The United States women's national team has a relatively short history dating back to just 1986. Over the following three decades, the Americans had a tremendous amount of success, dominating opponents and picking up over 25 total championships. Arranged in a 4-3-3 for this best XI, here are the best eleven ladies (and one super sub for good measure) to ever dawn the red, white and blue.
A few of these players have twirls and twinkles toes and others . . . well . . . might have two left feet. We're looking at you, Ozil.
Last Saturday, 30 women hailing from six different continents summited Mount Kilimanjaro before descending to play a 90-minute, 11-a-side match at 18,799 feet, setting a world record for highest altitude in a competitive football match. The event was setup by the Equal Playing Field initiative, a movement aiming to raise awareness towards the systematic inequality that women’s sport is challenged with and to empower aspiring athletes to challenge the social norms for girls in sport.
Australia international and Sky Blue FC forward Sam Kerr is on fire. With two goals against Portland Thorns a couple weeks ago, she became Sky Blue’s all-time leading scorer, she's currently ranked fourth in the league’s all-time goal scoring list and she's the third best scorer this season behind Marta and Megan Rapinoe. Kerr also picked up NWSL Player of the Month honors for May and Player of the Week honors for week nine.
If the 23-year-old isn’t familiar to you now, she will be after you see this beauty she scored last night against the Orlando Pride.
The Houston Dash moved off the bottom of the NWSL table with a 2-0 victory over the Orlando Pride, powered by a Carli Lloyd strike. While at the other end of the table the North Carolina Courage continue to roll through the season, now with eight wins from 11 matches.
The NWSL regular season is past the one-third mark, and the table is beginning to take shape. Here’s a look at the players and teams that are dominating the stat charts so far.
Goals
A strong week nine from Marta has pushed her into a three-way tie at the top of the scoring chart.
Marta (Orlando Pride) - 5
Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign) - 5
A stellar 2017 season has come to a halt for young sensation Rose Lavelle. The Boston Breakers announced Thursday that she will be out four to six weeks due to a strained left hamstring. She picked up the injury during the USWNT’s recent trip overseas to take on Norway. Earlier in that trip, Lavelle scored the USA's only goal in a 1-0 victory against Sweden.
After a nearly two-week break, the NWSL returns to action having since its stars featuring in international friendlies across the globe. The Courage have dominated the first third of the season, and now get a home and away series with a Boston Breakers side who have to cope without Rose Lavelle (injured).