The 2022 SheBelieves Cup kicks off this week. The last few years brought significant change to the tournament, so fans may not know what to expect. While the tournament is still competitive, U.S. Soccer could not attract three other top ten countries this year. In addition, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to limit travel. England and France also recently created parallel tournaments that pulled away competition from SheBelieves and the Algarve Cup in Portugal. However, the SheBelieves Cup will still be fun and very useful for the USWNT.
SheBelieves Cup Roster
Squad ready ≫ https://t.co/jAf7XIBeiP
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) February 3, 2022
#SheBelievesCup x @Visa https://t.co/Zf3G6uSvn5 pic.twitter.com/uDeAaWdgvl
The original SheBelieves Cup roster named 23 athletes. Due to injury, Trinity Rodman replaced Abby Dahlkemper, and Jaelin Howell replaced Lindsey Horan. Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski named Rodman to the initial roster as a training player only. As a forward, she is not a like-for-like replacement for the defender Dahlkemper. Dahlkemper withdrew due to a back injury. While both midfielders, Howell and Horan differ greatly in playing style. Horan’s strength is offensive creativity, while Howell’s focus is as a defensive presence. Horan remains in France at temporary club Lyon with knee irritation.
Several marquee veterans did not receive call ups for different reasons. Carli Lloyd retired at the end of the 2021 NWSL season. Tobin Heath recently recovered from injury and finds her form at Arsenal. She recently scored this stoppage time equalizer to rescue a point for Arsenal at Manchester City.
Julie Ertz sustained a knee injury in the first NWSL regular-season game of 2021. After a brief Olympic appearance at partial strength, she continues to recover. Andonovski gave veteran forwards Christen Press, Alex Morgan, and Megan Rapinoe the window off to continue to come up to speed in their club preseasons. Morgan and Press are crucial leaders to NWSL expansion sides San Diego Wave FC and Angel City FC respectively. Rapinoe continues to build up her fitness after missing games off and on for the club in 2021. Andonovski also expressed interest in giving younger players an opportunity in games with slightly less on the line. Crystal Dunn and Casey Krueger miss the SheBelieves Cup due to pregnancy.
Goalkeepers
The goalkeeper pool brings fresh competition. Alyssa Naeher makes her first USWNT roster after an injury in the Olympic semifinal last summer. As the veteran, she started in goal for the USWNT in the previous two major tournaments. She will likely start at least one game, but the other two keepers continue to push for minutes. Casey Murphy started both games in Australia last fall. She performed superbly and was arguably the best USWNT player on that trip. Aubrey Kingsbury offers stiff competition for the pair. She received Goalkeeper of the Year honors in the past two NWSL regular seasons.
Center Backs
With the absence of Dahlkemper, the team still boasts four center backs. Captain Becky Sauerbrunn suits up for likely her 200th USWNT appearance. Tierna Davidson surpassed Dahlkemper for a starting position in the Olympics. She played with Alana Cook back at Stanford. Cook enjoyed a standout season with OL Reign in 2021. These three likely will receive a majority of the center back minutes. Do not count out Emily Sonnett. The NWSL veteran posted her strongest NWSL season in 2021. She anchored the Washington Spirit back line that won the championship. Her usual position on the USWNT is outside back, but this is not her preferred position. After a stellar 2021, she earned an opportunity centrally.
Outside Backs
The team brought three outside backs. Emily Fox is the only true left back. She has the current skill and future potential to start in the position for the next decade. Veteran Kelley O’Hara excels on the right but can also play on the left. Sofia Huerta found herself back in the USWNT picture after OL Reign head coach Laura Harvey converted the forward to a right back this past NWSL season. Huerta looked sharp on both sides of the ball during her minutes for the USWNT in Australia. Davidson can also play left back in a pinch. She may be the second option in the position.
Defensive Midfielders
In the continued absence of Ertz, Andonovski named three defensive midfielders to the roster. Andi Sullivan looks to take the temporary starting role after strong recent NWSL and USWNT form. She still has some of the disruptive and aerial abilities of Ertz while adding more passing range. Developing both styles offers the team greater flexibility moving forward. Next, Morgan Gautrat makes her first competitive roster since 2019. Gautrat comes off an incredible season in Chicago. She fought back into the USWNT picture through the open door left by the absence of Sam Mewis. After the Horan injury, she may feature in a more advanced role. 2022 second overall draft pick Jaelin Howell replaces Horan. With a skillset similar to Ertz, expect Howell to develop this camp with some game minutes.
Attacking Midfielders
Moving up the field, four attacking midfielders suit up for the USWNT. Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Kristie Mewis, and Ashley Sanchez fill traditionally two starting attacking midfield slots. Gautrat may push for time here as well. Lavelle leads the group and projects to start at least two matches. Sanchez is the least experienced at this level but has an undeniable and unpredictable creative energy that helps those around her thrive. Mewis continues to shine with every opportunity. The final piece to the puzzle is Macario. The USWNT still searches for how to utilize her skills best. The talented attacker is lethal around goal. In the SheBelieves Cup, Andonovski will try her in various roles to see where and with which players she works best.
Wide Forwards
Aside from goalkeeper, wide forward may be the deepest positional group in the USWNT pool. Unfortunately, this is also the group with the highest amount of notable veteran absences. The SheBelieves Cup roster features Lynn Williams, Margaret Purce, Mallory Pugh, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman. All five are dynamic, technical attackers that love to take on players. They can beat you with many different techniques all over the field. Expect them to take the ball to the endline and cut back crosses in the air and on the ground.
They will beat defenders around the corner or cutting inside. Additionally, they can pinch in and combine on the ground centrally in tight spaces. These forwards offer a high overall defensive work rate, which will frustrate opponents. For this group, the focus of these games is to develop chemistry and confidence at this level. They already have more than enough skill and ability. With any combination of these players, the goals will come.
Central Strikers
This roster lists only one true central striker, Ashley Hatch. Hatch won the Golden Boot for the 2021 NWSL season. Before 2021, her game relied heavily upon pressuring defenders to make mistakes and capitalizing on opportunities. During the 2021 season, she developed into a well-rounded finisher. She scored a wider variety of types of goals at more varying distances. In addition, she improved her hold-up play with her back to goal while combining with her teammates. Expect Hatch to see a lot of time this SheBelieves Cup.
However, she will not receive all the minutes at the position. All five of the wide forwards have experience centrally or have the skill-set to succeed in central spaces. For example, Purce started many games as central striker when she played for the Thorns in 2019. Pugh and Rodman rotated through the position occasionally in 2021. Williams and Smith featured more centrally for the club in a two-front than they have for the USWNT. Andonovski may incorporate a “false nine” using an attacking-minded midfielder with a high shot conversion rate. On this roster, Macario, in particular checks those boxes. Expect more variation and fluidity in offensive looks than we are used to seeing from the USWNT.
Who will the USWNT Face?
Czech Republic
The first USWNT game is a matchup with the Czech Republic. They are currently ranked 24th in the world and are a squad on the rise. Their previous FIFA ranking was 27th, but they moved up after recent consecutive draws in UEFA World Cup qualifying against top side the Netherlands. In addition, they drew against Canada before the Olympics, where Canada went on to win gold. Katerina Svitková offers a dominant midfield presence and dual goal-scoring threat. She plays club for West Ham in the FA WSL. Young forward Andrea Stašková plays for Juventus, where she wears the number nine shirt. Goalkeeper Barbora Votíková regularly starts for French giant PSG. The Czech Republic offered a completely fresh test because the USWNT hardly plays this squad or these players.
👩🏻 The squad list of the Czech women's national team for the upcoming #SheBelievesCup 2022 as we will play against the USA, Iceland and New Zealand in February. https://t.co/5UTWjV2NJS
— Czech Football National Team (@ceskarepre_eng) February 2, 2022
New Zealand
Next, the USWNT will face the 22nd ranked New Zealand. Playing New Zealand in 2022 has added importance since they are a 2023 Women’s World Cup co-host with guaranteed qualification. Many players know the USWNT squad very well because the sides play each other often. NWSL veterans Abby Erceg, Katie Bowen, and Ali Riley join up with veterans of other leagues such as Ria Percival. Percival is a regular starting defensive midfielder at Tottenham. Hannah Wilkinson is one of the top scorers in the Australian A-League. Club teammate Rebekah Stott recently returned to professional soccer. In 2020, she received a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy. She is now cancer-free. Newly-appointed head coach Jitka Klimková is originally from the Czech Republic and is familiar with the USWNT. She served as a U.S. youth national team head coach and was on the support staff that won the 2015 World Cup.
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT 🌿❤️
— New Zealand Football (@NZ_Football) February 7, 2022
Ford Football Ferns head coach Jitka Klimková has named a strong 23-player squad for the SheBelieves Cup, headlined by the return of senior defender @stotty_13 🌿❤️
Iceland
Finally, the USWNT will end the tournament against Iceland. At 16th in the world, they are the highest-ranked opponent the USWNT will face. Iceland will be a tough test. Star midfielder Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir will miss the tournament. After recently giving birth, she continues to recover her fitness at Lyon. However, American fans may know current team captain Gunnhildur Yrsa Jónsdóttir (Gunny), who is a current defensive midfielder for Orlando.
Another standout is current West Ham and former Portland midfielder Dagny Brynjarsdóttir. Bayern Munich regular Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir will anchor the back line. The player to watch out for is young forward Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir. Before 2021, she signed with Wolfsburg. Then she spent the year on loan in Sweden before recently returning to her parent club. At 20, she already has six national team goals in only 13 appearances. If the USWNT defense is not organized, she will score.
Hópur A landsliðs kvenna fyrir SheBelieves Cup í Bandaríkjunum.
Ísland mætir þar Bandaríkjunum, Nýja Sjálandi og Tékklandi.
Our squad for the SheBelieves Cup 2022.#dottir #LeiðinTilEnglands pic.twitter.com/vwXFAd4ZD6— Knattspyrnusambandið (@footballiceland) February 4, 2022
Dates, Locations, and Viewing
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Predictions
Andonovski inherited the 4-3-3 from Jill Ellis. This formation withdrew the second forward deeper centrally and pushed the wingers forward. He used this formation in the Olympics after not wanting to change too much for players with short turnaround. A previous Beyond Women’s Sports article describes why this formation is not the answer for the USWNT moving forward. With the personnel selected, Andonovski may tinker with the formation to try to create mismatches and overloads offensively. Fans continue to plead for a “false nine” formation featuring a withdrawn central striker. Even if we do not see this on paper, expect Andonovski to make this change mid-game in at least one match. Macario fits this role perfectly. Fans could finally get to see Macario as the “false nine.”
While these teams do not have the same daunting world ranking as previous opponents, this will be a tough tournament for the USWNT. As the younger players find their feet and learn to work together, we will not see the customary high scorelines and shutouts. New Zealand presents more familiarity with a recent tie in the Olympics and several NWSL-based players. The Czech Republic and Iceland offer unfamiliar challenges to this team. Iceland, in particular, is an up-and-coming team in Europe. The USWNT is the favorite to win the SheBelieves Cup, but do not be surprised if Iceland gives the USWNT trouble.
This USWNT team received the infusion of new faces that fans asked for. Even though the opposition does not equal past years, this group aims to learn a lot about each other and what it takes to succeed in the program. For continued USWNT coverage, follow Beyond Women’s Sports online or on Twitter. You can also ask the author questions on Twitter or comment below.
