Jeff KassoufNov 5, 2025, 07:15 AM ET
- Jeff Kassouf covers women's soccer for ESPN, focusing on the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, he founded The Equalizer, a women's soccer news outlet, and he previously won a Sports Emmy at NBC Sports and Olympics.
The group of players that will lead the U.S. women's national team at the 2027 Women's World Cup is coming into focus.
Head coach Emma Hayes had said prior to the recent October window that the group she called up would likely be the one she sees most ready to contribute on the road to World Cup qualifying. That young, inexperienced squad got battle-tested in a surprising 2-1 loss to Portugal on Oct. 23.
Hayes learned plenty from that game, and the ensuing victories over Portugal (in a rematch) and New Zealand -- more than she would have in a comfortable victory for the USWNT. But her dilemma remains, and thus returns our USWNT Big Board for the first time in months with its usual question: If the World Cup started today, who would make the roster?
For this exercise, players with long-term injuries or absences would not make the squad. Nobody (including this writer) is betting against forwards Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson reclaiming their starting roles after maternity leave, for example, but to borrow a phrase from Hayes, you can only work with who is available right now.
The timing of our latest exercise also adds an interesting, real-life wrinkle that Hayes could face in 18 months: Does she bring defender Naomi Girma or forward Trinity Rodman to the World Cup despite lingering injuries because they are that exceptionally talented?
How the USWNT Big Board works
Hayes has rotated and experimented heavily this year, and she reiterated recently that even players who are household names might still go play with the under-23s or even the under-20s if eligible. That makes our job harder than ever, with tiers two through four somewhat interchangeable.
We've followed Hayes' lead in trying to narrow down the names on this list (even those on the bubble and the outside) after expanding it far and wide in the spring. Here's how we define our categories:
Tier 1: Locks. Clear first-choice players who are contending for a starting role.
Tier 2: In the squad. Not necessarily starters, but substitutes and players on the bench available to go into games.
Tier 3: On the bubble. Players who have received call-ups at the senior level or with the U-23s, but who aren't necessarily making a 23-player roster.
Tier 4: Outside looking in. Players who have received call-ups at the senior level or with the U-23s, but who aren't necessarily making a 23-player roster.
- Kassouf: Why are USWNT players leaving the NWSL for Europe?
- NWSL playoff Power Rankings: Does anyone stand a chance vs. K.C.?
- USA 3-1 Portugal: Moultrie & Co. get Hayes' team back playing 'the USA way'
Goalkeepers
Locks: Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Claudia Dickey
In the squad: Mandy McGlynn
On the bubble: Casey Murphy, Jane Campbell
Outside looking in: Aubrey Kingsbury, Mia Justus, Liz Beardsley, Leah Freeman, Neeku Purcell
1:43
Phallon Tullis-Joyce loves Man United 'shaking up' the WSL and UWCL
USWNT goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce speaks about her experience with Man United playing in their first ever UEFA Women's Champions League campaign.
Tullis-Joyce is probably still the favorite to be the new No. 1, although Dickey continues to have something to say about that both for Seattle Reign FC and in her recent starts with the USWNT. Either way, they are both on the plane to Brazil for the World Cup.
McGlynn looks like the third goalkeeper right now, although Murphy's looming move to Boston Legacy FC could get the former No. 2 -- and once presumptive starter -- back in the picture.
For as much uncertainty as there is around who will start and whether they are ready, the trio of keepers who would make the cut right now isn't in question based on Hayes' recent decisions.
Fullbacks
Locks: Emily Fox, Avery Patterson
In the squad: Lilly Reale
On the bubble: Gisele Thompson, Izzy Rodriguez
Outside looking in: Crystal Dunn, Evelyn Shores, Quincy McMahon
1:28
How crucial will Emily Fox be for Arsenal this year?
Emily Keogh believes Emily Fox is "getting better" as Arsenal prepare for the new WSL season vs. London City Lionesses.
Fox is a Ballon d'Or shortlisted, UEFA Women's Champions League-winning fullback. After that, Hayes is still figuring things out.
Patterson looks like the odds-on favorite to start opposite Fox right now. The 23-year-old is a dynamo at fullback when she gets forward and combines in the attack. Reale has been largely impressive in her limited time at the senior level thus far. Thompson still might have the most long-term upside of anyone, but she needs more reps at senior level.
Dunn, who was the standout fullback at the 2019 World Cup and owned the position for the USWNT for so long, has struggled to earn playing time at Paris Saint-Germain and hasn't gotten the call from Hayes recently.
Center backs
Locks: Emily Sonnett, Jordyn Bugg
In the squad: Emily Sams, Naomi Girma
On the bubble: Tara McKeown, Kennedy Wesley, Eva Gaetino
Outside looking in: Kayla Sharples, Jayden Perry
Would Hayes take Girma to the World Cup even if the defender were 80% healthy? I am going with an emphatic "yes," especially given how Hayes glows about her. The 25-year-old has struggled with multiple calf injuries since joining Chelsea in January, and she is only just getting back onto the team's gameday rosters, but she remains the best defender on the USWNT.
Bugg is likely her long-term partner in the position, and another defender who Hayes admires. The 19-year-old is pushing for playing time, and a senior World Cup this early in her career would provide invaluable long-term experience.
Sonnett is the lone healthy veteran on the squad, one who Hayes leans on regularly -- especially with Tierna Davidson still sidelined.
McKeown continued to show progress this NWSL season for the Washington Spirit as a forward-turned-center-back, and Emily Sams is a steady presence despite not always getting a lot of playing time.
Midfielders
Locks: Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle, Lily Yohannes, Lindsey Heaps
In the squad: Claire Hutton
On the bubble: Jaedyn Shaw, Lo'eau LaBonta, Croix Bethune, Sam Meza
Outside looking in: Korbin Shrader, Riley Jackson, Taylor Huff, Sarah Schupansky, Abi Brighton, Gia Corley
1:48
Why the 'sky is the limit' for USWNT's Lily Yohannes
Lianne Sanderson speaks after Lily Yohannes' performance for OL Lyonnes vs. St. Pölten in the Women's Champions League.
Clarity is emerging for the present and future of the USWNT's midfield. Yohannes plays beyond her years, Coffey is the ever-reliable soul of the squad, and Lavelle is back to being a "magician," as Hayes recently described her.
Heaps is the team's captain and remains among its most tactically savvy players, but there is more competition than ever in the middle of the park. Hayes' biggest dilemma over the next 18 months is figuring out her best combination in midfield. Changing any one player disrupts the balance of the entire triumvirate, as recent games showed, and those answers will become more pressing by the day as 2027 nears.
Shaw is back in form, but progress won't be linear and she is still reintegrating into the squad. A notable change from the past window was the absence, both from the senior and U23 teams, of Shrader (nee Albert), who was part of the 2024 Olympic gold-medal winning team and who is off to a strong start with OL Lyonnes since her summer move from Paris.
And yes, that is longtime Germany youth international Gia Corley on the outside looking in. She joined the U.S. U23 camp in October as a quietly intriguing addition.
Forwards
Locks: Catarina Macario, Alyssa Thompson
In the squad: Trinity Rodman
On the bubble: Ally Sentnor, Emma Sears, Michelle Cooper, Olivia Moultrie, Yazmeen Ryan
Outside looking in: Mia Fishel, Emeri Adames, Riley Tiernan, Maddie Dahlien, Jameese Joseph, Pietra Tordin
1:56
Can Macario nail down a starting spot with Chelsea this season?
The Futbol W crew discuss how Catarina Macario's form last season will play a huge part in nailing down a starting place in Chelsea's midfield.
Just like Girma, we ask: Are you bringing Rodman to the World Cup if she has even a shot at playing? Yes. Yes, of course you are.
The extent of Rodman's sprained MCL is still a mystery, but we've been led to believe she could be available for the NWSL playoffs, which begin this weekend. And yes, some of us are old enough to remember the 2016 Olympics, when the logic of bringing a not-fully-fit superstar on the roster backfired. But in that case, Megan Rapinoe expedited recovery from a torn ACL, and the roster was only 18 players. This is a 23-player roster (maybe 26 by the time the tournament arrives) and Rodman has a sprained MCL. Rodman is a game changer the USWNT needs -- especially with Wilson and Swanson also absent.
Realistically, everyone outside of Macario and Thompson is on the bubble, but we have to make some tough choices. So, let's do it, shall we?
USWNT squad if the World Cup started today
Goalkeepers: Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Claudia Dickey, Mandy McGlynn
Defenders: Emily Fox, Avery Patterson, Lilly Reale, Emily Sonnett, Naomi Girma, Emily Sams, Jordyn Bugg, Tara McKeown
Midfielders: Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle, Lily Yohannes, Lindsey Heaps, Claire Hutton, Jaedyn Shaw
Forwards: Catarina Macario, Alyssa Thompson, Trinity Rodman, Ally Sentnor, Olivia Moultrie, Michelle Cooper
Uncertainty in defense, compounded by Girma's injury, would lead Hayes to take perhaps one more player from that group than she might like to. Sams helps add versatility, as does McKeown as both an improving center back and a late-game Swiss Army knife if the USWNT is trailing and needs a result.
Our decision to include Rodman -- and gamble on Shaw staying in form, as we think Hayes would right now -- also further squeezes the forward group, with Emma Sears and Yazmeen Ryan becoming the two most difficult cuts. Both have been bright in spurts and yes, Sears just scored a hat trick against New Zealand. But Moultrie scored a brace against Portugal, and Hayes has some tough choices to make. Moultrie is also versatile and potentially gives the USWNT a different look up top to alter tactics beyond the "turn-and-burn" wingers against different opponents.
Not only will the names on this roster change over time, but so will the balance of positions as some newer players establish themselves and as longtime starters return to fitness. But if Hayes' roster was due at FIFA's desk by the end of today, this is how it might look: inexperienced and experimental but talented and filled with potential.
