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.
The 2022-23 UEFA Women's Champions League group stage began Wednesday with a marquee matchup between defending champions Lyon and quarterfinalists Arsenal at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, and the result sent shockwaves around the world.
Lyon kept pace with rival PSG at the top of the Division 1 Féminine table by beating Soyaux 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.
After opening the season last weekend with a commanding 5-1 victory over Stade Reims behind a Daniëlle van de Donk brace, Lyon found things more difficult on the grounds of the Groupama OL Training Center.
The match required a moment of magic from American midfielder Lindsey Horan in the 32nd-minute to open the scoring. After failing to get off the bench in Lyon's first game, Horan started alongside Van de Donk and Sara Däbritz in a three-woman midfield.
The United States women’s national team took care of business with a 4-0 victory vs. Nigeria on Saturday during an international friendly in Kansas City.
This was the first game for the USWNT since the team won the Concacaf Women’s Championship in Mexico in July. The U.S. defeated Canada 1-0 in the final.
When the NWSL players and league agreed to a landmark first-ever Collective Bargaining Agreement in February, most of the focus was on guaranteeing players a living wage, and for good reason. But among the other benefits NWSL players carved out for themselves was a mandatory seven-day break in the middle of the season — an NWSL summer vacation.
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.
American stars Catarina Macario and Lindsey Horan became the fourth and fifth USWNT players to win the UEFA Champions League as Lyon defeated the seemingly unstoppable Barcelona 3-1 on Saturday in Turin.
Macario and Horan played the entire game and the 22-year-old phenom made history as the first American to score in the final.
The 2021-22 UEFA Women's Champions League has been a watermark edition of the competition.