Mal Pugh

One of the biggest “What-ifs” for the United States women’s national team in 2023 is what would the year have looked like if star forward Mallory Swanson didn’t suffer a knee injury in April.

During a friendly against Republic of Ireland Swanson’s 2023 World Cup dreams were shattered after suffering a gruesome tear to the patellar tendon in her left knee. She hasn’t played for the USWNT or the Chicago Red Stars since.

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).

The USWNT's 2-0 friendly victory over Ireland on Saturday was overshadowed by a horror injury to Mallory Swanson that left the 24-year-old hospitalized in Austin, Texas.

On Sunday, the USWNT provided a Mallory Swanson injury update that confirmed the seriousness of the incident. Swanson suffered a torn patella tendon in her left knee and has been replaced in the squad by 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson.

A terrifying Mal Swanson injury overshadowed the USWNT’s 2-0 victory vs. Ireland in a friendly match at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

Swanson went down injured twice in the first half. The first came when Swanson collided with goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan after Ireland’s Aofie Mannion shoved Swanson in the back. The star American forward was down for several minutes with what appeared to be a neck injury.

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 - With a blockbuster 2023 that shows no sign of slowing down, United States forward Mallory Swanson has shed her early "wunderkind" image and unveiled what she calls a "Mal 3.0" version of herself ahead of this year's Women's World Cup.

The 24-year-old flicked her seventh goal of the year into the net at the SheBelieves Cup last month in an astonishing run that underlined her claim to a spot in the squad when the U.S. seek an unprecedented third straight World Cup title.