World Cup week is finally here, with the U.S. women’s national team kicking off their 2023 campaign on Friday evening against Vietnam. Each of the USWNT’s group-stage opponents have distinctly different styles of play, and head coach Vlatko Andonovski will have to select his starters and reserves with tactics in mind.

In the team’s send-off match against Wales, patterns emerged indicating how the U.S. plans to approach defenses that are willing to let them possess the ball and dare them to find a breakthrough. With that in mind, there are a few positional tweaks Andonovski could make to his starting XI in his World Cup debut.

Here is how I would deploy the USWNT lineup against Vietnam, from the starting group to the bench players.

Goalkeeper

Alyssa Naeher

Naeher played the full 90 minutes against Wales in the USWNT’s send-off match, which all but tipped the scales in her favor to start the team’s World Cup group-stage opener. Naeher has had some trouble on set pieces and low xG opportunities in the NWSL this season, but the game against Vietnam will be more about organization and keeping early jitters in check.

Defense

Crystal Dunn, Naomi Girma, Alana Cook, Sofia Huerta

Against what will likely be an organized lower block, the USWNT defense should lean as much as possible into their chance creation and ball distribution. Enter Sofia Huerta, a crossing specialist who can unlock the very type of defense the U.S. anticipates from Vietnam. Huerta’s presence also allows for rotation, with the possibility of Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox sharing minutes to prepare them for longevity through the tournament. Fox could also relieve Dunn in a left-back role to let the natural attacking player push forward into the midfield if the U.S. is still searching for a goal.

I think Emily Sonnett could start this match alongside Naomi Girma, a reflection less of my faith in Alana Cook and more of the understanding that center-back substitutions can be difficult when the stakes are high. Sonnett has very little game time with the U.S. as a center-back alongside Girma. Vietnam could be the right test for Sonnett to settle her nerves and give her a chance to be a real rotation option at the position. But the first match sets the tone, and Girma and Cook also need time together on the biggest stage to find their footing.

Midfield

Andi Sullivan, Lindsey Horan, Savannah DeMelo

Safely assuming that Rose Lavelle is not fit to start the USWNT’s first match of the tournament, Savannah DeMelo might be an intriguing option to take over the creative midfield role against Vietnam’s sturdy defense. DeMelo has scored from distance a number of times in the NWSL this season, and a shoot-first mentality is something the U.S. has lacked in recent games. They’ll try to put passing sequences together to exploit space, but if DeMelo has the willingness to try a few heat checks from distance alongside quality dead-ball service, she deserves a look.

Andi Sullivan might be a controversial starter at defensive midfield, but she’s best-suited for games with less transitional play and more possession, which is what the U.S. is likely anticipating from its first match.

Attack

Lynn Williams, Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith

This one is tricky. It’s tough to leave Trinity Rodman on the bench at the beginning of the tournament based on her recent play, but Lynn Williams could be the deciding factor in a game like this. Williams is so good at applying quick defensive pressure and forcing turnovers to win chances in front of goal. If Vietnam can settle into the game, the ticking clock can become the USWNT’s enemy as much as the other team on the pitch. Williams is the type of player who can give the U.S. an opportunity to take the lead early, which will allow them to settle into possession with an advantage in hand.

There will come a time in this World Cup when it makes sense to play Rodman, Williams and Sophia Smith together as the front three. But for this particular match, the veteran leadership of Alex Morgan wins out. It’s not just that she can communicate well with the team’s World Cup newcomers — she’ll also be able to do the back-to-goal work to create space for Williams and Smith to execute. No one understands the tempo of an international match better than Morgan, and they’ll need her for this game.

First off the bench

Emily Fox, Trinity Rodman, Ashley Sanchez, Kristie Mewis, Alyssa Thompson

The USWNT’s depth is still a huge asset, with a variety of options available to Andonovski depending on the game state. As mentioned, Fox coming in might allow Dunn to join the midfield, or simply make sure that neither outside back depletes their energy.

Should the U.S. want to go high-tempo, Rodman and Alyssa Thompson bring quality positioning and speed to the frontline, while Rodman can also methodically connect with her midfield. Ashley Sanchez offers creative flair, and Kristie Mewis can sub in for any of the three midfield positions, giving the group a gritty edge should they need it late in the match.

Building their minutes

Rose Lavelle, Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz

The U.S. is still dealing with a handful of injuries, with Lavelle’s long-awaited return a key factor in the team’s chances in the knockout rounds. Lavelle has been training with the team and seemingly going full-contact, but she has yet to see competitive game minutes since April. The need to build her fitness back up is another good reason for the reigning World Champions to get off to a fast start and allow their midfield engine to resume play in a positive situation.

Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz are each also building their minutes back up, but they have more flexibility in their usage on the field. Ertz is a player best-suited for transitional play, meaning she might be needed more in the USWNT’s second two group-stages matches. She and Rapinoe are both secret weapons on set pieces; Rapinoe, in particular, can create a bit of magic should the U.S. struggle to grab a lead late in the game.

Ready if necessary

Casey Murphy, Aubrey Kingsbury, Emily Sonnett, Kelley O’Hara

As mentioned above, there’s a compelling argument that Sonnett should start this first game. But what is more likely is that Sonnett and Kelley O’Hara will be available as defensive reinforcements, with both players able to slot into different roles if necessary (could we see the return of O’Hara at midfield, for example?). Goalkeepers Casey Murphy and Aubrey Kingsbury will be in a similar position: Murphy has the capability to take the starting reins at any time in this tournament.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

After an illustrious career for both club and country, Gotham FC and U.S. Women’s National Team defender Kelley O’Hara announced today via Kelley on the Street that she will be retiring from professional soccer at the end of this year, making the 2024 NWSL season her last.

"I have always said I would play under two conditions: that I still love playing soccer, and if my body would let me do it the way I wanted to," O’Hara told Just Women’s Sports in the lead-up to her retirement announcement. "I realized a while back that I was always going to love it, so it was the physical piece that was going to be the deciding factor."

The 35-year-old will retire as a two-time World Cup champion, an Olympic gold medalist, and at least a two-time NWSL champion, depending on where Gotham finishes this season. Her legacy as a player is hard to fully encapsulate, and will forever run through some of the biggest snapshots in USWNT and NWSL history. 

In 2012, O’Hara played every minute of the USWNT’s Olympic gold medal run, after having recently converted into a defender. Her soaring goal off the bench in the 2015 World Cup semifinal is the stuff of legend. And her return from lingering injury to play in every knockout match of the national team’s 2019 World Cup win cemented a storybook international career. 

It was O’Hara who scored the overtime goal in 2021 to earn the Washington Spirit their first-ever NWSL championship, and O’Hara who returned to help see Gotham earn a title in 2023 after years spent in the trenches with the club’s previous iteration, Sky Blue. Her 15-year career spanned two professional women’s soccer leagues in the U.S. (she earned her first professional title in 2010 with WPS’s FC Gold Pride), as well as sweeping changes to the sport both on and off the pitch.

On the field, O’Hara has always been known for a motor that never quits, making the right flank her domain in attacking possession and defensive transition. In recent years, she’s also been celebrated for a competitive fire that raises the level of her teammates, whether she’s in the starting XI or supporting from the bench.

But injuries take a toll, a reality not always seen by the fans watching from home. "I've never taken anything for granted, and I feel like I've never coasted either," O’Hara said of her late-career success in the NWSL despite battling injuries. "I've always been like, 'I gotta put my best foot forward every single day I step on this field' — which is honestly probably half the reason why I'm having to retire now as opposed to getting a couple more years out of it. I've just grinded hard."

Recently, O’Hara has been sidelined at Gotham with ankle and knee injuries, and the situation motivated her to really prioritize listening to her body. "To get injured and come back, and get injured and come back, and just keep doing it, it really takes a toll on you.

"People don't see the doubt that's associated with injury,” she continued. "As athletes we feel a certain way, we perform a certain way, our body feels a certain way, we're very in tune with our bodies. And there's always so much doubt surrounding injury. It’s like, 'Can I feel the way I felt before?' The reality is sometimes you don't."

O’Hara didn’t arrive at the decision to move on from her playing career lightly. But once she began seriously considering making 2024 her final year during the last NWSL offseason, it felt right. "Once I was like, 'Alright, you know what, this will be my last year,' I have had a lot of peace with it," she said. "Truly the only thing I felt was gratitude for everything that my career has been, all the things I've been able to do and the people I've been able to do it with."

She said she’ll miss daily interactions with her teammates and all the amazing memories they’ve created, though she feels lucky to have formed relationships that go beyond sharing a locker room. "You're basically getting to hang out and just shoot the shit with your best friends every day," she reflected. "Which is so unheard of, and I just feel very lucky to do it for so long."

The Stanford graduate also mentioned that the NWSL’s suspension of regular season play in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic made her realize how much playing allowed her the space to simply be creative every day. The tactical elements of soccer provided O’Hara an outlet for problem solving and made use of her naturally competitive edge.

She’s now gearing up to channel her on-field intensity into her post-playing career full time, which is a new chapter she’s excited to begin. "I don't know if the world's ready for it, like the fact that I'm not going to be putting all of my energy into football all the time," she said with a laugh. 

O’Hara said she would like to stay connected to the game in some fashion, whether it be as an owner, coach, or member of a front office. She’s also interested in the growing media space surrounding women’s sports, having provided on-camera analysis for broadcasters like CBS Sports in addition to starting a production company with her fiancée.

"I just feel like I have a lot of passions, and things that excite me," she says. "And I do want to stay as close as I can to the game, because I feel a responsibility — and I'm not sure in what capacity — to continue to grow it."

A sense of responsibility to grow the game has been a consistent refrain for the USWNT and NWSL players of O’Hara’s era, who ushered in a new age of equal pay for the national team and collectively bargained protections for those in the league. The landscape for new players looks different than it did 14 years ago, in large part due to this pivotal generation.

"I feel an immense sense of pride around that, because I don't know if any of us knew that was gonna happen," she said. "We kind of, as things unfolded, took the next step towards changing what women's football looks like in this country and around the world.

"I'm really grateful to have been part of this era with the players that I was [with], not backing down and pushing and knowing that was the right thing to do."

Whatever the future holds, O’Hara is going ahead full throttle. It’s a piece of advice she’d also give to the next generation of professionals looking to make their own impact.

"Whatever you do in life, do it because you love it, and the chips will fall in place," she said. "If you love something, you're willing to do what it takes. You're willing to make the sacrifices, you're willing to handle the roller coaster.

"To me, it's simple. Don't do it for any other reason but that, and I think you'll be alright."

The Phoenix Mercury center spoke with Robin Roberts about her 10-month incarceration, reflecting on her poor living conditions and shaky mental state ahead of her May 7th memoir.

"The mattress had a huge blood stain on it. I had no soap, no toilet paper," Griner told the ABC News anchor in last night’s 20/20 special. "That was the moment where I just felt less than a human." 

She also detailed some of her lowest moments during that time, saying with tears in her eyes that she went so far as to consider taking her own life on more than one occasion. However, the thought of Russian officials not releasing her body back to her family made her reconsider.

"I just didn't think I could get through what I needed to get through," said Griner.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

In February 2022, Griner was arrested and charged with drug possession and smuggling by a Russian court after Sheremetyevo International Airport police found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. The cartridges were prescribed by Griner’s doctor for chronic pain back in Arizona, where medical marijuana is legal. In the interview, the two-time Olympic gold medalist said she had a "mental lapse" while packing, and never intended to bring the cannabis products with her when she returned to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg.

"It's just so easy to have a mental lapse," Griner said. "Granted, my mental lapse was on a more grand scale. But it doesn't take away from how that can happen." 

She was later sentenced to nine years behind bars after her Russian attorneys advised her to plead guilty the following July. Griner was then sent to a remote penal colony where she was forced to spend her days cutting cloth to make military uniforms. From there, it only got worse.

"Honestly, it just had to happen," she said when asked about her decision to cut off her signature long locks. "We had spiders above my bed making nests.

"My dreads started to freeze," she added. "They would just stay wet and cold and I was getting sick. You've gotta do what you've gotta do to survive."

Shortly after Griner’s initial arrest, the U.S. State Department classified her case as wrongfully detained, escalating its urgency within the government and calling even more attention to the situation. On December 8th, she was freed in a prisoner exchange negotiated by the Biden administration.

While she told Roberts she was "thrilled" when she got the news, she was also very upset about having to leave fellow wrongful detainee Paul Whelan behind. She also continues to carry guilt about her arrest, saying "At the end of the day, it's my fault. And I let everybody down."

Griner’s memoir, Coming Home, hits shelves on May 7th.

"Coming Home begins in a land where my roots developed and is the diary of my heartaches and regrets," Griner told ABC News in an exclusive statement. "But, ultimately, the book is also a story of how my family, my faith, and the support of millions who rallied for my rescue helped me endure a nightmare."

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.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

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.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

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.