The Canadian Premier League is proud to be part of the Guardian’s Women’s World Cup 2023 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organizations from the 32 countries who qualified.
The United States player profiles were written by Jeff Kassouf, who writes for the Guardian U.S.
Goalkeepers
1. Alyssa Naeher
Date of birth: April 20, 1988
Place of birth: Bridgeport, Connecticut
Club: Chicago Red Stars
Caps: 91
Naeher was the United States’ No 1 in 2019 and came through when needed, gracefully managing a heap of outside comparisons to her role in replacing former No 1 Hope Solo. Affectionately known by some teammates as “uncle” for her propensity to fix things, Naeher’s personality is private and quiet. Her club career is one of standing on her head despite bad defending in front of her. She was named 2014 NWSL goalkeeper of the year for making 106 saves, despite the now defunct Boston Breakers conceding a league-worst 53 goals. The Chicago Red Stars have struggled this year, too, ahead of the World Cup.
18. Casey Murphy
Date of birth: April 25, 1996
Place of birth: Bridgewater, New Jersey
Club: North Carolina Courage
Caps: 14
All signs point to Murphy as the future of the U.S. in goal, at least in the eyes of the current coaching staff. Murphy earned significant caps at World Cup qualifying in 2022 in what was framed publicly as an open competition for the No 1 spot. At 185cm, Murphy is the team’s tallest goalkeeper and thus has the wingspan to stop shots others can’t get to. Her household is competitive: Murphy’s fiancé is professional track and field athlete Chris Mirabelli, who once won a gold medal in javelin at the Pan American Junior Championships.
21. Aubrey Kingsbury
Date of birth: November 20, 1991
Place of birth: Cincinnati, Ohio
Club: Washington Spirit
Caps: 1
At 31, Kingsbury arrives late to the international scene. She has only one cap to her name at the time of writing, a 9-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan last year. Kingsbury spent years in reserve roles with struggling teams before getting her shot as the No 1 with the Washington Spirit. Her breakout came while on loan to Sydney FC, where she won a championship and a goalkeeper of the season award. Kingsbury arguably enters the World Cup as the most in-form of the three U.S. goalkeepers despite clearly being third on the depth chart.
Defenders
3. Sofia Huerta
Date of birth: December 14, 1992
Place of birth: Boise, Idaho
Club: OL Reign
Caps: 30
Huerta is the only player to ever play for Mexico against the U.S. and for the U.S. against Mexico, after completing a one-time switch of associations in 2017. “Playing for Mexico helped me realise I want to play for the U.S.,” she said. Huerta was born in Boise, Idaho. Her father, an engineer for Hewlett-Packard in Guadalajara, applied for jobs at every company location in the U.S. and moved the family to Boise with $500 in their pockets. Huerta started playing full-back full-time in late 2021 after years as an attacker. From right full-back, she plays more crosses into the penalty area than any other player in the NWSL by roughly double.
4. Naomi Girma
Date of birth: June 14, 2000
Place of birth: San Jose, California
Club: San Diego Wave
Caps: 16
Meet the United States’ two-way centre-back. Girma is as capable of playing a key pass as she is thwarting an opponent 1-v-1, which fills a critical role in the absence of 2019 World Cup winner Abby Dahlkemper. Girma was born in Northern California to parents who both immigrated from Ethiopia. She graduated from Stanford with a 3.92 GPA (and an NCAA title) before becoming the top pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. She was an immediate starter for expansion side San Diego in a league historically unkind to rookies and won the Defender of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards while finishing as a finalist for league MVP.
5. Kelley O’Hara
Date of birth: August 4, 1988
Place of birth: Peachtree City, Georgia
Club: NJ/NY Gotham FC
Caps: 157
A super-sub winger at the 2015 World Cup, a starting full-back at the 2019 edition: O’Hara has long owned the wide areas thanks to her pace and tenacious work rate. With the U.S. trying to hold a late lead against Germany in the 2015 semi-final, then head coach Jill Ellis famously turned to her assistants and said, “We need a bitch: Get Kelley.” It was meant to be endearing toward a player never shy to lay out for a crunching tackle. Nine minutes after she entered the game, O’Hara scored an insurance goal and the U.S. won, 2-0.
12. Alana Cook
Date of birth: April 11, 1997
Place of birth: Worcester, Massachusetts
Club: OL Reign
Caps: 25
Cook is one of several centre-backs who graduated from Stanford in the U.S. pool. “Lans,” as she is known to teammates, signed with Paris St-Germain out of college and was part of the 2021 team that won the league title for the first time, ending Lyon’s 14-year run. Cook’s transfer that summer to OL Reign was one of the five largest fees of the year in women’s football. She can occasionally be an asset on offensive set pieces, as she was when she scored in a Champions League semifinal against eventual champion Barcelona.
14. Emily Sonnett
Date of birth: November 25, 1993
Place of birth: Marietta, Georgia
Club: OL Reign
Caps: 75
Enters the World Cup as a versatile defender who provides cover for the U.S. at centre-back or full-back. She also has not played either position consistently in months. Once a holding midfielder in college, Sonnett is now in that position for OL Reign in a double pivot after an offseason move to the Seattle club that already had a set back four. Sonnett is known as the team jokester who can always keep the mood light, and her personality shows on the field. Her exuberant reactions are responsible for some of the greatest memes in NWSL history. Among her best friends is club-and-country teammate Rose Lavelle.
19. Crystal Dunn
Date of birth: July 3, 1992
Place of birth: New Hyde Park, New York
Club: Portland Thorns
Caps: 132
Dunn is a top central midfielder in the NWSL. She is also the United States’ best full-back. The positional debate has followed her throughout her career and has been reignited lately, in her return from maternity leave in late 2022. Dunn was stellar as the starting left-back at the 2019 World Cup. Her experience in more advanced roles makes her dangerous getting forward, and her work rate to track back is unmatched. She has been vocal about her desire to play higher up the field, but also her willingness to do what’s best for the team. Once again, that is playing at full-back.
23. Emily Fox
Date of birth: July 5, 1998
Place of birth: Ashburn, Virginia
Club: North Carolina Courage
Caps: 29
Fox is the full-back who plays like a No 10. Versatile enough to play on the right or the left, Fox is known for underlapping runs rather than simple overlaps. She likes to drift into high, central areas to add numbers to the midfield. She is also a capable finisher when in those positions. For as strong and as deep as the U.S. player pool is, natural full-backs have long been lacking. Fox developed in the position through the youth national teams and is viewed by the coaching staff as the long-term solution there.
Midfielders
2. Ashley Sanchez
Date of birth: March 16, 1999
Place of birth: Pasadena, California
Club: Washington Spirit
Caps: 25
Sanchez is among the most audacious players the U.S. has on the ball. As a rookie in 2020, she famously scorpion-kicked an in-flight corner kick to assist a goal. She is close friends with fellow young star Trinity Rodman, who is a teammate for club and country, and the chemistry is clear on the field as the two combine for effective attacks. Sanchez has been set for success for a long time. In 2016, she captained the U.S. Under-17 World Cup team and then played for the U.S.’ U-20 World Cup team a few months later, becoming the first player in program history to play in multiple World Cups in the same year.
8. Julie Ertz
Date of birth: April 6, 1992
Place of birth: Mesa, Arizona
Club: Angel City FC
Caps: 118
Even despite her recent 18-month absence, Ertz has been the single most defining player for the U.S. for the past half-decade. She is a bruising, ball-winning defensive midfielder who in 2019 was among the best players in the world. Her all-consuming midfield presence unlocked all the other pieces for the Americans. She took a break following the Tokyo Olympics and gave birth to her first child in August 2022. In her absence, the U.S. struggled to find solutions in midfield, eventually trying a double-pivot as tangible confirmation that it took two players to replace Ertz. She announced her surprising return in late March. Trained with Phoenix Rising’s boys’ academy before signing with Angel City in a race to be game-sharp again. “I don’t even want to go back and be the player that I was because I want to be better,” she said.
9. Savannah DeMelo
Date of birth: March 26, 1998
Place of birth: Bellflower, California
Club: Racing Louisville
Caps: 1
Only one player had previously been named to a World Cup squad without having any previous caps: Shannon Boxx in 2003. Twenty years later, DeMelo follows the same path as a midfielder who has been so good in league play that she’s too in-form to leave behind. As a rookie last year, DeMelo led the NWSL in fouls suffered and fouls committed, a sign of her influence on the game. She continues to score stunning goals, including from set pieces (a memorable one last year came on the infield of the Daytona International Speedway). Her ability to play any central midfield role – and to defend relentlessly in the high press – earned her this call-up.
10. Lindsey Horan
Date of birth: May 26, 1994
Place of birth: Golden, Colorado
Club: Lyon
Caps: 129
Horan is known for her high football IQ and for her groundbreaking path to the pro game. In 2012, she gave up a full scholarship to the storied University of North Carolina team to sign a professional contract with Paris St-Germain right out of high school. She played in Paris for four years as a forward before transitioning to a midfield role upon her move to Portland Thorns. Sometimes called “The Great Horan,” she now wears the No 10 shirt for the U.S. but is at her best as a box-to-box midfielder. Her move to Lyon makes her the only player on the U.S. roster not currently competing in the NWSL.
16. Rose Lavelle
Date of birth: April 14, 1995
Place of birth: Cincinnati, Ohio
Club: OL Reign
Caps: 88
The breakout player (and Bronze Ball-winner) from the 2019 World Cup is now the locked-in No 10 for the United States, although injury severely limited her playing time in the lead-up to this World Cup. She is the most creative one-v-one player in the squad and was initially brought into the senior team in 2017 in response to the U.S.’ failures to solve low blocks. Lavelle is obsessed with her bulldog, Wilma, who has her own Instagram account filled with costumes and resting bulldog face. Among Lavelle’s pranks and subtle humor is an annual tweet to roast her sister, Mary, who was once chased down the street by a dog. Each September, Lavelle tweets that “to this day it is still the funniest thing I have ever seen”.
17. Andi Sullivan
Date of birth: December 20, 1995
Place of birth: Honolulu, Hawaii
Club: Washington Spirit
Caps: 45
Sullivan is the No 6 who likes to be a deep playmaker. She debuted for the US in 2016 but was limited by injuries at different times before becoming a regular starter in 2022. “Sunny,” as she is known, has been a leader on and off the field for the Washington Spirit, captaining the team through a traumatic 2021 season that saw an allegedly abusive coach, Richie Burke, fired and banned from the league for life, and an owner forced to sell the team for enabling the behaviour. Sullivan led the team’s public demand for the sale while shining on the field as the Spirit went on a long unbeaten run to win the 2021 NWSL Championship. Sullivan married fellow professional soccer player Drew Skundrich, who briefly played in the same home club stadium, for D.C. United.
22. Kristie Mewis
Date of birth: February 25, 1991
Place of birth: Weymouth, Massachusetts
Club: NJ/NY Gotham FC
Caps: 52
Older sister to Sam, who will miss this World Cup with a long-term knee injury, Kristie Mewis is the comeback story of the 2023 team. Mewis debuted for the senior U.S. team in 2013 and looked like a star for the future. She went six years without a call-up as form ebbed and flowed (along with a torn ACL) before returning to the team in late 2020. When she scored off the bench against the Netherlands late that year, 2,722 days had passed since her last international goal, a team record. Mewis is in a long-term relationship with star Australia forward Sam Kerr, who plays for Chelsea.
Forwards
6. Lynn Williams
Date of birth: May 21, 1993
Place of birth: Fresno, California
Club: NJ/NY Gotham FC
Caps: 53
Lynn Williams is a do-it-all forward. She ranks among the historical leaders in goals and assists in the NWSL. She is also known for her superior defending ability. It’s an odd trait to point out for a forward, but an important one that Vlatko Andonovski has long valued in the U.S.’ high-pressing system that demands defensive responsibility from forwards. In that sense, there might not be a better two-way, all-around forward. She’ll feel at home in Australia, having played there several times on loan. Her fiancé, Marley Biyendolo, played professional basketball in Australia and won a season of the reality show, “Big Brother: Australia.”
7. Alyssa Thompson
Date of birth: November 7, 2004
Place of birth: Los Angeles, California
Club: Angel City FC
Caps: 4
A year ago, Thompson was one for the future. Then she debuted for the U.S. against England at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, at age 17, decided to skip college and became the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft to Angel City FC, her hometown pro club. Now she’s headed to her first World Cup and might be the like-for-like replacement for the injured Mallory Swanson. Thompson’s profile of game-changing dribbling ability and accurate shooting is a reminder of Swanson, once a teenage star herself. Thompson only just finished high school, shuttling between Angel City practices and English class on any given weekday.
11. Sophia Smith
Date of birth: August 10, 2000
Place of birth: Windsor, Colorado
Club: Portland Thorns FC
Caps: 30
The 2022 NWSL MVP is a threat from multiple positions on the forward line. She plays as a No. 9 for Portland and as a winger for the United States. She is the rare type of player who you might describe as faster with the ball, often dribbling her way out of 1-v-2 scenarios by thinking and acting faster than her defender. Smith is a dominant goal-scorer, but she also sets up teammates with regular assists. Her goals added (G+) metric (per American Soccer Analysis) was off the charts in 2022.
13. Alex Morgan
Date of birth: July 2, 1989
Place of birth: San Dimas, California
Club: San Diego Wave
Caps: 207
Morgan’s celebrity dwarfs that of her peers, something she has leveraged in off-field fights for equal pay and higher standards in the NWSL. A regular with the team since her breakout 2011 World Cup, Morgan earned her recall in 2022 after several veterans were phased out in a total squad rebuild. Morgan, now mum to three-year-old girl Charlie, responded with her best club season to date, winning the NWSL Golden Boot. She’s a pure No 9, known for scoring big goals (121 in 206 caps to date). Her reputation precedes her as a forward who simply runs in behind, however. For years, she has done the dirty work as a check-down forward holding up play and drawing fouls to set up dangerous set pieces, a thankless task she mastered particularly well in the 2019 round of 16 game against Spain.
15. Megan Rapinoe
Date of birth: July 5, 1985
Place of birth: Redding, California
Club: OL Reign
Caps: 199
“Pinoe” is back for fourth World Cup after winning the Golden Ball in 2019. She carried the U.S. team through the tournament while trading barbs with then President Donald Trump during the tournament. From grabbing a field mic to sing “Born in the USA” at the 2011 World Cup, to the iconic pose celebration in 2019 and moments in between when she said would “talk [her] sh*t,” Rapinoe is an icon of the sport. She struggled through injuries and the “hamster wheel” of pro soccer in recent years, so much so that retirement thoughts crossed her mind. Her role is reduced significantly from what it was four years ago, but she’s at peace with being a super-sub and a veteran leader for a young roster if it means winning a third straight World Cup.
20. Trinity Rodman
Date of birth: May 20, 2002
Place of birth: Newport Beach, California
Club: Washington Spirit
Caps: 18
There’s a reason Rodman was the first player in the NWSL to sign a million-dollar cumulative contract. She’s an electric forward capable of changing the game in wide areas and while cutting inside. She was an important piece of the Washington Spirit winning a championship in 2021, when she turned pro as an 18-year-old. COVID-19 canceled what would have been her freshman season at Washington State, where her brother played basketball, and Rodman decided to enter the draft. Many recognize her last name for her father, NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, but “Trin” calls her mum her superhero.