17 January 2020

USA Soccer name 20-player squad for 2020 Concacaf Women's Olympic qualifying tournament featuring FIFA World Cup winning stars including Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz, while pregnant Alex Morgan is missing

World champions USA Soccer have announced their roster to play in the 2020 Concacaf Women's Olympic Qualifying tournament in Texas and California.

US Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski named 20 players, consisting of three goalkeepers and 17 outfield players following a training camp in Tampa, Florida.

Among the squad, 18 members were part of the side that emerged victorious at the FIFA World Cup in July.

Full squad:

Goalkeepers - Adrianna Franch, Ashlyn Harris, Alyssa Naehr

Defenders - Abby Dahlkemper, Crystal Dunn, Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, Emily Sonnett

Midfielders - Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Samantha Mewis, Andi Sullivan

Forwards - Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, Jessica McDonald, Christen Press, Megan Rapinoe, Lynn Williams

This is a test for new head coach Andonovski, who replaced Jill Ellis after she stepped down following their Olympic victory. Of his team he said: "They are mature and savvy players who can adjust on the fly if needed and of course are highly motivated to earn that berth to the Olympics.

"This is a team that understands that you have to be aggressive and unpredictable in how you create scoring chances but also knows how to be smart on defence at the same time." 

The tournament is to decide which women's national teams from North, Central American and Caribbean regions will feature at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

It consists of two groups of four teams who will play in a round-robin style with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stages and the tournament champion and runner-up decided in a final.

Both teams from the final will then qualify for the Games in Tokyo.

Group A - United States, Costa Rica, Panama, Haiti

Group B - Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis

The event will take place from January 28 - February 9. The USA, who have never lost an Olympic qualifying match will play their first game against Haiti on January 28.

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