Vlatko Andonovski Names His First USWNT Roster
In his first act as U.S. women's national team manager, Vlatko Andonovski is changing it up a little bit.
Andonovski, named Jill Ellis's successor on Monday, revealed his first national team camp squad on Thursday ahead of upcoming friendlies vs. Sweden (Nov. 7 in Columbus, Ohio) and Costa Rica (Nov. 10 in Jacksonville, Fla.). After a long year for club and country, a number of Women's World Cup veterans have been left behind–not because they're out of the picture, but because rest and rehabilitation are required. That includes Alex Morgan, who will be out for the foreseeable future after announcing her pregnancy last week. She is due in April and still has the aim of participating in next summer's Olympics in Tokyo (provided the USA qualifies as expected).
Others out injured are Megan Rapinoe, Crystal Dunn, Tierna Davidson, Kelley O'Hara and Ali Krieger. Those five will attend the first few days of camp to meet with Andonovski before departing, according to U.S. Soccer.
Among the newcomers is USA-England dual-national Alana Cook, a 22-year-old defender at PSG, whose inclusion was first reported by SI's Grant Wahl ahead of the NWSL final. She's joined by 2018 NWSL Rookie of the Year Imani Dorsey and Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe as first-time call-ups.
“First, I want to make sure that everyone on the World Cup team has an opportunity to work with me and give me an opportunity to see them and see what stage of their game they’re at right now,” Andonovski said in a statement. “But at the same time, I think it’s crucial that we give a chance to players that have done well for their pro teams and deserve to have a good look and a solid evaluation in the national team environment. We have quite a few injured players from the World Cup team, and they need to rest and get healthy. Also, we wanted to add players that weren’t at the World Cup because the main goal from the start is to grow the player pool.”
Here's the squad in full:
GOALKEEPERS: Aubrey Bledsoe (Washington Spirit), Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS: Alana Cook (Paris Saint-Germain), Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage), Imani Dorsey (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns)
MIDFIELDERS: Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit), Allie Long (Reign FC), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
FORWARDS: Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage), Christen Press (Utah Royals), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit), Margaret Purce (Portland Thorns), Lynn Williams (NC Courage)
