The passage of time, and its effects on the body, is inevitable. Sometimes this seems especially true of professional athletes. The whole world watches and debates how many seconds slower the players are to react or to get down the field chasing the ball, a process that usually starts when they are around 30 years old. It is glaring how age affects those whose careers are defined by being in the absolute peak of physical condition. This criticism is often harsh, like most of the criticism thrown at athletes. But there is no doubt that new blood and fresh legs have to be integrated to sustain a team’s success. This brings excitement to a team, as newcomers get the chance to show the coaches and fans what they can do. For the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT), that time is now. After consistent success, the decorated leadership core is aging out, and plenty of new faces are ready to seize their chance to make an impact for the team as we look towards the next World Cup cycle.
The 2020 (2021) USWNT Olympic roster would definitely be qualified as an experienced roster. The 18-player squad had an average of 111 caps before adding the four alternates. In fact, 17 of the 18 players had been on the USWNT roster for the World Cup in 2019. But it was also a conservative roster of well-known stars that had an average age of 30.8 years old. After their dominant performance in the 2019 World Cup and easily breezing through Olympic qualifying, this roster struggled in the Olympic tournament, scraping their way to a bronze medal. A bronze medal is still a fine result. The issue is the play to get there was not to the normal, albeit very high, standards for the USWNT.
Photo credit: Brad Smith/ISI Photos
A New Leaf
The 22-player squad for November friendlies in Australia was a huge change from the continuity between World Cup and Olympics. There were still 10 members of the Olympic squad present, including six from the World Cup. But the huge difference was the average age of 26.3, and the average number of caps was 32. The roster included twelve players with ten or fewer caps, with five players having never been capped. Only two players were 30 years old or older. The youthful team played well in Australia, earning a 3-0 win and a 1-1 draw with Ashley Hatch scoring her first two goals for the USWNT, one in each game. She scored her goal in the win just 24 seconds into the match.
USWNT Coach Vlatko Andonovski continued to integrate youth in his groups for the January training camp, which had no games scheduled, and the She Believes Cup to be held February 17-23. The 25-player January Camp roster included just ten players from the Olympic squad. Half of the players had twelve or fewer caps. There were also nine players under the age of 25. The 23-player group for the She Believes Cup is mostly players from January camp. Eighteen players were also on the November roster. This consistency is important for the coach to be able to fully evaluate these new young players he’s bringing in.
Ashley Hatch after scoring just 24 seconds into a 3-0 friendly win over Australia. Photo credit: Mark Baker/AP
Intentional Transition
The rosters had some very familiar faces left off: Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Julie Ertz, among others. These players’ names have been written in ink on roster announcements the past few years, but not this time. Andonovski is giving more players opportunities to earn their spot, like Sophia Smith, Mallory Pugh, and Catarina Macario. Additionally, NWSL Rookie of the Year, Trinity Rodman, will be a member of the squad, replacing injured Abby Dahlkemper. She was originally just a training player to ease into full senior team participation. The full She Believes Cup roster can be found here.
The USWNT boss said, “It doesn’t mean that all these players that have done well in the past are just going to come back here in the next camp because they’ve done well a year ago or two years ago. There’s a reason why we’re not calling Mia Hamm or Julie Foudy in camp, right? So the same goes here: they need to perform, they need to play in their markets, and show that they can still contribute and be valuable for the national team.” Soon, we will see what this squad can do in their first competitive matches since the Olympics, with games against the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Iceland.
Photo credit: US Soccer
With the NWSL season getting underway in the spring, those veteran players could still make a case for their inclusion for World Cup qualifying in July if they are playing well for their club teams. Form is form, and that shouldn’t be ignored just because of a player’s age. But as we look towards the future of the team, it’s exciting to see a cycle of new young players being brought into the fold to get their chance to make the team their own. These players will look to continue in the tradition of high expectations for the USWNT in international competitions and build on the great heights achieved by the players before them.
Written by Grace Ott
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