It’s the time again: USWT BIG Board is back!
National Association’s National Team Emma Hayes, head coach, briefly summarized the concept of our Great Council at his latest press conference: she has to work with who is at his disposal.
“The position I am in is: I can only train what is in front of me, and I can only train players who are available,” Hayes said last week. “And we were without five of some of the best players in the world, probably the 25 best players in the world.”
Referred to a group that includes ahead Trinity Rodmanwho returns to USWT FOLD for the first time since the Olympic Gold Medal, but the absence is sufficient.
If today the World Cup of Women 2027 began, Hayes would have to navigate the tournament without a few injured or otherwise unavailable Players, including back to the center Nomi size and Davidson’s offermid-fielders Rose Lavelleand forward Sophia Wilson (formerly Smith), Mallory swanson and Lynn Biyendolo (formerly Williams).
Hayes is lucky that the World Championship will not start today, but these absence illustrate the purpose of this exercise: the main tournament is almost always important players. Swanson and Becky sauerbrunnTwo key starters, missed the 2023 World Cup because of injuries in a short time.
How does a large USWT board work
If you have previously watched the previous ESPN edition of USWT Big Board, you know that the list is how things are standing right now as if the World Championships started today. It is a difficult design with regard to how much uncertainty and experimentation surrounds the team.
Since the beginning of the year, Hayes has called 68 players together between the senior team and U23 (also called “futures”) camps. All these players (who are healthy) are represented below, except for the recent key players of the U20, NWSL stands and other players in the picture last year.
This is how we define our categories:
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Level 1: Locks. Clear first selection players who fight for an initial role.
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Level 2: In the group. Not necessarily appetizers, but substitutes and players on the bench that are available to the games.
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Level 3: Trying to break through. Young or less experienced players who received the call and showed promising, or veterans who have actually created their international career.
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Level 4: Outside looks inside. Players who were previously part of the picture, but now seem to be out of favor, or young players who are less proven at a higher level but are on Hayes’ radar.
Goalkeeper
If it does not explain the status of the position of goalkeeper USWT, nothing will be: there are no locks and no one has yet requested instead of No. 1. Compare it to the program that has been in some decades in certain hands Brian Scurry, Hope Solo and Alyssa Naeher.
Hayes recently repeated that it would probably not decide on the starter until the summer. From the outside, it is confusing time to decrypt who could be a favorite for this position.
In the last few years, Murphy has been a backup to Naeher, and she seemed to have a short time to be a starting point in the World Cup that qualified in 2022.
Campbell is de facto No. 1 for the second straight camp. McGlynn is a strong stop that also hit the assistance in the first week of NWSL, but also played some fighting off the back, including turnover 2. Week to the goal, which directly led to the goal for her opponent.
Tullis-Joyce is back in Tábor and Hayes explicitly wants to see how the “introverted” goalkeeper Manchester United builds relations with the players around her.
If the World Championship started today, it would probably be Campbell, McGlynn and Murphy on the list – and it would be a field day of questions about who should be a starter. In order not to forget, Naeher has been questioned steadily heading to the 2019 World Championship and helped add the fourth star.
Fullbacks
After the name of his latest Hayes list, he said “Fullback Spaces” – a semantics that could indicate that he would play with formation – will be “quite experimental”.
She referred to the first call to Patterson-Katey looks in her second season for the Houston Dash team, who could finally have an identity-and called Gisele Thompson, who recently oscillated between the senior team and U23.
Fox and Dunn are clear starters right now because they were at the Olympic Games 2024 and at the World Cup 2023.
Nighswonger is a wild card that seemed favored as a starter over the Olympics to play a more limited role there. From Arsenal she played sparingly from the surprising offseason transfer from Gotham and was not named to the last list.
From all field positions, Fullback probably offers the most direct way to the Security Place right now that Hayes is looking for depth.
Center back
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Emma Hayes emphasizes the importance of development when USWNT falls to Japan
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Naomi Girma could be the best center in the world, but in this calendar year it was not a repetitive calf. Now Tierna Davidson is in the foreseeable future Because of the torn ACL. If the World Championships started today, USnt would have defensive problems.
Girma’s absence opened the door to Sams, who was part of the Olympic Gold Medal team, and McKeown earned minutes at Shebelieves Cup. They fight Sonnett – a team’s defensive knife of the Swiss army – for the initial role.
Cook is back in the form with Kansas City Current (under the former head coach USWNT VATKO ANDONOVSKI) and earns the first memory of USnt in more than a year. It could be immediately worthy of back to the mix with Girma and Davidson.
Bugg, 18 years of age, and king, 20, are young names that will watch next year. Each of them has taken more responsibility with its NWSL teams, but the 2027 World Cup could come too soon to develop fully.
Midfielders
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Locks: Lindsey Heaps, Sam Coffey, Saw
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In the group: Korbin Albert, Lily Yohannes
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Harning break through: Claire Hutton
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Outside looking inside: Olivia Moultry, Hannah is not, Meg Music, Abi brighton, Taylor Huff, Riley Jackson, Sally Ment, Ainsley McCammon, Yuna McCormack, Lexi Misso, Ally Lemos, Kennedy Fuller
The middle field, which was lacked at the Olympic Games of 2024 some relatively difficult sections, is in its embarrassing moment of uncertainty. There are teenagers who clearly look like the stars of the future, but they haven’t had a chance to really take their positions.
Yohannes, a 17-year-old man who rejected interest from the Dutch national team, and each of the 19-year-old Hutton showed the peace and technical championships on the Shebelieves Cup. Meanwhile, twenty -year -old Shaw is an integral part of the team settings, but still does not have a clear, fixed place in the field.
Heaps (Nee Horan) is a captain and has recently played in more advanced roles and Coffey is an existing defensive midfielder who can switch from deep areas. Hayes turned to Albert to fill any of the three necessary middle field roles depending on the state of the game.
Washington Spirit Midfield Duo Croix Bethune and Halsfelt, who were on the 2024 Olympic List, are still injured.
Among a group of young, rising players, Huff looked rarely in his first games as a newcomer with Bay FC in open game and set. Since October, a universal 19-year-old Moultry has not been called for the senior team or the U-23 team.
Forward
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Locks: Trinity Rodman, Catarina Macario
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In the group: Ally Sennor, Yazmeen ryan, Alyssa Thompson
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Harning break through: Michelle Cooper, Ashley Hatch, Emma Sears, MA MA MAI MAI
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Outside looking inside: Ella Stevens, Maddie Dahlien, Emeri Adames, Caiya Hanks, Jameese Joseph, Quincy McMahon, Makenna Morris, Sarah Schupansky, Reilyn Turner, Jordynn Dudley, Kate Façals, Tordin Stone
Rodman is again healthy and her return to USWN gives him a dynamic focus she needed with the whole self -proclaimed “triple espresso” Rodman, Swanson and Wilson, who sat from the Olympics. If Rodman is healthy enough to play every minute, he will be on the plane to Brazil (host of the World Championship 2027).
Macario is obviously the first option for the attacker among the available players, but also plays a role as a false nine, which is a very different look from USWT, which last year reached the line of opponents and comes with some compromises.
Hatch is back in the picture to provide the real possibility No. 9, and Fishel (training player in this camp) will also invite for this role when it is fully fit.
Sentnor is in good form for the club and country and has a chance to shake a deep chart. If it can take over the ownership of the attacker, it would allow Macario to move to role 10 without having to sacrifice the vertical presence. But Sennor is better suitable as a wing that has freedom to drift inside.
“It is clear that Sophia Smith is the most prolific No. 9 in the US, but she is unavailable to us,” Hayes said last week, adding that Macario and Sennor would have the task of playing a role.
Beware of Cooper. It can be overlooked on the Kansas City team loaded with talent at the level of the MVP, but is in extraordinary form.
USWTT SQUAD If the World Championship started today
Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell, Mandy McGlynn, Casey Murphy
Defenders: Emily Fox, Crystal Dunn, Jenna Nighswonger, Emily Sonnett, Emily Sams, Tara McEnown, Alan Cook, Casey Krueger
Midfielders: Lindsey Heaps, Sam Coffey, Jaedyn Shaw, Korbin Albert, Lily Yohannes, Claire Hutton
Forward: Trinity Rodman, Catarina Macario, Ally Sentnor, Yazmeen Ryan, Alyssa Thompson, Michelle Cooper
Three bubble players added from Tier 3 are:
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Cook and Krueger – Wild Card HERE, Hayes said last week “He can play tomorrow at the World Cup” – for defensive stability and veteran presence, which is suddenly desperately needed without Girma and Davidson.
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Hutton as another talented, albeit young and inexperienced, holds the midfielder if Coffey gets into trouble with the accumulation of the card.
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Cooper, based on the form, adds a depth forward-i when Hayes would risks slightly by not selecting the attacker No. 9.