The U.S. women’s national team is competing in the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. As you can imagine, players and coaches — past and present — have plenty to say about it, and Just Women’s Sports is keeping track.

Aug. 3: ‘Trust and support each other,’ Brandi Chastain tells USWNT

The 1999 World Cup hero criticized the USWNT’s play after its scoreless draw with Portugal to close out the group stage, saying on the “After the Whistle” podcast that the U.S. needs “to be better in every phase of the game.” Ahead of the Round of 16 match against Sweden, though, she offered encouragement to the two-time defending champions.

“If you have any concern, look around and know someone has your back,” she wrote. “No one said it would be easy so dance in the glory of the difficult. Be brave, communicate, trust and support each other.”

Aug. 2: Heather O’Reilly: USWNT needs to make ‘big changes’

“We would all be naive if we thought we could win this World Cup with the way that we look right now,” the USWNT great said on Fox Sports after the Portugal match. “So there needs to be changes. And there needs to be big changes. Whether or not Vlatko Andonovski is going to make the changes, well, that’s another story.”

Read more on the lineup changes she suggests for the match against Sweden.

Aug. 1: Carli Lloyd: USWNT ‘lucky to not be going home’

Following the third group-stage match against Portugal, the two-time World Cup champion turned Fox Sports analyst called out the USWNT players and head coach Vlatko Andonovski after the “uninspiring” result.

“There’s been a shift within this team, within the federation, within the culture, the mentality,” Lloyd said on the postgame broadcast. “The importance and meaning of winning has changed. What has come from winning has become more important.”

In particular, Lloyd took issue with the players’ seemingly relaxed conduct both before and after the scoreless draw. She pointed out players dancing before the match and then smiling and laughing after the final whistle.

“Players are smiling. They’re laughing. It’s not good enough,” she said.

More on USWNT vs. Netherlands:

July 27: Midge Purce: ‘I don’t understand why we have no subs’

Following the second group-stage match against the Netherlands, the injured USWNT forward questioned the lack of substitutions deployed in the 1-1 draw.

“I don’t understand why we have no subs. No subs! Just Rose,” Purce told Katie Nolan. The pair are hosting  Just Women’s Sports’ World Cup show “The 91st” throughout the tournament.

Each team can use up to five substitutions per match at the World Cup. In Wednesday’s draw, the USWNT used just one, as Purce noted: Rose Lavelle. Lavelle, who entered to start the second half, is recovering from a knee injury, which has limited her minutes so far in the tournament.

“Rose is great. We love Rose. Happy to see Rose,” Purce said. “But no subs? That’s very confusing. Where’s Lynn?”

USWNT forward (and Purce’s Gotham FC teammate) Lynn Williams has not seen the pitch through two World Cup matches.

More on USWNT vs. Netherlands:

July 24: Carli Lloyd points out ‘worrying trend’ for USWNT

The two-time World Cup champion turned Fox Sports analyst is concerned about the team’s struggle to finish its chances under head coach Vlatko Andonovski, she said ahead of the second group-stage match against the Netherlands.

“To be perfectly blunt, this has been a general theme with Vlatko ever since he became the coach in 2019,” Lloyd said. “Two years ago at the Olympics, we had chances that we weren’t putting away. That’s worrying. Because when you go deeper in a tournament, those opportunities are going to be few and far between.”

July 23: OL Reign coach believes Megan Rapinoe could take over World Cup

“In the biggest moment, when it really matters, you truly believe she is going to turn up,” OL Reign coach Laura Harvey said on “The Re-Cap Show” with Tobin Heath and Christen Press. “So it just wouldn’t shock me if she sets this thing alight.

“She might set it alight by playing 30 minutes every game, coming on and scoring the penalty that matters. Or taking the corner that matters. Or whipping three crosses in that matter. She just has an ability of doing the craziest things in the craziest moments in the only way that she can.”

July 22: Alex Morgan laments missed penalty kick in opening win

The 34-year-old striker missed a penalty kick in the USWNT’s 3-0 win against Vietnam to open the tournament. Morgan’s shot became the first U.S. penalty to be saved at a World Cup since 2003, when Mia Hamm’s attempt was stuffed against Norway.

“It wasn’t a good penalty for me and I know that,” Morgan said. She also lamented more missed opportunities throughout the match, in which the USWNT had 28 shots but just seven on target.

July 21: Tobin Heath: USWNT ‘has a massive question mark’

“It’s the Wild West of women’s football, and I really think that this team has a massive question mark over it,” the two-time World Cup champion told USA Today. “And I think that’s because there’s so many new and exciting players that could, at any point, just go off and have a tournament of their life. But whether that will happen or not is for us to kind of watch and enjoy.”

The 35-year-old forward is sitting out the World Cup for both physical and mental reasons, she told The Athletic.

July 19: Lindsey Horan navigates honor and burden of captaincy

While Horan and Alex Morgan are co-captains for the tournament, Horan will wear the armband when both are on the pitch at the same time. And she will aim to live up to the example set by longtime Sauerbrunn, whom she called her “role model and inspiration.”

“So much changes, but (it’s) also a very cool thing to be able to take on that responsibility and get to experience this. And I will have a lot of great people that get to help me along the way,” she told Just Women’s Sports.

July 13: Alex Morgan already is looking toward Paris 2024

The 34-year-old striker is preparing for her fourth World Cup with the USWNT. Yet her soccer goals don’t stop there. She already is looking toward an NWSL playoff run with the San Diego Wave and toward the Paris Olympics in 2024.

“I do want to win another World Cup. I do want to win other Olympics. I do want to win an NWSL championship,” she told the Los Angeles Times.

July 13: Lindsey Horan compares USWNT coaches Andonovski and Ellis

The 29-year-old midfielder experienced the 2019 World Cup title run with coach Jill Ellis. Now she is part of the 2023 run with Vlatko Andonovski, who took over for Ellis after the 2019 tournament.

“You have two coaches that maybe see the game in a little bit different way,” she told ESPN. “The way Jill managed us through the last World Cup was, you know, we’re going obviously out to win every single game and in the best way possible and we’re gonna play what the game brings us, what we can expose from different teams.”

Read more to see what she had to say about the current USWNT coach.

July 13: Crystal Dunn offers critique of USWNT’s World Cup kits

The 31-year-old defender discussed her mindset in the lead-up to the World Cup with Just Women’s Sports. She also gave her opinion of the Nike jerseys the USWNT will don Down Under.

“The white ones kind of look like my son took a paintbrush and just literally threw his paintbrush at me, so I think that’s kind of cool,” Dunn said. “I know that’s funny to say, but I think it’s a different look… I think I like our blue jerseys a little bit better. It just looks clean. I like the color blue, and I think it just looks more American.”

July 12: Carli Lloyd eyes next-generation USWNT stars

The former USWNT star, who is attending this World Cup as analyst with FOX Sports, has her eye on the next generation of USWNT standouts. Lloyd, who played on the 2015 and 2019 title-winning teams, pointed to a few up-and-comers in particular as players to watch: Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Alyssa Thompson.

“They’re doing it at the club level, but this is the world’s biggest and best stage,” she told Boardroom. “It’s a whole different ballgame. So it’s going to be really interesting to see what players can rise to the challenge.”

Lloyd also identified several teams (other than the USWNT) that could make deep runs at the tournament, including Germany, England, Brazil, France and co-host Australia.

July 12: Alex Morgan: USWNT ‘never’ discusses three-peat

The USWNT is going for a third consecutive World Cup title in Australia and New Zealand, but the players do not discuss the potential feat, the USWNT co-captain said.

“It’s actually never thrown around it with the team,” Morgan said. “It’s thrown around with media. I think a lot of fans talk about it. But honestly, this team, we have 14 first timers for the World Cup and we see this as our own journey. Each four-year block is its own.”

Read more from Morgan and her co-captain Lindsey Horan on the team’s quest “to make history.”

July 10: Trinity Rodman: ‘We’re going to get the title’

Despite the tough road to a World Cup title, Rodman expects her team to take home the prize, she told ESPN’s “Fútbol Americas.”

“My expectations are that we’re the most ruthless team, we’re never going to give up and we’re going to get the title,” she said.

Read more highlights from her interview, which came after her two-goal performance against Wales in the USWNT’s World Cup send-off match.

July 9: Vlatko Andonovski: ‘The world is catching up’

The USWNT still holds the No. 1 spot in the FIFA ranking entering World Cup, but Andonovski knows the other 31 teams are hot on their heels.

“The top 10 teams have always been there,” he said after the USWNT’s pre-tournament tune-up against Wales. “We saw that. There was a different champion in 2003. It wasn’t the U.S. in 2007, 2011…

“The world that is catching up is Wales, is Vietnam, is Zambia, is Portugal. These are the countries that are catching up. The 7-0, 8-0 games are gone. And we can see that.”

July 9: Mallory Swanson believed she was ‘going to make’ World Cup roster despite injury

The 25-year-old forward tore the patellar tendon in her left knee during a USWNT friendly against Ireland in April. Despite the typical months-long recovery timeline for such an injury, she still held out hope for a World Cup appearance, at least for a little while.

“Honestly, there was a good time where I was like ‘I’m going to make it in time,'” Swanson told The Sporting News. “Realistically, anyone can go on Google and look up the recovery time for my injury, and it didn’t really correlate [with my expectations], but I was like ‘I’m gonna do it.'”

July 4: Sam Mewis breaks down World Cup bracket

The 30-year-old midfielder is missing the World Cup with a lingering knee injury, but she still took the time to break down the USWNT’s group-stage opponents and the top teams overall for Just Women’s Sports on the Snacks podcast.

“Can the U.S. win three? Yes. Will Europe get in there and have one of those teams who’ve been at the top get over the hump? Or is there another breakthrough team outside the U.S. and Europe?” she asked.

“I’m obviously rooting for the U.S. If I had to make a prediction, of course it would be them. [That] doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy.”

Check out her full thoughts on the USWNT’s competitors, in the group stage and beyond.

For Christen Press and Tobin Heath, the lackluster performance of the U.S. women’s national team so far at the World Cup is a symptom of larger issues plaguing head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s system.

The USWNT failed to make any tactical adjustments in its group-stage matches, Press pointed out to Heath on their World Cup podcast “The RE-CAP Show.”

“It wasn’t that we didn’t put players into the match, right? That’s what everybody was emotional about,” added Heath, who herself had commented on the USWNT’s lack of substitutes. “But the point was the team didn’t structurally change to win that game (against Portugal).”

Press called Tuesday’s scoreless draw with Portugal a “micro moment” that is reflective of the “macro moment” for the USWNT. Andonovski failed to make adjustments not only in that match but in all of 2023.

“Have we seen any tactical adjustments in the last year?” Press asked. “Have we seen any different formations tried? Have we seen any adjustments to the way that we’re pressing? We’ve seen the team come out for the last year in the same general shape in the same general pressing structure.

“And the question I have is, now we’re in this tournament and we’re saying, ‘OK we’re not super happy with the first three performances, but we’re going to grow, and we’re growing into this tournament.

“But if we haven’t seen growth in the last year, then how can we expect growth now to happen over the next seven days?”

The World Cup may have exacerbated the USWNT’s problems, but those problems didn’t happen overnight, as both Press and Heath argue. For Heath, the problem started in roster construction: Rather than opening up the player pool and looking at all the pieces available and how they could work together, the USWNT got lost in the details.

“I think we never generalized, we went straight specifics,” Heath said. “We went straight to: this player is playing really really well. This player is the best in their position, this player, this player, this player. And for me there was never this idea of a team.”

Take Crystal Dunn as an example. While Heath took issue with Alexi Lalas reducing Dunn to a player that looked like she had never played soccer before, calling the comment “really harsh,” she pointed out the kernel of truth within the criticism. It boils down to the system

How does a world-class player like Dunn “become nothing?” Heath asked. And the answer boils down to the system, which is not working for her or for the team as a whole.

“Right now, our most effective players not only aren’t effective for themselves, they’re not being effective for others,” Heath said.

If the old adage goes that defense wins championships, U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski might be taking his faith in the statement a little too far.

The U.S. has given up only one goal so far in the 2023 World Cup, on a single shot on goal. But they’ve also looked disjointed in possession and frantic in the attack en route to a second-place finish in their group.

Despite the legacy of the USWNT’s “Department of Defense,” fans weren’t expecting a defensive lockdown of this magnitude going into the World Cup. As different players with varying strengths rotated in and out of the backline in the lead-up to the tournament, the odd mistake in the defense became a regular occurrence and, to Andonovski, a risk worth taking.

There was a feeling that the team was willing to live or die by their defensive mistakes in the pursuit of strengthening the attack. But what Andonovski has actually prioritized under the glare of the spotlight is shoring up the team’s backline issues at the steep cost of freedom in front of the defense.

A hyper-conservative game plan to limit shots on goal is both a problem the U.S. is having trouble solving and their current lifeline. It doesn’t appear to be a mistake as much as an intentional gamble. But it’s a gamble the USWNT players are not accustomed to executing, even under Andonovski’s management.

The loss of reliable contributors

Injuries to USWNT forwards have rightly gotten a fair amount of attention, but the team’s group stage suggests that Andonovski’s current approach is a way to offset absences in the defense.

What the U.S. defense is missing, as compared to 2019 or even 2021, is the result of incremental loss. While Abby Dahlkemper wasn’t available for selection due to her ongoing recovery from back surgery, other players have been in and out of match fitness. Tierna Davidson returned from her ACL injury in 2023, but was unable to claim her spot as the heir apparent to a USWNT center-back role. Captain Becky Sauerbrunn played sporadically to begin the 2023 NWSL season, and the variable nature of her recovery kept her off the roster entirely.

Other members of the defense are clearly important to team chemistry but cannot get on the field consistently. Kelley O’Hara’s influence on the USWNT is clear, with her leading the huddle after the team’s disappointing draw with Portugal to close out the group stage. But her return to soccer fitness has not been linear in 2023 — before departing for the World Cup, she even played in an attacking role for Gotham FC because she was not getting minutes on their backline.

So Dahlkemper, Davidson and Sauerbrunn are not in camp, and O’Hara’s role is tied more to off-field contributions. O’Hara and Sauerbrunn’s limitations are a consequence of the passing of time and the USWNT’s inability to develop heirs to match their skill sets. Dahlkemper and Davidson’s absences are the result of the twists of fate that saw other notable teammates miss out on a World Cup opportunity.

A lack of confidence in new faces

Two players who rounded out the top five in minutes played for the USWNT in 2022 were center-back Alana Cook and outside-back Sofia Huerta. Both made the 2023 World Cup roster but have yet to make an impact on the field: Huerta played seven minutes against Vietnam, and Cook hasn’t seen the field at all.

Based on their 2022 contributions, their very limited roles at the World Cup might surprise, but the writing has quietly been on the wall in recent months. At the end of 2022, Andonovski began pairing Naomi Girma and Sauerbrunn together consistently, after previously rotating them at left center-back and giving Cook heavy minutes on the right.

The sample size was small enough to register as experimentation, but it could now be read as a coach sensing that Cook’s reaction times in key moments weren’t going to be reliable enough against top competition. In Sauerbrunn’s absence, Andonovski has now seemingly replaced Cook with Julie Ertz, making a conscious decision to prioritize the defense over the midfield and trusting the two-time World Cup champion in partnership with Girma.

Huerta is on the team as a crossing specialist, a player who makes up in attacking generation what she gives up in 1v1 defending. Signs in the early stages of the tournament are that Andonovski feels more comfortable with Emily Fox out of position on the right side of the field than getting Huerta settled in games that make sense for her abilities. Emily Sonnett also appears to be a player Andonovski brought to see games out in their final stages, and not as a reliable starter.

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Alana Cook has not seen the field at the World Cup after leading the team in minutes in 2022. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

The benefit of a conservative approach

There have been clear positives to the way the U.S. has locked down its defensive roles. The USWNT has given up just the one goal, their xG against ranks fourth among the entire World Cup field, and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has not had to register a single save so far in the tournament.

That last point is probably a statistic Andonovski has taken very seriously, based on Naeher’s struggles with the Chicago Red Stars this season. The USWNT goalkeeper player pool is more wide open than ever, but the best-performing American keepers statistically (outside of third keeper Aubrey Kingsbury) are not with the team right now. Again, experience and leadership have taken priority over clearing the way for a brand-new goalkeeping core based on current shot-stopping ability.

Naeher is the player Andonovski wants organizing his defense, and she has progressed year after year with distribution with the ball at her feet. But the USWNT’s hopes for clean sheets seem to rely on her seeing as few shots on goal as possible, which the team so far has been achieving (the one shot on target they did face, against the Netherlands, went in for a goal).

Ertz actually recorded the most impressive save of the group stage, putting in a crucial block against the Netherlands that saved a point for the team and a place in the knockout rounds.

The overwhelming cost of limited freedom

The cost of Andonovski’s approach appears to be everything else that’s recognizable about the USWNT right now. They’ve ceded control of the midfield almost by design, with a resignation that Ertz will control tempo from a deep-lying position. It’s taken further control away from Andi Sullivan, who has lacked reliable passing outlets when she has the ball and struggled to execute a defensive press without it.

With the understanding that the midfield is not intended to hold the ball, Andonovski’s creative players have been tasked with melting into the attack. At times against Portugal, the U.S. lined up with four or five players on their opponent’s backline, waiting for deep-lying players to provide long-ball service without the creative runs necessary to create space.

Andonovski has also settled on playing both of his outside-backs out of position, which has appeared to limit Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox in their movement. Dunn, of course, is a creative midfielder for the Portland Thorns, and Fox plays most freely on the left for the North Carolina Courage. Both players have been mindful of their defensive assignments to a fault in the group stage, sitting back against Vietnam and staying wide rather than filling empty midfield spaces against the Netherlands and Portugal.

Tactics have also taken a toll on the USWNT’s vaunted mentality. As players process their positional assignments in real time, those split-second moments of doubt have disrupted the team’s defensive press and ball progression. Rather than being empowered to play to the team’s strengths, players seem preoccupied with the weaknesses. Those weaknesses are also on display in the team’s substitution patterns, with Andonovski lacking trust in those he brought with him and leaving the team’s depth unused.

Andonovski’s transformation of the U.S. into a team that grinds out results based on conservative tactics is both an indictment of his management of the team over the last four years, and an objective assessment of the team he has constructed. If the U.S. bows out in the Round of 16, he’ll have to answer for both his preparation and his approach.

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

Becoming a mother has brought a new perspective to Crystal Dunn’s game.

The U.S. Women’s National Team defender is heading to her second World Cup. But since Dunn gave birth to her son Marcel last May, she is seeing the game with fresh eyes.

“I feel like I’m a better athlete now, being a mom, because I have learned to really appreciate every little moment,” she told Just Women’s Sports. “Every pass, every tackle, just every moment I’m on the field I think I look at differently.”

Dunn astounded fans last year when she made her return to play less than four months after giving birth, rejoining the national team for its September training camp and the Portland Thorns for their NWSL Championship run in 2022. She’s looked strong to start 2023, scoring five goals so far in the NWSL regular season and starting five of seven USWNT matches leading up to this summer’s world championship in Australia and New Zealand.

And she’s doing it all while balancing two positions — her natural position of attacking midfielder for the Thorns and outside back for the USWNT. Dunn spoke out about the difficulty of making that switch for the first time earlier this year, though she also has come to recognize that versatility as her superpower and as part of her legacy.

“Playing multiple positions is something that I think I’ll be remembered for,” she said.

Referring to Marcel as her most prized possession, Dunn says her son is also her favorite person to FaceTime when she’s traveling (in addition to her husband Pierre Soubrier). The FaceTime calls won’t be necessary during this summer’s tournament, with Marcel also making the trip Down Under. Dunn is one of nine returning players from the USWNT’s 2019 championship roster, and one of three moms along with Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz.

“Being able to see my son in the stands has been the biggest joy of it all, just knowing that you know I’m playing for something so much bigger than just me winning games,” Dunn said. “I’m playing to be seen through his eyes. He doesn’t care if I miss a pass or lose a game.

“And I think that that’s really great. It gives me that comfort, knowing that I’m just out there doing the best I can and that’s really all that matters.”

Marcel even has her seeing the USWNT’s kits from Nike in a new light.

“The white ones kind of look like my son took a paintbrush and just literally threw his paintbrush at me, so I think that’s kind of cool,” said Dunn, a Nike athlete. “I know that’s funny to say, but I think it’s a different look… I think I like our blue jerseys a little bit better. It just looks clean. I like the color blue, and I think it just looks more American.”

After Crystal Dunn was cut from the USWNT roster for the 2015 World Cup, Megan Rapinoe was there to support her.

“She was somebody who just welcomed me so much, (with) open arms,” Dunn reflected on Saturday after Rapinoe announced that she plans to retire at the conclusion of the 2023 NWSL season.

“(Pinoe) is an incredible person, human being, friend, teammate,” Dunn said in a video posted to Twitter by Women Kick Balls, getting choked up. “I just love her so much. She’s been so key for me in my career.”

Dunn said she made Rapinoe a promise heading into the World Cup year.

“One thing I did tell her at the beginning of this year is, ‘I have no idea if this is your last one, but I’m going to do whatever it takes to get myself into a place where I can help this team win. And, obviously, send her off the way she deserves (as) the queen that she is.”

Alex Morgan echoed that sentiment. The newly announced U.S. co-captain told reporters that when Rapinoe texted the group, she immediately knew how to reply: “Well, now we just have to win the whole damn thing.”

The U.S. women’s national team faces “one of the hardest” groups at the 2023 World Cup, head coach Vlatko Andonovski said Tuesday.

Andonovski and USWNT players addressed reporters Tuesday in California ahead of the training camp for the upcoming tournament, which kicks off on July 20 in Australia and New Zealand. And they have their work cut out for them, at least in the view of the head coach.

The USWNT faces a tough test in Group E, which includes 2019 runner-up Netherlands, Portugal and Vietnam, “three different types of teams” with varied philosophies and styles, Andonovski said. Yet the two-time defending World Cup champions enter with sky-high expectations.

“Would I be happy with anything short of a third straight win? No! Absolutely not,” he said. “Our goal is to win the World Cup, there’s no question about it.”

Andonovski also addressed a number of questions, from which player will serve as captain to the possibility of Crystal Dunn in the midfield. Just Women’s Sports has a roundup of the news and notes as training begins.

Who is the next USWNT captain?

Longtime captain Becky Sauerbrunn is missing the World Cup due to a lingering foot injury, which leaves a big hole for the team to fill.

Yet while the next captain has been selected, Andonovski did not reveal the choice Tuesday. While he had intended to inform players of the selection upon their arrival in California, flight delays postponed the announcement.

One likely choice is Lindsey Horan, who has served as the co-captain to Sauerbrunn in recent years, often taking on the captain’s armband in Sauerbrunn’s absence.

“She gets to lead this team out at a World Cup and to really appreciate what that means, in the course of your career,” Sauerbrunn said of Horan on a recent episode of Snacks. “Like, that’s such a crazy, cool accomplishment.”

Will the USWNT use one starting goalkeeper or a rotation?

Andonovski plans to choose a No. 1 goalkeeper to make most of the starts at the World Cup, though a second goalkeeper might take the reins for one group-stage game, he said Tuesday.

“We’re going to have to keep the rhythm of our No. 1,” he said. But one game for the No. 2 keeper in the group stage could help the team in case of injury. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, starter Alyssa Naeher went down with a knee injury in the semifinals, so backup AD Franch saw her first minutes of the tournament in the semifinals and the bronze-medal match.

Naeher is the presumptive No. 1 as training camp begins, with Casey Murphy and Aubrey Kingsbury also on the roster.

Will Crystal Dunn play in the midfield?

Dunn shines at midfield for the Portland Thorns, but the 30-year-old is a starting defender for the national team. And while she wasn’t holding out hope for a midfield appearance at the World Cup, as she told “Diaspora United” in May, she may yet get her shot, Andonovski said Tuesday.

The team does not “want to exclude the possibility of her playing in the midfield if that’s what the team needs,” he told reporters.

“Crystal is one of the best players overall in the world, and the fact that she can play midfielder on Sunday and left back on Wednesday, that just speaks to the quality player she is,” he said.

When Andonovski announced the roster last week, he also floated the possibility of playing midfielder Julie Ertz at center-back. Ertz is a midfield mainstay for the USWNT but also has played center-back on the international stage.

How much should USWNT players pack for the World Cup?

Alyssa Thompson called Horan to ask her advice on what to pack. Yet despite playing in the 2019 World Cup in France, Horan did not know what to tell her 18-year-old teammate.

“She wanted to know essentials for packing for the World Cup and I had no idea what to tell her,” Horan said.

Megan Rapinoe, who will be playing in her fourth World Cup for the USWNT, offered a solution: “Bring it all!”

Which one player is the most essential to the success of the U.S. women’s national team at the 2023 World Cup?

Each month since September 2022, Just Women’s Sports has made the argument for a different member of the USWNT. Heading into the upcoming roster drop, that gives us 10 players who could make or break the team’s chances in Australia and New Zealand.

With one month to go until the World Cup, which players will have the biggest impact for the USWNT?

World Cup newcomers

Naomi Girma, 23, defender

After nearly sweeping the NWSL’s end-of-season awards as a rookie in 2022 – which included winning rookie and defender of the year and finishing as an MVP finalist – Girma has picked up right where she left off to begin 2023. And this summer at the World Cup, she’ll have the chance to prove herself on the world stage.

Sophia Smith, 22, forward

The reigning NWSL MVP scored 14 goals in the 2022 season, and she scored almost that many for the USWNT. Smith’s 11 goals in 2022 made her the youngest player to lead the team in scoring in a calendar year since Mia Hamm did it as a 21-year-old in 1993.

Lynn Williams, 30, forward

If Williams seems more like a World Cup veteran than a newcomer, that speaks to how indispensable she has become for the USWNT since the 2021 Olympics — even after missing most 0f 2022 with a hamstring injury. Her first goal of 2023 came just seven minutes into her first game back with the USWNT in January, and she has nine goals this year across all competitions.

Invaluable veterans

Crystal Dunn, 30, defender

With versatility as her self-proclaimed “superpower,”  Dunn can do it all for the USWNT. She starts for the team as an outside back, but her natural position is midfield, and you can tell in her creative ball movement.

Alex Morgan, 33, forward

A staple for the U.S. women’s national team for more than a decade, Morgan ranks fifth in USWNT history in goals and 1oth in assists. She was left off the roster for five camps from October 2021 through April 2022, but she used the absence as a challenge. Morgan enters the World Cup as the favorite to start at center forward.

Fitness questions

Julie Ertz, 31, midfielder

Several players could be key not just for their play but also for exactly how much they can play. Take Ertz, who made a surprise return in April for her first USWNT camp since August 2021. She played a full 90 minutes for Angel City FC on June 10, but she has been in and out of the lineup since April while working her way back to fitness after the birth of her son last August.

Rose Lavelle, 28, midfielder

Since injuring her knee in an April friendly against Ireland, Lavelle has not played a single minute. She has missed OL Reign’s last 12 across all competitions. The 2019 World Cup served as a breakout moment for the midfielder, and if she can recapture even a piece of that glory in 2023, the USWNT will be better for it.

Major absences

Becky Sauerbrunn, 38, defender

Absent players can leave their own impact on the lineup, and Sauerbrunn’s reported absence represents a huge blow to the USWNT backline. The 38-year-old returned from a nagging foot injury on June 3 for the Portland Thorns, playing 24 minutes in her first action since April 22. But she missed their June 11 match, and then came the report that the USWNT captain would not make the trip to Australia and New Zealand.

Catarina Macario, 23, midfielder

The rising star “won’t be physically ready for selection” to the USWNT as she continues to recover from an ACL tear, she revealed in May. The midfield has lacked depth in the absence of a player Andonovski has called the “future of the team.”

Mallory Swanson, 25, forward

After a 2021 Olympic snub, Swanson started 2023 in the best form of her career, with five goals in seven USWNT matches through the first two months of the year. In April, though, she tore the patellar tendon in her left knee during a friendly against Ireland. Even with the USWNT’s depth at the forward position, Swanson’s absence is a significant blow.

Crystal Dunn will play in her second World Cup this summer with the U.S. women’s national team. This time, though, the 30-year-old is slotting in as one of the veterans.

Her role as one of the more experienced USWNT stars is “pretty scary and kind of wild and crazy,” she admitted to Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis on the latest episode of Snacks. Still, she also knows she’ll bring the benefit of her years on the international stage and in the club environment with her to Australia and New Zealand.

“I think something that comes with age is the capacity that you have to kind of deal with and cope with many different things,” Dunn said. “When I was young stepping onto the team, all I could focus on was training. All I could focus on was where I was in that moment because I didn’t have the headspace and the capacity to do anything outside of me playing soccer.”

Dunn has spent 10 years as a member of the senior national team, having received her first call-up in January 2013 and making her debut in February of the same year. Since then, Dunn has dealt with injuries and disappointments, including a 2015 World Cup snub, as well as victories and awards, including the 2019 World Cup title, three NWSL championships and 2021 Concacaf Player of the Year.

In total, she has amassed 131 appearances for the USWNT, playing as an outside back despite her natural abilities as a midfielder. But for Dunn, that comes with the territory.

“On our club team, we’re used to playing in systems that are built around our strengths. And I think when we go to the national team, that’s not always the case,” she said. “It’s not always a system that’s built around your strengths. It’s not always a system that’s built to elevate you or have you shine. It’s always going to be a system that’s about ‘What do we need to win a World Cup?’”

She missed time with the USWNT in 2022 due to pregnancy. While she continued to train with the Portland Thorns, her absence left her feeling less connected to the national team. She returned to the team in October 2022, just four months after the birth of her son Marcel, and at times she felt like she had to reintroduce herself to younger players who came up while she was away.

“It was definitely different and a new challenge for me,” she said. “I think that’s when I realized like I’m getting old, because now I have to really get to know these young gals and know what the latest hip things are these days.”

(Among the notable “hip things” is TikTok, which Dunn said became popular during her pregnancy. She’s attempted to understand it in an effort to bond with younger teammates.)

Still, her leadership role is something she has embraced, especially as she has become a new mom, and she’s loved getting to watch younger players grow. Going from focusing on the game to focusing on her team, she said, has come with age.

“I want to help other players, I want to step outside myself and actually take a look around me and then not get caught up in little small moments, but really see the bigger picture,” she said.

“I think that’s what’s been really great is the new coming of self, but also realizing I have so much to give this game and it’s not just me kicking this ball around. It’s the connection with teammates. It’s now being a mom. It’s now sharing my baby with others. It’s doing things that I feel fills my day other than me going out and training.”

Each month in the leadup to the World Cup, Just Women’s Sports will make the case for one player as most essential to the success of the U.S. women’s national team in 2023. Our final selection: Crystal Dunn.

Crystal Dunn will play defense for the U.S. women’s national team at the 2023 World Cup, staking her claim as one of the best at the position across the globe. Yet her natural position is midfield, and she could stake her claim there as well.

Much to the chagrin of USWNT fans, Dunn cannot play in two positions at once. But she has the skills to excel at both, and that versatility will make her invaluable to the USWNT in its quest for a three-peat.

With little more than a month until the World Cup kicks off, Dunn is peaking at the right time. The 30-year-old is a frontrunner in the NWSL’s Golden Boot race and has been excelling in midfield for the Portland Thorns, working well with USWNT teammate Sophia Smith.

“Her special awareness puts ourselves in a good position,” first-year Thorns head coach Mike Norris said. “She reads the game well and obviously is attacking minded.”

“The running joke is I’m scoring the same exact goal,” Dunn said after scoring her fifth goal of the season. “Teams clearly think I’m not good enough to be marked in the box. They keep leaving me open and that’s just fine.”

As Just Women’s Sports writer Claire Watkins has pointed out, the U.S. could use such skills in the midfield, which has yet to look settled. Exacerbating the midfield situation is the fact that star Catarina Macario will be out of this summer’s World Cup due to extended recovery from an ACL tear. And while Julie Ertz has made her return, she is still working her way back to full speed.

Yet while Dunn would provide a boost in the midfield, she provides stability at the defensive position.

With Kelley O’Hara a question mark, Dunn is one of just two players – alongside Emily Fox – that can slot into the right- and left-back positions, providing defensive cover that could be needed as the USWNT faces increasingly tougher opponents as the tournament goes on.

“Crystal Dunn is a versatile player, and that’s what makes her special,” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said in October 2019. “Not just Crystal Dunn, but anybody on the roster will be put in a position where we feel that they can strive, get better and develop, but at the same time help the team be successful.”

That versatility should be the envy of national teams everywhere. But it can put a lot of pressure on Dunn, who can be tasked with doing just about anything and everything.

“I think my versatility has come with perspective, but it also comes with a lot of pain,” Dunn recently told the “Diaspora United” podcast. “A lot of feeling of, you don’t belong any place on the field, you just belong where the coach puts you. And that doesn’t always feel great. I think I’ve always tried to hide away from saying that and being honest about that.”

Still, she admits that she’s a “competitor” and will play just about anywhere. That mentality has made her crucial for the USWNT.

“When I was younger, I used to be a little bothered by it, but I think now I’ve stepped into this space where I’m like, no, this is me,” Dunn told the “Diaspora United” podcast. “This is a space not a lot of people get to walk in, and that’s OK. It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable anymore. It makes me feel like this is actually my superpower.”

And perhaps there is room for creativity at the left back position to make the best use of that superpower. After all, soccer is an ever-evolving game, and if the USWNT wants to remain a step above, it may need to think outside of the box.

As the World Cup approaches, a player of Dunn’s abilities could change the game at any given moment. She can create chances for teammates and also provide a boost in the backfield, a multi-faceted star any team would covet. And that’s what makes her one of the most essential players on the USWNT.

Who is the most essential USWNT player?

U.S. women’s national team stars foil various countries’ attempts to stop them from winning in Fox’s first commercial for the 2023 World Cup, released Friday.

Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle and Naomi Girma feature in the ad, titled “USA vs. The World,” which asks: What will it take to stop the USWNT from winning a third consecutive World Cup title?

English fans ponder which of the USWNT’s stars the Lionesses should mark: Morgan? Lavelle? Rapinoe? Trinity Rodman?

Brazilian fans wonder if an infusion of young talent could be the key, before noting that the USWNT has its own youth movement (see: Girma, Sophia Smith, Alyssa Thompson). France takes the opposite tack in the ad, touting its veteran experience, earning a retort from USWNT great (and Fox analyst) Carli Lloyd: “Listen to what you’re saying!”

And on the commercial goes, from Australian flight attendants trying to stop the USWNT from even reaching the tournament to opposing fans traveling back in time to prevent Rapinoe from ever playing soccer. The bottom line: The entire world is doing whatever it takes to stop the U.S. from taking the title.

Alex Morgan’s response? “Good luck with that.”

The commercial will make its broadcast debut Saturday during Fox’s coverage of the Belmont Stakes, but you can check out the video below. Fox’s World Cup coverage kicks off with the tournament openers on July 20.