The U.S. women’s national team is settling in for a long winter’s nap after capping off the year with a pair of wins. The Stars and Stripes closed out 2025 with two victories against Italy and plenty of growth to reflect upon.
Under the guidance of head coach Emma Hayes, 2025 was a year of player pool expansion and intentional experimentation, laying the groundwork for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The squad will have December as time off before reconvening in January for the annual New Year camp. The unofficial window may not include certain European club players at the time, as January camps often fall outside of an official international window. That opens the door to even more extended looks at players, or re-evaluation of those already regular cast members in the expanded pool.
Now the page turns towards a new year, and the World Cup qualifiers are officially less than a year away with the Concacaf W Championship set to take place in November 2026. With so many new players integrated into the program at the senior level and the U23 team, who are the ones that will make the coaching decisions increasingly difficult?
We’ve already have a 2027 World Cup roster projection, so for this exercise, most players from the 2024 Olympic squad will not be considered. Only athletes who either earned more caps, made their debuts, and earned first-time call-ups, or have not been with the squad for an extended period of time will be categorized.
Here’s who I think is a World Cup qualifier lock, on the bubble, or on the outside looking in, for now.
Locks for qualifiers
Goalkeepers: Phallon Tulis-Joyce, Claudia Dickey
They’re the only pair of goalkeepers to earn two consecutive starts during any of the international windows, and they’re both coming off big club seasons. Tulis-Joyce recently sustained a fractured eye socket that kept her out of end-of-year camps and Manchester United’s recent Champions League window, but she has seven clean sheets in the tournament dating back to qualifying rounds. Dickey earned NWSL second-best XI honors and was a finalist for goalkeeper of the year.
Defenders: Tara McKeown, Avery Patterson
A solid club season for Patterson, though the Houston Dash’s slow start hampered playoff chances. Still, the fullback made a good impression whenever she earned minutes with the USWNT, and it can’t all fall upon Emily Fox. The centerback position gets a little trickier. Here’s the truth: if Naomi Girma, Tierna Davidson, and Emily Sonnett are all healthy and ready to go come November qualifiers, then McKeown’s battle as a depth option is up against Emily Sams.
Midfielders: Lily Yohannes
Part of 2025 has also been the hampering of any expectations for a young midfielder. Hayes has been vocal about taking off the pressure for the 18-year-old, but that’s been difficult to do when Yohannes keeps showing off her vision and skillset.
Forwards: Alyssa Thompson, Catarina Macario
If the door is open for the Olympic gold medal-winning “triple espresso” attacking line of Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman to return in 2026, then they have finally some added cavalry in tow. After missing out on time with the national team for nearly all of 2024, Thompson has become a constant starter for Hayes. Also coming off a discouraging 2024 is Macario, who removed herself from Olympic selection after making the roster due to injury concerns.
Now, Macario is nominated for female player of the year after functioning as a false nine in Hayes’ system with seven goals and two assists. It’s her best year in a USWNT kit since coming back from an ACL injury; she started nine games with her goals scored against Colombia, Brazil, China, New Zealand, and Italy.
On the bubble
Goalkeepers: Mandy McGlynn
McGlynn began the year with starting minutes, but those dwindled over the year with the emergence of Tulis-Joyce and Claudia Dickey’s form. She’s still a regular call-in as part of the goalkeeper core and will likely remain if she keeps up consistent club performances.
Defenders: Lilly Reale
Reale has only a limited number of senior appearances (six, per Opta), but her minutes (449) rival fullback Avery Patterson’s (518), while Reale has fewer appearances (six) this year. This is a positive for the program, as the outside back role has often been a point of concern over a lack of depth, but now there are options.
Midfielders: Jaedyn Shaw, Olivia Moultrie, Claire Hutton
Some good problems are emerging for Emma Hayes and her staff. Both Shaw and Moultrie are players who began the year as part of the U23 squad, and were examples of player profiles by Hayes as players who could be ready now vs. players who could be ready later.
Forwards: Michelle Cooper
How does one buy stock in Cooper? Let me know immediately. I rate her that highly. I think the USWNT coaching staff also rates her. Quite possibly the best example of the U23 integration, Cooper got time in January 2025 futures camps, earned a spot on the national team in February and never gave it back.
A late-season injury kept her out of the Kansas City Current’s playoff appearance and the final international window of the year, but she played 10 games for USWNT, with one goal and two assists, all while being a wrecking winger in the process.
Outliers
Goalkeeper: Jordan Silkowitz
While Bay FC had a challenging season that led to an early elimination from playoff contention, goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz was a bright spot. The injury to Tulis-Joyce opened a spot, and if the Bay keeper maintains form, maybe Silkowitz will be that fourth depth chart keeper.
Defenders: Kennedey Wesley, Gisele Thompson, Jenna Nighswonger, Crystal Dunn
First and last time Jenna Nighswonger made a camp roster was in January. Crystal Dunn was in March. Safe to say their moves to Europe have not panned out in terms of actual minutes played, despite the experiences of being overseas.
It’s good to see the U23 program work in both directions between senior call-ups and continued development. Wesley is a centerback who started in the U23s in 2025 but aged out later in the year. She eventually earned senior call-ups to close out 2025. Though that might look different now that Girma is healthier and back in the mix.
Wingback Gisele Thompson had a promising start to the year but missed out on camps due to injury, and she might be one of those “ready later vs. ready now” type of players Hayes had referred to in the past.
Midfielders: Ally Sentnor
A revamped U23 program means that players who could use more development have a place to do that outside of their clubs. After call-ups with the senior team, a midseason move from Utah to Kansas City changed the way Sentnor was utilized. It meant that a sophomore NWSL player was now on a club depth chart instead of the face of a team to end the NWSL season.
She was part of the U23 side that recently defeated England, 4-2, and she scored a goal in the second half. Don’t be surprised if her extra minutes and overseason experience boost her back into the senior mix.
Forwards: Emma Sears
I don’t truly believe Sears is on the outside, so let’s make that clear. There’s just an abundance of attacking players in this program now, and only so many spaces on a World Cup qualifying roster. A lot will depend on the availability of “triple espresso” come November 2026, and even then, Thompson, Macario, and Cooper are forwards who might be in front of her on the depth chart.
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