contrary to reports the uswnt talent pool is deep af, here's who's next

Emma Hayes’s USWNT are ahead of schedule. After the team’s worst ever finish to a World Cup it was reasonably assumed that it would take more than a new manager, four warmup games and ~twelve training sessions before they’d be ready to win another major tournament. Lol. Lmao. Oops.

The extremely cool part is that they won a gold medal with what should be the “least” talented roster for quite some time. Hayes also only trusted a small core group of players and hoped for the best, and got it. Now, with several international windows to come and just under three years to build to the 2027 World Cup, the real work can begin.

This is the shit Hayes lives for. She scoured the globe to build Chelsea into the Chelsea we see today, and while she’s now limited to U.S.-eligible players, the talent pool is deep af. So we’re going position by position to highlight players who could, and/or should, be on Hayes’s radar. I’ve also revved up the StatsBomb machine to spotlight what each player does best.

Attack

The attack needs the least amount of help, and truthfully players just getting healthy will add talent that Hayes was wanting to count on anyway. But ‘embarrassment of riches’ is never truer than with this group. There are so many players with fun and unique skillsets to call on. From superstar talents getting back to form to young players tearing through the NWSL, the limit literally does not exist.

Forwards

Ally Sentnor, 20
Utah Royals
Shots: 2.78/90

One thing the USWNT lacks is a pure shooter in attack. Sentnor might just be the shooter we need. She doesn’t seem capable of scoring a regular goal, but that’s primarily because her shooting technique allows her to be a volume scorer without having to get anywhere near the six-yard box. She generates an absurd amount of power rom her shots, so much so that she routinely beats keepers from the left, with her left foot, to the far side netting.

You shouldn’t be able to do this as, like, your thing. But it’s already Ally Sentnor’s thing.

Ella Stevens, 26
Gotham
xG per Shot: .23 🥇

I for one cannot wait for Ella Stevens to get on the pitch for the national team. She has unlimited sauce and I don’t think opposing coaches are going to know how to defend her array of unpredictable skills.

She’s comfortable dropping deep to help buildup, drifting wide to link with wingers and fullbacks, playing as a target forward, or doing pretty much anything else she wants to do. Might score a back post fall-away volley, might hit a filthy spin move in the box and put her defender in a blender. Whatever it is, it will be a goal, and it will be saucy.

Mia Fishel, 23
Chelsea
Touches in Box: 8.71/90

Emma Hayes was a big enough admirer of Fishel at Tigres to lure her to Chelsea last summer, so we already know how highly she rates her. Fishel is a strong, physical goalscorer who is good at holding the ball up and linking with other forwards. Her profile is something the USWNT doesn’t currently have, but one Hayes wants on the squad.

The first time Alex Morgan was initially left off a roster—while Twila Kilgore was interim coach but in communication with Hayes—was in favor of Fishel. Unfortunately she tore her ACL in training ahead of the W Gold Cup earlier this year, and has been rehabbing since. Once healthy and back on the pitch, Hayes will surely be looking to Fishel again.

Midge Purce, 28
Gotham
Successful Dribbles (2023): 2.36/90 🥈

Straight up ain’t a better 1v1 dribbler in the country. Midge lives to dice defenders up from the wing, but the thing I love is that she very often completes the sequence. She’s as dangerous and as complete of a wide forward/winger as we have.

Alyssa Thompson, 19
Angel City
Dribble & Carry OBV: .18

The teenage phenom has definitely cooled off this season, but she’s not alone, Angel City as a staff, label and crew has been kinda wack this season. Most of this stems from Becki Tweed’s approaches to games, but recently things have shifted and bit so the second half could be intriguing. Something that would help immediately is getting Alyssa Thompson back to the form of her rookie season.

Thompson is not just track star quick, she’s track star quick with the ball at her feet. Her skillset is ultra rare and genuinely terrifying for defenders, particularly in space 1v1 or against a high line. Angel City’s struggles aren’t her fault but they are impacting her. Hopefully they get their shit together so she can return to the trajectory and promise of her rookie season.

Emma Sears, 23
Rahsing Louisville
Carry Length: 9.34m/90 🥈

I’m gonna date myself but oh well, and also I’m gonna use an extremely tired and worn out analogy but it’s the one that gets stuck in my head while watching Sears so I can’t help it. Now that all disclaimers are out of the way, remember The Matrix? Remember how when Neo became aware of it while inside of it everything slowed down for him, but looked superhumanly fast to everyone else? That’s Emma Sears.

When she takes off on a run she just glides up the pitch with no one able to catch her, but she’s as calm as an F1 driver going 200mph inches from a wall. She uses the time and space she creates well, too. She’s already hit 17 key passes averaging .12 xG per shot, and totaling 2.01 xG. Her speed also allows her to do the Trinity Rodman-esque thing of defending deep while still being a threat in the attacking half, even if she has to carry the ball there herself.

Brittany Raphino, 23
Sporting CP
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This may seem out of nowhere but it’s maybe because Raphino chose to go to Portugal after college instead of a higher tier, more accessible league. But that doesn’t mean she’s not ballin over there. The former Ivy League star scored seven goals in twelve games, and dropped two assists, her rookie season. She’s also already scored a brace just one game into her second season with the club.

Truth is, while Sporting CP has a good project going, we might not see her called up until she’s doing an equivalent level of ballin in a different league.

Midfield

The biggest weakness the USWNT had during the Olympics was its midfield. They struggled when tasked by Japan, then Germany, to unlock organized mid and low blocks. In the final, Brazil highlighted mobility issues and a struggle to connect with the attack when faced with player-to-player marking. They overcame all of this but improvements are needed if they want to keep winning things.

Hayes having more time with the squad will certainly improve them tactically, but also personnel additions should help too. Luckily, there are a wide range of midfielders ready to provide solutions.

Attacking Mids

Catarina Macário, 24
Chelsea
Key Passes (WSL): 4.15/90 🥇

I mean, obvs. Macário was named to Hayes’s Olympic squad but had to withdraw due to injury. How she continues to recover from a devastating and lengthy ACL injury will be key, but if she can get fully healthy and stay healthy she can provide the biggest upgrade to an already outrageously stacked attack.

Macário is, simply, a brilliant player. When she finally and euphorically stepped on the pitch for Chelsea, she proceeded to lead the team in key passes (passes leading directly to a shot) per 90, and in just two and a half months. Sample size, you may say, and you would be right to question an average based on a substantial variance in minutes played. But things get even sillier when looking at season totals. Macário’s 19 key passes in the WSL was good enough to rank seventh at Chelsea—in just 412 minutes. Absurd. Please get healthy, Cat.

Croix Bethune, 23
Washington Spirit
Throughballs: .61/90 🥇

Keeping with the theme of truly outrageous and uniquely talented players, I present to you Croix Bethune. Croix’s rise has been something beyond meteoric. She hit the NWSL and immediately got to work dishing assists and scoring goals. In her damn rookie season she is one assist shy of tying the single season assist record. And she already has a dang gold medal.

But so much more is to come and I’m not sure the world is ready. They have never seen a U.S. player look like her and play the way she plays. Hell, most (mostly white, let’s be honest) Americans won’t know what to do either. And I need it. Bethune averages .61 successful throughballs per 90. In short, she is constantly looking to attack space in behind, and is—in a handful of games—already one of the best at doing so at the professional level.

Jaedyn Shaw, 19
San Diego Wavé
Throughballs: .35/90 🥈

Shaw is another who already has a gold medal but should play a much larger role in the future. An injury kept her out of matchday squads early in the tournament and unfortunately she never stepped onto the grass for official minutes. But they’re coming.

Like Bethune, Shaw loves attacking space in behind. She’s also an excellent finisher who somehow finds ways to make the intricate and routine both appear casual to her. She’s aggressive and strong when pressing from the forward line, and is a threat to put the ball behind the defense from literally anywhere on the pitch.

Ashley Sanchez, 25
North Carolina Courage
Deep Progressions: 4.69/90 🥇

Vlatko must pay for his crimes, and one of his crimes is telling Sanchez that while she was going to the World Cup, she wasn’t going to play at all. The decision grew into a planet-sized mass of silly given how dull and devoid of ideas his USWNT often looked. Anyway, she’s with North Carolina now, in a good system fit for her skills, and is thriving.

She’s still one of the most fun and outrageous players on the ball, and is a nightmare to mark. She leads the NWSL with 4.69 deep progressions per 90, which are passes or carries into the final third. Among all CAMs, she’s second overall in open play passes into the box per 90, and completes the third most successful dribbles per 90. Basically, she can do either, you never know which it will be, and whichever she chooses will probably work.

Savannah DeMelo, 26
Rahsing Louisville
Fouls Won: 4.87/90 🥇

I have a theory, and that theory is that while Savannah DeMelo’s best position is close to goal—thanks to her shooting prowess—I’d like to see her attempt to develop as a center midfielder. Her mobility, long-range shooting, and ability to draw fouls could add dynamism and press resistance to a midfield that needs to add a lot of both.

CM/CDMs

Andi Sullivan, 28
Washington Spirit
Defensive Action OBV: .10 🥈

Sullivan deserved the same sort of retribution felt by the gold medal winners, but was unfortunately not part of Emma Hayes’s squad. I hope that won’t last. Andi’s struggled recently due to systems that asked her to be a player she’s not. Her cerebral approach to midfield play should be a perfect fit with new Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez’s style of play. Bringing that Andi Sullivan back would give Hayes a unique midfield option she can’t ignore.

Hal Hershfelt, 22
Washington Spirit
Throughballs: .17/90

Hershfelt was a surprise inclusion to Hayes’s Olympic squad. Her inclusion was one of those signs that Hayes didn’t just start her job on her first day, knowing about Hershfelt was too deep of a cut for that. Like Bethune, Hal is in her rookie season and having one hell of a ride already. She’s been undroppable from midfield for the Spirit, in part because of how much ground she covers.

But also because she excels at receiving passes and moving the ball quickly. As she gets more comfortable playing at the required speed, and continues to sharpen her skillsets, she’ll be an intriguing midfielder to watch for quite some time.

Claire Hutton, 18
Kansas City Current
PAdj Tack&Int: 5.01/90

No disrespect to Claire, but Andonovski’s plan was to plop a teenager in defensive midfield, and after a World Cup in which his instructions frequently left a massive hole in the middle of the pitch, seemed cockamamie. My bad though, Hutton has been hoopin.

It’s real impressive that at just 18 she is physical enough to consistently win duels in midfield, and be a formidable force for opposing teams to contend with in the middle of the pitch.

Jaelin Howell, 24
Rahsing Louisville
Tack/DP%: 71

I have unofficially dubbed Howell the Midfield Murder Machine because at her best that’s exactly what she does. She disrupts midfields with her physicality and aggressive ball winning. She was recently traded from Rahsing Louisville to Seattle Reign, which should guarantee her minutes as it’s exactly the role the Reign have been missing.

I also see her linkup with Laura Harvey in the same category of perfect match as Casey Stoney was for Naomi Girma. Not saying Howell will become an equivalent level superstar, but she’s probably now in the best situation for her to ramp up her development.

Taylor Flint, 25
Rahsing Louisville
Deep Completions: .49/90 🥇

I don’t make it much of a secret that I’m not the biggest fan of Flint’s game, but she’s surprised me with how comfortable she’s looked in midfield and how successful of a forward passer she can be. I still worry about her mobility to compete with top international competition, but she has been ballin to a point where she must be considered. I envision Hayes wanting to lock a match down in a second half and delighting in forcing an opponent to find a way through or around Flint’s 700ft wing/leg-span.

Lily Yohannes, 17
Ajax
PAdj Tack&Int (23/24 UWCL): 6.05/90 🥈

This is the player that the USWNT need the most. She still has to decide whether she’ll be wearing red, white and blue or orange, but if Hayes and U.S. Soccer are serious, they’ll be recruiting hard. The USWNT lack the superstar box-to-box midfielder they lost in Sam Mewis. Yohannes can very much be that player.

Defense

Thank God, Buddha, Allah, and Beyoncé for Naomi Girma. While she’s been excellent, some other areas are a bit less solid. Tierna Davidson did well as Girma’s CB partner, but sometimes got isolated 1v1 and looked less than secure in those duels.

The benefit of having Naomi Girma is that she can play on either side, so the pool of center backs to complement her includes pretty much anyone playing at a high level. Also, Crystal Dunn is 32 and can’t left back forever.

Center Backs

Emily Sams, 25
Orlando Pride
Defensive Regains: 4.63/90

Sams’s development at Orlando has been awesome to see. The entire backline has been solid, but Sams has stood out with her positioning and positional fluidity. She has played as a right sided center back and right back, showing she has the athleticism to defend out wide if needed.

She’s also getting more capable on the ball, connecting with teammates in the box and even scoring herself. Sams is a really fun, versatile prospect who can do a number of jobs Hayes can ask game to game, half by half, or even sequence by sequence.

Sam Staab, 27
Chicago Red Stars
Pass OBV: .25 🥇

Might gotta become Kratos and fight the gods over allowing Staab to suffer an Achilles injury during the Summer Cup. She’d been the most durable player in the league but unfortunately all that, eventually, catches up. Still, this feels cruel and I hate it.

Thankfully, Staab is still young enough to have a good shot at making a full recovery. Staab is one of the most unique center backs in the world. In fact, in the category of defensively solid left footed center backs with unlimited passing range it’s just her and Spain’s Mapi León.

Sarah Gorden, 31
Angel City
Dribble & Carry OBV: .10 🥇

Gorden gets the distinction of being the only player among the group that’s over 30, but for a good reason. She’s just as unique of a center back talent as Staab, but in an entirely different way. Gorden’s speed erases throughballs and other defensive mistakes. In possession she’s comfortable evading a press and bursting into space left behind.

Her ability to cover ground in and out of possession would let Hayes push, and keep, players higher up the pitch to pressure goal and create overloads. Unlike most others on this list, Gorden wouldn’t be a long-term solution, but she is overdue a senior callup and international cap. Hayes should fix that, she show us what we’ve been missing.

Eva Gaetino, 21
PSG
PAdj Clearances (23/24 UWCL): 6.84/90 🥈

The Notre Dame to PSG pipeline suddenly became a thing and Gaetino was unveiled as a new signing on February 1 of this year. She grabbed a starting role almost immediately, being named in 11 starting XIs in 13 appearances across D1 Arkema and the Champions League.

At 5’11 she’s an imposing presence with good speed and effective forward passing. In fact, she made her PSG debut off the bench against Lyon in the 61st minute, and in the 66th hit a perfect throughball that put PSG up 1-0.

Malia Berkely, 26
North Carolina Courage
Key Passes: .48/90 🥉

Berkely and her center back partner, Kaleigh Kurtz, form one of the best central defensive partnerships in the NWSL. Kurtz is the physical, aggressive defender, while Berkely defends positionally and contributes in possession. If Hayes continues to preach patience and methodical buildup play, there aren’t many NWSL center backs doing it better than Berkely.

Tara McKeown, 25
Washington Spirit
Tack/DP%: 88%/90

Honestly, this feels wild. She was a striker just a couple years ago, but the sudden shift to central defense is actually working well. McKeown is still learning, but if Hayes is going to continue deploying the three-back buildup, then from time to time center backs are gonna have to defend in wide spaces. Tara excels at this.

She’s strong as hell with a quick first step that rarely allows attacking players to create separation. Barbra Banda, Alex Morgan, Lynn Williams, and Debinha have all struggled against McKeown. That’s an absurd thing to say, but I seent it with mine own eyes.

Fullbacks

Gisele Thompson, 18
Angel City
OBV: .60/90 🥇

The babiest Thompson was signed by Angel City to play alongside her sister and, after a couple nagging injuries, has proceeded to be un-fuckin-real. She’s played both left and right back, but has two more 90s at left than right. This bodes will for a potential transition from Dunn to Thompson at the position.

Naturally, as a Thompson, she’s fast as hell, but also very good with her defensive positioning and in duels. She’s also combining well with the forwards to help facilitate chances at goal. She’s played just 692 minutes but already has ten passes leading directly to shot, with an average of .14 xG per shot. That’s outrageous for a teenager. And especially outrageous for a teenager on a team 11th on the table and who’s scored the fourth fewest goals in the league so far.

M.A. Vignola, 26
Angel City
Tack/DP%: 90%/90

Extremely ill-timed injuries derailed Vignola’s chance with the national team, but if she’s healthy I expect her to return to national team camps. She is super athletic and a nightmare to try and dibble by 1v1. The very oddly named Tack/DP% is the percentage of time she wins duels versus being dribbled past, which is 90%. That is outrageous, and with her growth in possession and attacking phases, makes her an intriguing player if she continues to stay healthy.

Izzy Rodriguez, 25
Kansas City Current
Pass OBV: .39 🥇

All of Kansas City’s pass networks are essentially the same. Izzy Rodriguez parks herself in a wide left space somewhere in the attacking half, and proceeds to pull strings from the position like a midfielder. I’m not joking, it’s kind of wild.

Vlatko is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but Rodriguez has been exceptional all season in this role he’s carved out for her. Jenna Nighswonger spent her time in college as a central attacking midfielder but grew in prominence as a left back by doing many of these same things. Rodriguez is a natural defender whose passing has helped power the best attack in the league.

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