The 18-player roster for the United States women’s national team’s Olympics campaign has finally arrived.

Coach Vlatko Andonovski has put together a roster that has as good of a shot as any at winning gold in Tokyo. With the inevitable snubs and surprising inclusions, here are our five takeaways from the roster selection.

1. Kristie Mewis’ redemption story leads to first Olympics

It’s hard to forget the journey Mewis has taken to get to this point — getting cut from the national team, bouncing around NWSL teams, tearing her ACL. But Mewis didn’t let any of those things deter her, and eventually she made her way back onto the national team in 2020, scoring a goal in her first game back against the Netherlands.

Now, the Houston Dash midfielder will have a chance to win gold with the U.S. as the only player who was not on the 2019 World Cup team. It also marks the first time that sisters will represent the U.S. on a world championship roster at the senior level, as younger sister Sam also made the team.

2. The Midge Purce snub

Purce made her case for inclusion during the USWNT’s Summer Series, but it just wasn’t enough for the forward to make the cut. A creative playmaker who can make things happen, Purce was asked to play a new position, leaving her to try to make the team as a defender. Through the transition, she showed her versatility in being able to adjust and move around the field. Andonovski said as much following the team’s win over Jamaica in the Summer Series.

Andonovski also said Purce could have been more patient and in step with the pace of the game. When considering the average age of the players on this roster, inexperience might have been the biggest factor in Andonovski’s decision to leave Purce off the team.

3. How healthy are Tobin Heath, Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle?

Leading up to the roster selection, the biggest question was whether Tobin Heath and Julie Ertz would be healthy enough to play in the Olympics.

Heath has been sidelined since the beginning of 2021 with a knee injury she suffered while playing for Manchester United. Ertz hasn’t played since a May 16 Red Stars game because of an MCL injury. With Andonovski naming both of them to the roster, it appears they will be ready to go in time for the Olympics. Not only do Heath and Ertz bring experience, but they also provide depth and playmaking ability. Heath re-joined the team during training camp in June, and Ertz is expected to join them for the Send-Off Series in July.

Meanwhile, Lavelle rolled her ankle in the Summer Series game against Jamaica and missed the final game against Nigeria. Andonovski said she rested out of precaution, but it’s noteworthy that Lavelle didn’t play in the most recent OL Reign game against Chicago.

Only time will tell how healthy these players really are, but when considering the value each of them brings to the table, it’s hard not to justify their inclusion.

4. No need to worry about the alternates

In the event that any of Heath, Ertz or Lavelle are unable to play, Andonovski has assembled a stacked group of alternates. Catarina Macario or Lynn Williams could step in at any time and fill holes at midfield and forward. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell and defender Casey Krueger also have significant international experience, having played for the U.S. in FIFA Youth World Cups.

Macario arguably could have taken over Kristie Mewis’ spot on the roster, but experience ultimately won out — Mewis brings a certain level of game-readiness that Macario just doesn’t have yet. As Claire Watkins pointed out last week, Macario is the future and the experience she gains as an alternate will be valuable when she gets her official shot.

5. Experience, experience, experience

The team’s average age will be 30.8 when they kick off their first match on July 21. The average number of caps stands at 111. Carli Lloyd, who turns 39 on July 16, will be the oldest-ever U.S. women’s soccer Olympian — nearly two years older than Christie Rampone was when she played in the 2012 Olympics.

At 22 years old, Tierna Davidson is the youngest player on the roster. That represents a stark contrast from 2016, when then-coach Jill Ellis took 18-year-old attacker Mallory Pugh, 22-year-old Lindsey Horan and 24-year-old Crystal Dunn to Rio. All three were making their first major international appearances that year for the USWNT. This time around, the 18 players on this roster have made a combined 2,004 national team appearances.

Honorable mention

Casey Krueger’s inclusion on the alternate list garnered more attention than most would expect from a reserve lineup.

The Chicago defender’s presence on the roster did come as a bit of surprise since she missed the most recent Summer Series, but she does help make up for a lack of depth at outside back. For years now, the USWNT has relied on converting wingers to the outside back position, and in the case of Crystal Dunn, the move has paid off. But in a short tournament like the Olympics, it’s important that the USWNT has a tried and true defender in the ranks, especially if Kelley O’Hara or Dunn go down with an injury. The 26-year-old is a defender’s defender, something that has become increasingly valuable on the USWNT squad.

Longtime USWNT fixture Carli Lloyd took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce that she’s pregnant with her first child. 

"Baby Hollins coming in October 2024!" she wrote. The caption framed a collaged image of baby clothes, an ultrasound photo, and syringes indicating what she described as a "rollercoaster" fertility journey.

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In a Women’s Health story published in tandem with Lloyd’s post, the Fox Sports analyst and correspondent opened up about her struggles with infertility and the lengthy IVF treatments she kept hidden from the public eye.

"Soccer taught me how to work hard, persevere, be resilient, and never give up. I would do whatever it took to prepare, and usually when I prepared, I got results," Lloyd told Women’s Health’s Amanda Lucci. "But I found out that I didn’t know much about this world. I was very naive to think that we wouldn’t have any issues getting pregnant. And so it began."

Lloyd went on to discuss her road to pregnancy in great detail, sharing the highs and lows of the process and expressing gratitude for the care and support her family and medical team provided along the way. She rounded out the piece with a nod toward others navigating the same challenges, encouraging people to share their own pregnancy journeys, painful as they may be.

"My story is currently a happy one, but I know there are other women who are facing challenges in their pregnancy journey. I see you and I understand your pain," she said. "My hope is that more and more women will speak up about this topic, because their stories helped me. I also wish for more resources, funding, and education around fertility treatments. There is much to be done, and I hope I can play a role in helping."

The 41-year-old New Jersey native retired from professional soccer in 2021, closing out her decorated career with 316 international appearances, the second-most in USWNT history, in addition to 134 international goals. A legend on the field, Lloyd walked away from the game with two World Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and two FIFA Player of the Year awards.

On Tuesday, FIFPRO announced the launch of Project ACL, a three-year research initiative designed to address a steep uptick in ACL injuries across women's professional football.

Project ACL is a joint venture between FIFPRO, England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. While the central case study will focus on England’s top-flight Women's Super League, the findings will be distributed around the world.

ACL tears are between two- and six-times more likely to occur in women footballers than men, according to The Guardian. And with both domestic and international programming on the rise for the women’s game, we’ve seen some of the sport's biggest names moved to the season-ending injury list with ACL-related knocks.

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Soccer superstars like Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Catarina Macario, Marta, and England captain Leah Williamson have all struggled with their ACLs in recent years, though all have since returned to the field. In January, Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr was herself sidelined with the injury, kicking off a year of similar cases across women’s professional leagues. And just yesterday, the Spirit announced defender Anna Heilferty would miss the rest of the NWSL season with a torn ACL. The news comes less than two weeks after Bay FC captain Alex Loera went down with the same injury. 

Project ACL will closely study players in the WSL, monitoring travel, training, and recovery practices to look for trends that could be used to prevent the injury in the future. Availability of sports science and medical resources within individual clubs will be taken into account throughout the process.

ACL injuries in women's football have long outpaced the same injury in the men's game, but resources for specialized prevention and treatment still lag behind. Investment in achieving a deeper, more specialized understanding of the problem should hopefully alleviate the issue both on and off the field.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.