Injured Naeher off USWNT squad for two Olympic tuneups

The first United States women’s national team roster with new head coach Emma Hayes on the sideline features three uncapped players and a handful of veterans returning from injuries — but not longtime starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

Naeher, a two-time World Cup champion, is absent from the roster after suffering a thigh injury with the Chicago Red Stars earlier this month.

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Naeher has started 16 of 17 combined USWNT games at the past two World Cups and the most recent Olympics, missing only the 2021 Olympic bronze medal game because of an in-tournament injury.

Casey Murphy has been Naeher’s backup for the past two years.

Forwards Alex Morgan and Jaedyn Shaw, and center-backs Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson are all on the recent USWNT roster despite recent injury concerns.

The USWNT will play South Korea on June 1 outside Denver, Colorado, and again on June 4 in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the team’s final two games before Hayes names her 18-player Olympics roster.

The 2024 Paris Games begin July 25.

“I’m really looking forward to getting started,” Hayes said in a statement. “The preparations have been well underway, and I can’t wait to get into camp. We know it’s a short turnaround and we have a lot of work to do, but I’m fully focused on making sure that the performances are at the levels that are required to compete.”

The upcoming training camp is Hayes’ first in charge of the USWNT after accepting the head-coaching role in November.

U.S. Soccer agreed to let Hayes finish the European season with Chelsea, whom she guided to a fifth straight Women’s Super League title on Saturday.

Twila Kilgore, who will shift to being Hayes’ assistant, has served as the USWNT’s interim coach since August following the team’s round-of-16 exit at the 2023 World Cup.

Kilgore and Hayes have communicated about tactics and roster decisions over the past six months, with Hayes briefly visiting a USWNT camp in December for introductions and Kilgore traveling to England to meet with Hayes.

Ongoing injuries across the roster have factored into those discussions.

Morgan has not played for San Diego Wave FC in over a month after injuring her ankle in a goal-line collision in April.

Her inclusion on the USWNT’s latest roster suggests she is nearing a return.

Morgan is the most-capped player on the roster (223) and reiterated her importance as the team’s starting No. 9 during Concacaf Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup triumphs earlier this year.

Versatile attacker Shaw also missed San Diego’s most recent game following an apparent ankle injury the week prior, but she is in camp.

Shaw is the USWNT’s leading scorer this year with five goals and an assist in eight games.

Notably, Crystal Dunn is listed as a forward in this camp. Dunn has primarily played full-back for the USWNT, including during the team’s 2019 World Cup triumph, but she has simultaneously played in attacking roles for her National Women’s Soccer League teams for most of the past decade.

Depth issues remain at center-back.

Davidson had missed nearly a month of NWSL action after injuring her thigh in April before returning to the field on Sunday. She came off the bench for the final 25 minutes of NJ/NY Gotham FC’s 2-1 win over Chicago.

Girma has been on and off the San Diego Wave’s injury report with muscular issues that began in the previous USWNT camp in early April.

Abby Dahlkemper, her teammate for club and country, also just returned from a thigh injury last weekend but is not on the latest USWNT roster.

Hayes has responded by giving center-back Sam Staab her first call-up.

The Chicago Red Stars defender has started 100 straight NWSL regular-season games, a league record.

Emily Sonnett, who filled a void for the USWNT in the No. 6 role late last year, is listed as a center-back this camp after playing in that role recently for Gotham.

Midfielder Hal Hershfelt joins Staab as a first-time call-up in this camp.

Hershfelt was the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NWSL draft by the Washington Spirit and immediately stepped into a starting role as one of the Spirit’s defensive midfielders.

She has no previous experience with U.S. youth national teams.

Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes, 16, is the other uncapped player on the roster.

Yohannes joined the USWNT for last month’s SheBelieves Cup but did not play in either game.

Yohannes was born in the U.S., but her family currently lives in the Netherlands, and she has previously stated that she has not yet decided on her international future.

Dutch coach Andries Jonker has publicly courted Yohannes to play for the Netherlands if the midfielder gets her Dutch passport.

Three more players will join the U.S. as training players.

Midfielder Olivia Moultrie was part of the USWNT’s most recent rosters but will be a training player in this camp.

Washington Spirit midfielder and No. 3 pick Croix Bethune, who leads the NWSL in goal-creating actions per FBref, will join her first USWNT camp as a training player.

Spirit teammate Kate Wiesner will also join a USWNT camp for the first time as a training player.

After the pair of friendlies against South Korea, the USWNT’s Olympic roster will assemble for send-off matches on July 13 against Mexico and July 16 against Costa Rica.

The Americans will face Zambia, Germany and Australia in the group stage of the Olympics.

The USWNT last won an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Games.

“I expect complete commitment from everyone to absorb very quickly the things that I value as the most important so that we can compete this summer,” Hayes said. “I know they are a highly coachable group and I’m looking forward to challenging them. It’s time to go to work. I can’t wait to meet the fans and it’s really time to get behind the team as we get closer to putting a roster together for the Olympics.”

U.S. women’s national team roster by position (club) – June friendlies vs. Korea Republic