Two-time World Cup champion Julie Ertz has announced her retirement from soccer at age 31.
Ertz made her U.S. women’s national team debut in 2013 and went on to earn 122 caps, making her final professional appearance in a last-16 defeat to Sweden at the 2023 World Cup.
After that loss, Ertz said she had likely played her final USWNT game. The Angel City FC midfielder has now confirmed that her pro career has come to a close as well.
“As an athlete you’re always singularly focused on the next goal, the next tournament and rarely do you get time to reflect on your career,” Ertz said in a U.S. Soccer release.
“However, over the past couple of months my heart has been filled with gratitude as I’ve thought about the amazing experiences soccer has given me. I’ve been blessed to meet and train with some of the best and most inspirational women I’ve ever been around, and I’ve experienced different cultures while traveling the world to compete at the highest level. I gave everything I had to the sport that I love.
“With that I can walk away with no regrets because while I gave soccer every ounce of myself, soccer gave me even more, and for that I’ll always be thankful.”
THANK YOU! pic.twitter.com/GapGnMfSa5
— Julie Ertz (@julieertz) August 31, 2023
Ertz made a surprise return to the field this April after nearly two years away, having taken an extended break from the game following the birth of her son in August 2022.
The midfielder quickly signed a contract with Angel City in a bid to make the World Cup squad, which she succeeded in doing. Ertz would go on to slot into her former role at center back, playing every minute of the USWNT’s four games alongside Naomi Girma.
Ertz rose to prominence at the 2015 World Cup, playing every minute of the tournament as a center back as the USWNT won the title in Canada.
Four years later, Ertz returned to the World Cup as a wrecking ball of a defensive midfielder, proving to be one of the team’s most vital pieces as she again helped the USWNT win the title.
Ertz spent the majority of her professional club career with the Chicago Red Stars, where she played nearly 100 games between 2014 and 2021. She was named the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
[lawrence-related id=27147,26939,24924]