Despite the number of big names on the first U.S. women’s national team roster to come out after the World Cup, there is still plenty of interest in some players who weren’t called in.
Catarina Macario is right at the top of that latter group. The Chelsea attacker was left out of the USWNT squad that will take on South Africa in a pair of friendlies set for September 21 in Cincinnati, and then three days later in Chicago.
Macario has not played a match for club or country since tearing her ACL on June 1, 2022. Her last USWNT match remains a 9-0 win over Uzbekistan in April 2022.
Heading into the World Cup, former USWNT boss Vlatko Andonovski initially had optimism that Macario would be available for a call-up in April. Once the roster for that window arrived without the 23-year-old, Andonovski said that the USWNT couldn’t afford to call Macario in without seeing her get a match for her club side.
In the end, Macario didn’t join the USWNT at the World Cup, but in one positive sign, she did sign a three-year contract with Chelsea in June.
Per USWNT interim coach Twila Kilgore, Macario is continuing her return-to-play protocol with the Blues, whose preseason preparations included a trip to Portugal before returning to London in recent days.
“Cat is still in recovery,” Kilgore told reporters in a press conference Wednesday. “She’s working on her return-to-play in her home environment at Chelsea. She’s doing a really good job, and we’re looking forward to potentially having her back in the squad in the future.”
Focused. đź‘Š pic.twitter.com/lG6QQqzjMN
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) September 8, 2023
In Macario’s stead, there will be plenty of competition at both the No. 9 and No. 10 positions. Up front, Macario’s new club teammate Mia Fishel, NWSL Golden Boot contender Ashley Hatch, and World Cup starter Alex Morgan are all on this roster, as are other center forward options like Trinity Rodman, Alyssa Thompson, and Lynn Williams.
In the midfield, the same trio of attacking midfielders (Savannah DeMelo, Rose Lavelle, and Ashley Sanchez) that went to New Zealand and Australia are back in the squad, as is Lindsey Horan (who played as a No. 10 in the USWNT’s round of 16 swansong against Sweden this summer).
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