t be so straightforward.
The USA Women’s football team are heading into the 2023 World Cup as the favourites to win. If they do, it’ll be their fourth World Cup title and third consecutive World Cup win.
The USWNT remain at the top of the Fifa rankings but are only narrowly the favourites to win, as investment in global women’s football since the last World Cup guarantees this tournament won’t be straightforward.
Surely for the Americans, they’ll relish going into a more competitive World Cup, knowing if they win the trophy, they’ve more than earned it.
Not only will the competition be harder, but the US is in a fairly transitional stage, with older players being edged out to make space for the next generation.
US football legend Megan Rapinoe has already announced this will be her last World Cup and she’ll retire from football at the end of her club’s season.
The US has also been hit with a lot of injuries.
The US switched up their roster following a lacklustre bronze-medal finish with a veteran-heavy squad at the Tokyo Olympics.
The fitness levels of Rose Lavelle, Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe as well as a string of injuries mean the youngsters will be called into action this tournament.
Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario are both out with injuries as well as captain Becky Sauerbrunn and veteran midfielder Sam Mewis. Whilst the USWNT has depth in its squad, it looks likely they will rely heavily on youngsters Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Alyssa Thompson.
A recent friendly against Wales saw the US being held for much of the match, but the introduction of Rodman saw her score two goals in the final moments of the match.
The Welsh women’s team are ranked 30th by Fifa and whilst Rodman proved the impact she can make as a substitute, the World Cup will be in front of millions and on foreign soil.
US coach Vlatko Andonovski
Andonovski has plenty of experience managing in women’s football – a long-time NWSL manager, he is known for favouring a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation.
He became head coach in November 2019. The 23-match unbeaten run to start his tenure was ended by Sweden in their first contest of a Tokyo Olympics that quickly went sideways as his game management came under criticism.
Three consecutive losses – to England, Spain and Germany, called into question his fitness for the role, but his job has never really been under threat.
US star player Sophia Smith
Sophia Smith, 22, has the pace and looks set to be the new face of US women’s football.
She became the youngest NWSL MVP after leading the Portland Thorns to a third league title while adding 11 international goals to become the youngest player to lead the USWNT in scoring in a calendar year since 1993.
Smith is set to be the most relied-on youngster of the squad.
“She can stop pushing now, and she will still be a very good player, one of the best players this country has ever produced,” says Thorns coach Rhian Wilkinson.
“And my job is to keep pushing her, and to make sure she is the best player this country has ever produced because she has that in her right now.”
US rising star Naomi Girma
Naomi Girma, 22, has 15 caps so far having made her senior debut last year. She has mature poise, vision, distribution and ability in a position where experience is typically valued.
She’s had a great season with the San Diego Wave and won NWSL Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year honours.
She’s been important for her country especially when paired alongside Alana Cook or Sauerbrunn. “[She’s not just] making five-yard passes to the person next to her,” former US star Carli Lloyd said. “She’s threading balls through the centre of the park, picking out forwards’ feet.”
Women’s football in the US
Despite the gap narrowing, the US has ample space for the Women’s game to flourish more than most places in the world.
A law -Title IX – means it’s illegal for government-funded institutions to discriminate on the basis of sex, so there is equal funding for women’s sports programs that gave the US the headstart on the international scene.
Will the US win their 3rd consecutive World Cup?
It’s not a stretch of the imagination to see the USWNT win the World Cup again. But it won’t be an easy path to victory, the competition has never looked so tough, and the US is plagued with injuries and fitness issues.
It would be nice to see another team win the World Cup but it would be a nice send-off for Megan Rapinoe – a woman who’s contributed so much to the women’s game.
We predict the USWNT will be knocked out in the semi-finals.
