The U.S. women’s national team is assembling a mix of new faces and World Cup holdovers for a pair of September friendlies.
Chelsea forward Mia Fishel and San Diego Wave attacker Jaedyn Shaw were among the 27 players called up by interim coach Twila Kilgore for a pair of upcoming matches against South Africa. The games are set for September 21 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) and at Chicago’s Soldier Field on September 24 (5:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
Fishel and Shaw are in line for their first-ever caps. For Fishel, this is not a first-ever senior call-up, as she was called in for a camp in October 2020, but that camp included no games due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Shaw, meanwhile, is with the senior team for the first time ever after emerging as a key part of the San Diego Wave’s attack.
Kilgore also gave recalls to four notable World Cup snubs. Sam Coffey, Tierna Davidson, Ashley Hatch, and Casey Krueger are all in the squad for this pair of matches, which will serve as USWNT farewells for Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe.
The influx of players who missed out on the World Cup is likely pointed towards further competition for places in the squad going forward, with Kilgore noting in a U.S. Soccer press release that the 2024 Olympics are already looming.
“The Olympics may seem like they are far away, but the amount of time that the players get with the National Team between now and Paris is not a lot, so we need to start that journey now,” said Kilgore. “No matter who the coach is, or which players get to wear the crest, the standards remain the same and everyone wants to excel, so we’ll be looking forward to putting together two good performances against a South Africa team that showed well at the World Cup.”
Two very familiar faces won’t be involved in this camp. Sophia Smith is out with an MCL sprain suffered in August, while Kristie Mewis has not appeared for NJ/NY Gotham FC since returning from Australia with what the team has called a lower leg injury.
USWNT roster for South Africa friendlies
GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (9): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars), Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville), Julie Ertz (Unattached), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
FORWARDS (8): Mia Fishel (Chelsea), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
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