The last five weeks have been pretty special for Alyssa Thompson.
Last month she attended her senior prom and two weeks ago she graduated from the Harvard-Westlake School. But she topped all that Wednesday when it was announced she had won a spot on the 23-player U.S. roster for next month’s World Cup in New Zealand-Australia, where the team will be chasing an unprecedented third straight championship.
The 18-year-old, the youngest player on the team and second-youngest U.S. player named to a World Cup roster, will be joined by Angel City teammate Julie Ertz; Alex Morgan, the leading active scorer for the U.S. with 121 international goals; former world player of the year Megan Rapinoe; and Sophia Smith, last year’s NWSL MVP.
Morgan, Rapinoe and defender Kelley O’Hara will all be playing in their fourth World Cups this summer while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and Ertz, a midfielder, made the team for a third straight time. Defenders Emily Sonnett and Crystal Dunn; midfielders Rose Lavelle and Lindsay Horan are holdovers from 2019, when the U.S. won all seven games.
Fourteen women, including Thompson, are on a World Cup roster for the first time.
The U.S. hasn’t been beaten in the women’s World Cup since a 2-1 loss to Sweden in the final group-stage match in 2011, going 14-0-3.
“Selecting a World Cup team is never easy, but I’m proud of the players for their work ethic and focus during the process, and of our coaching staff for doing the work to put together the best team possible,” U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski, who will managing in a World Cup for the first time, said in a statement. “Every player has a different journey to get to this point, so our roster has some amazing stories.”
Thompson’s story is certainly among the most unusual.
She made her senior international debut in September, then four months later became the first high school player taken with the first overall pick in the NWSL draft, foregoing a scholarship to Stanford to compete against older players and increase the odds she would make the World Cup team. She increased those odds when she scored five minutes into her Angel City debut, a friendly with Mexico’s Club América, and 11 minutes into her NWSL debut against NJ/NY Gotham FC.
But it wasn’t until Mallory Swanson, the leading scorer for the U.S. the last two years, torn the patellar tendon in her left knee in April that a spot on the team opened up for Thompson. Swanson is one of four key players who will miss the World Cup with injury, joining midfielders Catarina Macario (ACL) and Sam Mewis (knee) and defender Becky Sauerbrunn (foot) on the sidelines.
Angel City FC’s Alyssa Thompson (21) controls the ball against San Diego Wave FC’s Danielle Colaprico (24) during the first half at BMO Stadium on April 23.
(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)
The U.S. will start training camp in Carson on Monday and play a send-off game with Wales on July 9 in San Jose. The team will open the World Cup on July 22, facing Vietnam in Auckland. It will also meet the Netherlands and Portugal in group play.
This summer’s World Cup will be the largest women’s tournament in history with 32 teams and 64 games. It will also be the first shared between two countries, with games in 10 stadiums and nine host cities, five in Australia and four in New Zealand.
The average age of the U.S. roster is 28½ years, about the same as the last two World Cup rosters. Ten players on the team are older than 30.
“We have a really good mix,” Andonovski said “of veterans and younger players.”
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders: Alana Cook (OL Reign), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)
Midfielders: Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC), Julie Ertz (Angel City FC), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
Forwards: Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
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