Alyssa Naeher

United States women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski is set to put out his first-ever World Cup starting XI on Friday against Vietnam. Here’s an idea of the expected USWNT starting XI vs Vietnam that Vlatko might field.

It’s no secret that the USWNT are heavy, and we repeat, HEAVY favorites against Vietnam. One Vietnamese reported even asked Vlatko if his team was going to do to Vietnam what they did to Thailand in the last Women’s World Cup (win 13-0).

By the time the USWNT and Ireland wrap-up their two-match friendly series next Tuesday at CityPark, there'll be less than 100 days before the start of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. 

So although the U.S. holds a 13-0-0 advantage all-time against the Girls in Green (outscoring them 48 to one in the process), there'll be plenty of internal battles to focus on at Q2 Stadium in Austin on Saturday before the second game in St. Louis three days later. 

NEW YORK - Veteran forward Alex Morgan heads a largely inexperienced roster as the U.S. women's national soccer team kick off 2023 with two friendlies on the road against World Cup co-hosts New Zealand.

The United States are gunning for an unprecedented third straight World Cup title — and fifth overall — when the tournament kicks off in less than 200 days, after a frustrating end to 2022.

Alex Morgan is back on the U.S. Women's National Team roster with a chance to reach 200 caps for her stellar career.

Coach Vlatko Andonovski announced the 24-team roster on Monday for two upcoming friendlies against Germany with Morgan listed as one of the team's seven forwards.

With Women’s World Cup qualifying three weeks away, USWNT players are peaking at the right time. Alex Morgan is unstoppable, Sophia Smith and Mal Pugh are lighting up the scoreboards and Rose Lavelle is literally flying.

The 2022 Concacaf W Championship is just 26 days away, so USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski has to be close to knowing the final 23-player squad he'll name for the tournament in Mexico — which serves as qualifying for both the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympic Games.

But he's not showing his hand yet.

On Monday, Concacaf revealed the provisional rosters for the W Championship, so while the final 23 will have to be selected from this list, the provisional roster for the USWNT includes an all-encompassing 59 names.

In September, the USWNT crushed Paraguay in back-to-back friendlies by a 17-0 aggregate score. This past week, the USWNT crushed Uzbekistan in back-to-back friendlies by an 18-1 aggregate score. While the September matches felt mostly a waste of time, the April matches felt instructive and useful, for both Vlatko Andonovski’s plans moving forward and U.S. fans trying to figure out those plans.

If you just look at the opponent, the USWNT’s April friendlies against Uzbekistan are likely to be fairly drab. Matches against the 48th-ranked team in the world in Ohio and Philadelphia, on the face of it, don’t really kindle much enthusiasm. But the April USWNT roster makes it clear: This is the final chance for some young players to earn a spot on the team at World Cup and Olympic qualifying this summer in Mexico.