Vlatko Andonovski has an incredibly difficult job on his hands.
The U.S. women’s national team head coach has a seemingly endless supply of talent, but he must narrow that down to a roster of (probably) just 23 players for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer.
The good news for Andonovski is that this isn’t some last-minute list he has to compile. Instead, he’s been narrowing it down since taking over the team in 2019. As we enter the final months, it looks like the coach’s roster is almost complete already.
Andonovski said in January that his list had been narrowed from 40 potential players down to 32.
The big factor, as usual, is injuries. There are several key USWNT players still on the mend, with their World Cup place contingent upon their return to health and ability to regain something close to their best form.
Right now almost every U.S. player projects to be healthy by the summer but, of course, there’s also time for setbacks or for other players to get injured.
Here, we do our best to project the 23 players the USWNT will bring to Australia and New Zealand in search of a third straight World Cup title.