What The USWNT Forward Line Could Look Like In 5 Years

July 1, 2021
By Hannah Cantrell

The USWNT forward line is full of veteran players. It includes Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe, and Christen Press, who’ve all made the Olympic team headed to Tokyo. It also includes Sophia Smith and Lynn Williams, who were on the USWNT Summer Series roster. Within the next five years, some of these older players will likely retire, making way for new talent to shine in the forward line.

The next summer Olympics is in 2024, and the next Women’s World Cup is in 2023. After that, the USWNT will have plenty of time to develop their roster and attacking players. So here’s a look into what the forward line could look like in the next five years.

An Aging Roster

The USWNT has an aging roster with 12 players older than 30 and most of the attacking players into their 30s. Carli Lloyd, at age 38, is the oldest USWNT player ever to be sent to the Olympics. But in the next five years, she could retire, leaving a spot open. Additionally, Megan Rapinoe is 35 and is not likely to have such a key role in the next round of international tournaments if she doesn’t retire.

Christen Press, Tobin Heath, and Alex Morgan are all in their early 30s, and while they might have one more cycle in them, we wouldn’t be surprised if they hang up their boots for the young guard to take over. However, all three are world-class attacking players, and if they wanted to fight for their spots, they could very well still be here in 2023.

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The Younger Talent Rising Up

So, who will be stepping up to be the next string of attacking players for the USWNT? Lynn Williams and Sophia Smith are clearly in Andonovski’s plans. Williams has had her fair share of national team call-ups. However, she’s an alternate player on the Olympic roster mostly because of the ridiculous amount of competition in her position, but she’s only growing in her potential.

At only 20-years-old, Sophia Smith has a long time to go in her career. Although she didn’t make the final cut for the Olympic roster this year, she was the first overall draft pick in the 2020 NWSL College Draft. She’s scored two goals for the Portland Thorns and has scored 21 goals in only 25 Under-20 appearances.

Although inconsistent through the past year or two, Mallory Pugh also has the potential to return to the USWNT. Of course, it’ll be contingent on whether she proves herself in the NWSL season this year. However, she is still young and has a good relationship with Coach Andonovski, as she’s been invited to train with the WNT a couple of times since being left off the roster.

Other possible new attackers could be Olympic team alternate Catarina Macario as she has skills as both a midfielder and attacking player, Washington Spirit’s Ashley Sanchez, who has had two WNT training camp call ups and an extremely successful youth national team career, or other promising players from the NWSL such as the Spirit’s Ashley Hatch or Trinity Rodman, both exceptional attackers. And let us not leave out Midge Purce. She’s been used primarily as an outside back on the national team, but she is an exceptionally talented Gotham FC forward.

Overall, the future of the USWNT’s attacking line will definitely look different than it does now, especially with the gap between the veteran players possibly retiring and the young talent like Sophia Smith. Williams and Smith both seem to hold the most promise in remaining on the USWNT, but anything could change in the next five years.

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