Plenty of new faces are heading Down Under with the U.S. women’s national team for the World Cup. Just Women’s Sports is taking a look at a few of the newcomers and introducing them to fans new and old.

Savannah DeMelo

Age: 25 years old
Position: Midfielder
USWNT debut: July 9, 2023 vs. Wales
Total caps: 1

How has she looked in her NWSL season?

DeMelo muscled herself onto the USWNT roster with her outstanding start to her second NWSL season. She has been involved in eight goals (6 goals, 2 assists) since the beginning of May for Racing Louisville. At the time of USWNT selection, few were playing better than DeMelo.

“I just felt confident, I felt like I was playing well, I felt like my team was playing really well,” DeMelo told Just Women’s Sports. “And I think that’s just a huge part when your team is doing well. It helps me succeed. I think I owe it all to my teammates, because our team has been playing really well.”

What does she bring to the USWNT?

DeMelo often plays as a No. 10, operating as Racing Louisville’s playmaker. While she sometimes has limited opportunities to touch the ball, she knows how to make an impact with the chances she does have. That could work in her favor at the World Cup, as she could see limited minutes with the squad given her inexperience. She had never played a single minute for the USWNT before Sunday’s send-off match.

Her vision and smart decision-making paired with quality execution make her an asset. And while her lack of international experience could work against her, it could also work to her benefit. Opponents don’t know her style of play yet, which could make her a dark horse.

While DeMelo is good on the ball, she is great off it. DeMelo knows how to find and create space, making her difficult to defend. She was great off the bench in her first international appearance, immediately opening up a scoring opportunity for the USWNT.

And DeMelo is no stranger to the national team despite her lack of international experience. She has been called up into a number of camps, and that has helped prepare her for the World Cup.

“Everyone is just amazing, like people are super willing to come up to you, help you out in any way,” she said. “Everyone’s been awesome. It’s going to take everybody to win this, and I think everyone’s just trying to become a team really quickly, a family.”

What have USWNT coaches and teammates said about DeMelo?

Vlatko Andonovski, head coach: “Her performance in the league was one of the biggest reasons why she’s on the team. And based on the needs that we have in terms of the opponents and different situations that we may face, we see Sav being very important to us going forward.”

Ashley Sanchez, midfielder: “It doesn’t happen every day but she played her way in. And I think when your form was as good as hers, or is as good as hers, she deserves it.”

Savannah DeMelo has not played in a single match for the U.S. women’s national team. So forgive her if she could not quite wrap her head around her World Cup selection.

The USWNT video series “The Call” brings viewers behind the scenes as head coach Vlatko Andonovski FaceTimes players to let them know that they’ve been called up for the tournament. And for DeMelo, who has yet to feature internationally, the moment is one to remember.

DeMelo is speechless at first, then asks the question: “Are you serious?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t joke with something like that,” Andonovski replies.

“Oh my gosh, thank you so much,” she said. “My heart’s beating so fast.”

At one point, her family can be heard celebrating in the background of the call. Andonovski then congratulates DeMelo on a recent goal for Racing Louisville, a trend that has led to her call-up. She has eight goals across all NWSL competitions this year.

While she is uncapped heading into the World Cup, she did join the USWNT for camps in September and October of last year. She becomes the first uncapped player to receive a World Cup call-up for the USWNT since Shannon Boxx in 2003.

“One thing that we wanted to see from her is consistency in the upcoming season,” Andonovski said Wednesday. “Sav did very well and was very consistent. Her performance in the league was one of the biggest reasons why she’s on the team.

“And based on the needs that we have in terms of opponents and different situations that we may face, we see Sav being very important for us going forward.”

A youth movement is taking over the U.S. women’s national team, as highlighted on the roster revealed Wednesday, which includes 14 players new to the World Cup stage.

Rising star Sophia Smith admitted she “wasn’t quite alive” for the iconic 1999 World Cup win — she was born in 2000 — but that doesn’t mean she and her teammates aren’t ready to take the tournament by storm.

Sophia Smith

Sophia Smith has been dreaming of the World Cup since childhood, she said after the roster announcement. And while she “wasn’t quite alive” for the 1999 World Cup, the 22-year-old knows what it means to the USWNT. It also helped inspire her to get to this point.

“This is something I’ve dreamed of for, I don’t even know how long, so to get that call was just kind of like a big relief, and just I just felt pure joy because you know, the past few months have been a little bit stressful,” she said. “I’ve been feeling a little anxious just because the clock has been ticking and I knew this time was coming. So to get that call was I mean it was pretty surreal and I still feel all those emotions right now.”

As for her role on the team, Smith will have a lot of expectations placed on her shoulders as one of the team’s most explosive scorers. Still, she hopes just to be herself amid the bright lights of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

“I think every time that I go into a national team camp and just completely be myself, that’s when I have success and that’s when I can kind of bring others into the game,” she said. “I take a lot of pride in doing my role to the best of my ability, whether that’s scoring goals, whether that’s getting assists, or whether that’s being you know, the best teammate that I can be. I take a lot of pride and all of that.”

Alyssa Thompson

At 18 years old, Alyssa Thompson is the youngest player on the World Cup roster. And she’s the second-youngest player to ever make a USWNT roster for the World Cup behind Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, who was 17 at the 1995 World Cup. It’s been a big year for Thompson, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the NWSL Draft in January and graduated from high school earlier this month.

Now she’ll take the biggest step of her career, despite having played in youth soccer just months ago.

“In October, she was playing youth soccer,” Andonovski said. “And now, in July, she will be at the biggest stage in women’s soccer.”

Savannah DeMelo

Racing Louisville midfielder Savannah DeMelo has been one of the best players in the NWSL in 2023. But she faces a big question mark ahead of the World Cup: Her inexperience on the international scene.

The 25-year-old has never played in a match for the USWNT, despite having been brought into camp multiple times, starting with the team’s Nigeria friendlies last September.

“One thing that we wanted to see from her is consistency in the upcoming season,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “Sav did very well and was very consistent. Her performance in the league was one of the biggest reasons why she’s on the team.

“And based on the needs that we have in terms of opponents and different situations that we may face, we see Sav being very important for us going forward.”

Kristie Mewis

At 32 years old, Kristie Mewis is the oldest player making her World Cup debut for the USWNT. While she has been in the USWNT system for almost a decade, she missed out on the 2015 and 2019 tournaments. But, according to Andonovski, she is one of the most mature players on the 2023 team.

“She is a mature player that knows what it takes to be a successful player, that knows what it takes to bring the best out of her teammates,” he said. “She has been so selfless when she’s in camp and understands her role to a T. One thing we love about Kristie is that when she is on the field, (even) if it’s 15 minutes, then we know that we’re gonna get the best 15-minute player in the world.

“She knows that, she understands that, and she executes it very well.”

Savannah DeMelo will feature on the U.S. women’s national team roster for the 2023 World Cup, The Athletic reported Friday.

Who is the 25-year-old midfielder? And what can USWNT fans expect from the national team newbie? Just Women’s Sports introduces the world to the rising star.

Who does Savannah DeMelo play for?

Racing Louisville selected DeMelo with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. The midfielder is in the midst of her second season with the club.

Has she played for the USWNT before?

DeMelo received call-ups from the national team in September and October of last year. She joined the USWNT ahead of the September friendlies against Nigeria as a replacement for forward Trinity Rodman, who missed the camp due to a family commitment, and then she made the trip to the October friendlies in England and Spain.

While she has two training camps under her belt, though, she has yet to feature in a game for the USWNT.

What is DeMelo’s style of play?

DeMelo provides depth at the midfielder position as a player who can work both sides of the ball. In her second professional season, she also has shown her scoring touch. Since the beginning of May, she has been involved in eight goals (6 goals, 2 assists) across all NWSL competitions, which is two better than any other player in the league in that span, per OptaJack.

While she started the year outside of the national team pool, she kept herself on USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s radar with a ferocious start to the NWSL season. As Andonovski has stated, NWSL play is a big factor in his roster decisions. And there are few playing better in the league right now than DeMelo.

She has scored in three of her last four matches, including in Sunday’s 2-0 win against Gotham FC, and she has eight goals across all competitions this season. She finished the 2022 season with four goals total.

On top of her goal-scoring abilities, DeMelo also brings a solid defensive presence. A good shot blocker, she also helps her team to win the ball back, averaging 4.38 interceptions per game in 2022. And as good as DeMelo looked in 2022, she’s even better in 2023, which has earned her a spot on her first World Cup roster.

The U.S. women’s national team will be without captain Becky Sauerbrunn at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, The Athletic’s Meg Linehan and Steph Yang reported Friday. Sauerbrunn later confirmed the news on Twitter.

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski is set to release his roster for the tournament next week. When he does, Sauerbrunn will not be included, multiple sources told The Athletic.

The 38-year-old defender has been dealing with a foot injury for the Portland Thorns for the last two months. On June 3, she played 24 minutes as a substitute in her first action since April 22, but then she missed the following match.

Veteran defender Kelley O’Hara will make the 23-player roster, though she also has missed time with injury. The 34-year-old played Sunday for the first time since May 14, coming on as a substitute in the 73rd minute of Gotham FC’s 1-1 draw with the Houston Dash.

Racing Louisville midfielder Savannah DeMelo and Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury also will make the cut, The Athletic reported. Players were informed Thursday of their roster status.

DeMelo received her first USWNT call-up last September as an injury replacement for the team’s friendlies against Nigeria. She has not trained with the team in 2023, but she has excelled in NWSL play, with seven goals across all competitions.

The inclusion of Kingsbury also aligns with Andonovski’s emphasis on club form. The 31-year-old ranks second in the NWSL with 0.91 goals against per 90. Kansas City Current goalkeeper AD Franch, who has been considered her direct competitor for the final USWNT goalkeeper spot, ranks last with 2.75 goals against per 90 and has not played since May 17.

Whittling down a World Cup roster to 23 players can be difficult, particularly if you are head coach of the U.S. women’s national team and have a plethora of talent to choose from.

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski will announce his choices next week, and while some players have solidified their spots, others remain on the bubble. Which players are fighting for a trip to Australia and New Zealand?

Goalkeepers: AD Franch, Aubrey Kingsbury

Kingsbury has been playing lights out to begin the season. Franch, on the other hand, has seen limited appearances on the field, and has struggled when she has appeared for the Kansas City Current.

And while Alyssa Naeher is a staple for the USWNT, she has given up nine goals in her last two outings for the Red Stars, so Andonovski may want to stick with the backup who has the better recent résumé.

Defenders: Sofia Huerta, Tierna Davidson, Kelley O’Hara, Casey Krueger

Sofia Huerta had a great game last weekend against Kansas City, burying a penalty kick to give OL Reign the win. She was named Player of the Match and earned a nomination for NWSL Player of the Week. A former attacker turned right-back, her 35 regular-season goals rank 17th in NWSL history, so she could bring an additional scoring presence to a USWNT squad that has had a defender score in each of its last two friendlies. But she’s going up against O’Hara and Krueger, with each bringing a different element to the table — and while O’Hara has been struggling to stay healthy, Krueger’s versatility could give her the nod.

Davidson is another bubble player who faces stiff competition to make the final 23. At center-back, she is likely competing with OL Reign’s Emily Sonnett. In Chicago, Davidson has struggled – as has the rest of the Red Star defense – and was out before that with an ACL tear. She was the youngest player on the roster at the 2019 World Cup, but she could find herself on the outside looking in this time around.

Midfielders: Taylor Kornieck, Savannah DeMelo

Julie Ertz’s return to the USWNT lineup has meant one less spot on the USWNT roster because, let’s face it, there’s no way Ertz is being left at home. Kornieck has had solid USWNT minutes, and at 6-1 she is the tallest player the USWNT has to go up against opposition. Before sustaining an abdominal injury, Kornieck was leading the NWSL in aerials won. She’s already scored once this year for the USWNT, one of just a few players to do so, and would be a solid bench option for Andonovski.

DeMelo, meanwhile, has had an outstanding start to her NWSL season and week after week continues to make her case for the USWNT roster. She scored in four of five appearances to start the season and forced an own goal against Chicago. In May, she was named the NWSL’s Player of the Month. If NWSL play really does matter that much to Andonovski, then he’ll take DeMelo down under.

Forwards: Jaedyn Shaw, Midge Purce

If Andonovski is considering young star Alyssa Thompson for a roster spot, he should also be considering Shaw. Shaw has been a force for San Diego this season, not just as the team’s second-leading scorer but also as a passer. While her consistency needs some work, she has two seasons of professional experience under her belt that could be helpful on the world’s biggest stage.

Purce, meanwhile, has had a bumpy road with the USWNT, and a recent hip injury has kept her from NWSL play. While Purce has the talent to help the USWNT, her lack of recent playing time means she could get left at home.

The U.S. women’s national team is in a unique position going into this year’s World Cup roster release. With the NWSL still in the swing of the regular season, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski has the benefit of watching league games every week — but few chances for head-to-head comparisons before the team convenes for camp in June.

A number of U.S. mainstays, including Rose Lavelle, are still dealing with lingering injuries, while others, such as Catarina Macario, have removed themselves from World Cup consideration entirely. Still others are struggling to find World Cup-level form.

Meanwhile, several players without any international experience are stepping up in league play and making their cases for the USWNT roster. Andonovski doesn’t get to guide his team through any more international friendlies before committing to the group that will chase the USWNT’s fifth World Cup star, and these stars with little U.S. experience are making his decisions that much more difficult.

Aubrey Kingsbury, GK, Washington Spirit

Aubrey Kingsbury is the only player on this list with a cap for the U.S., earned against Uzbekistan in April 2022. And with Alyssa Naeher, Adrianna Franch and Casey Murphy all having up-and-down seasons, a clear argument could be made that the American goalkeeper with recent USWNT experience having the steadiest 2023 so far is actually the Washington Spirit No. 1. Washington is tied with Gotham FC for fewest goals conceded this season with eight, with Kingsbury a steady presence behind a new Spirit defensive line.

When Franch had a surge in form for Kansas City late in 2022, Kingsbury became the first goalkeeper out of the player pool after having been brought in consistently for USWNT camps in recent years. One has to wonder if the combination of familiarity with the U.S. system and commanding league form could be enough to give her the edge on the third goalkeeper spot on the plane to New Zealand.

Jaedyn Shaw, F, San Diego Wave

If there’s been one major theme of the NWSL season thus far, it’s been the youth movement. And more than one teenager likely is ready for the international stage. Jaedyn Shaw’s role within the San Diego attack has only grown as she develops into her first full season as a professional. The 18-year-old’s versatility has been on display, with crafty movement front of goal and an ability on the ball that can find seams behind an opponent’s backline.

“Jaedyn’s vision and ability to pick a pass that breaks a back line is some of the best I’ve seen in the game,” Wave head coach Casey Stoney said after last Friday’s match, in which Shaw place a perfectly weighted ball in for an assist. Shaw can play both as a forward or as a deeper-sitting playmaker, and her current form indicates she should be a legitimate consideration for the spot left open by Catarina Macario’s injury.

Savannah DeMelo, M, Racing Louisville

If there was a “pure form” index for players across all NWSL competitions, Savannah DeMelo would surely be at the very top of the list. The 25-year-old has eight goal contributions in all comps since mid-April with five goals and three assists, the most in the NWSL in that time span. An audacious playmaker, DeMelo is willing to open defenses up by shots from distance as well as by finding the runs of her teammates in behind opponents’ backlines.

She also has experience with both a single and a double pivot defensive midfield structure behind her, something the U.S. has experimented with throughout 2022 and the early months of 2023. She’s not afraid of risky passes forward, and she provides a dynamism that the U.S. might need with Rose Lavelle still returning from injury. The only mark against the midfielder’s rise in league domination is that her current run of form comes in a section of Louisville’s schedule that includes two games apiece against the struggling Kansas City Current and Chicago Red Stars.

Sam Staab, D, Washington Spirit

While it hasn’t been an incredible season of defense to this point in the NWSL, Sam Staab has stood apart from the field. Staab has shown an impressive amount of durability and mental focus in 2023, having not missed a single start since the beginning of her NWSL career. She also had to be the foundation of a new-look center-back pairing after the departure of Emily Sonnett, but even with the added pressure, she is holding down one of the NWSL’s most efficient defenses.

What also makes Staab an exciting USWNT prospect is what she provides to a team in distribution. The 26-year-old has impressive long ball vision, hitting the kind of diagonal passes that the U.S. prefers when trying to progress the ball forward. She also has the ability to take long throw-ins when the Spirit are in the attacking third, giving an extra edge in set-piece configuration for her team. With a number of center-backs in the USWNT rotation struggling to find their form and Becky Sauerbrunn still returning to the pitch, Staab deserves a long look.

Olivia Moultrie, M, Portland Thorns

Olivia Moultrie is the second teenager on this list, but she plays in Portland’s midfield like the seasoned pro she actually is. The 17-year-old has two goals and two assists in the 2023 NWSL season thus far, and she has looked increasingly like the kind of player the USWNT could use on the ball in the midfield. She — like DeMelo — plays in the attacking midfield, and she doesn’t give the ball away easily, connecting over 81% of her passes this season despite a willingness to try to thread balls forward to connect with the Thorns’ attack.

There’s also an argument to be made for continuing to build for the future, with Moultrie a likely successor to the USWNT’s current crop of creative midfielders. She’s got a good attacking rapport with striker Sophia Smith, and her numbers year over year have improved with the more time she’s gotten in a professional midfield system. She can move the ball calmly under pressure, something that the U.S. could use not only in future years but also right now, with the World Cup on the horizon.

We’re nearing the halfway point of the 2023 NWSL season after a topsy-turvy month of May. The league saw a number of imbalanced scorelines, but no single player took a definitive lead in the Golden Boot race — or in the Player of the Month race, which had a number of worthy contenders.

With defenses across the NWSL still working on their cohesion, most of the top performers in May were those generating attacking chances, with quite a few coming from teams still on the upswing in the league table.

However, our regular season Player of the Month for May is likely a name well known to many.

Crystal Dunn, M, Portland Thorns

The 30-year-old had one of the best scoring months of her career in the Portland midfield in May, scoring three goals and registering an assist. She finished the month in a tie for first place in the 2023 Golden Boot race with five on the season.

A high-efficiency scorer, Dunn converted on 100% of her shots on goal this month in performances against the North Carolina Courage and the Chicago Red Stars. Her brace against the Courage kept the Thorns in a match that ultimately ended 3-3, picking up a crucial point to land Portland tied for second place in the NWSL standings at the end of the month with 16 points.

Dunn also has been active in ways more nuanced than her scoring and assisting output. She sits in second for field players in American Soccer Analysis’ goals added (g+) estimation for the month of May on the strength of her receiving and shooting abilities. She also sits in the top 10 for individual xG created this month despite only registering eight total shots. And while the Portland defense has had its struggles this month, the attack has kept cooking, sitting on a goal differential of +12.

Honorable mentions

Savannah DeMelo, M, Racing Louisville

DeMelo was in a dead heat with Dunn for May’s top honor, proving essential for Louisville in all competitions despite only scoring one goal and notching one assist in regular season play. The 25-year-old has been one of the best attacking generators in the league this month, leading the NWSL in xG + xA (goal and assist chance creation).

Kailen Sheridan, GK, San Diego Wave

Sheridan is known as one of the NWSL’s most elite shot-stoppers, but in May she was one of the league’s greatest passing threats as well. She also led the league’s goalkeepers in g+, conceding only four goals on 24 shots faced, which leaves San Diego tied for second place in the league standings.

Adriana, F, Orlando Pride

The Pride saw their best stretch of play in May, going undefeated in three regular season games before a very unlikely loss to the Chicago Red Stars to end the month. Orlando has passed around scoring honors and become stingy in defense, but Adriana’s contributions on and off the ball have stuck out as both a dribbler and a defensive disruptor from the attack.

NWSL rookies Sam Coffey and Savannah DeMelo continue to impress, earning call-ups to the U.S. women’s national team Thursday for the upcoming friendlies against England and Spain.

USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski pointed to their play in the domestic league this season as one of the main reasons that they have each earned looks this year.

Coffey received her first call-up in June for the team’s friendlies against Colombia. Then she was called in as an injury replacement for Ashley Hatch at the Concacaf W Championship. She made her first appearance during the team’s friendlies against Nigeria in September.

Calling Coffey’s performances in the NWSL this season “tremendous,” Andonovski offered up high praise for the Portland Thorns midfielder.

“In my opinion, she’s an [NWSL] MVP candidate,” Andonovski said. “Sam has a lot of impact on and sometimes dictates the performance of the team, which is incredible for a rookie.”

DeMelo, meanwhile, earns her first direct call-up ahead of the European trip after being selected for the September friendlies as a replacement for Trinity Rodman. The rookie has three goals and one assist through 17 regular season starts for Racing Louisville.

“Savannah has done a very good job. She has special qualities that we’re very, very happy with,” Andonovski said. “Her abilities to penetrate on the dribble are tremendous. She’s able to limit a player in the middle of the field and create opportunities for her teammates. And on top of that she’s scored some amazing goals too.

“We’re very happy with how she’s progressed this season and we’re hoping that we can help her with the development and allow her to continue her development.”

Star rookie Savannah DeMelo has signed a two-year contract extension with Racing Louisville FC, keeping her with the team through 2025.

DeMelo has been exceptional for Louisville, scoring four goals and adding one assist. She was named Rookie of the Month in July and was a part of May’s Best XI.

The team called her “an integral part of Racing’s present and future” in the news release announcing the extension.

“I love this team,” DeMelo said. “I’ve really grown to love this city and community and all the girls on the team and the staff. It’s a great place for me to keep growing and hopefully help the team in any way I can and impact the team for years to come.”

The fourth overall pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, she ranks first in the league in chances created and fouls won. Strong in set piece situations, she’s the only player this season in the NWSL to score twice on a direct free kick, which includes a game-winning goal against the league-leading San Diego Wave in May.

“I’m just grateful and blessed for the opportunity to be playing as much as I have been and impacting the team,” DeMelo said. “It’s all due to the staff and my teammates who have helped me along the way.”

DeMelo earned her first U.S. women’s national team call-up as an injury replacement earlier this month.

“Savannah’s development has been remarkable,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said. “She came in as a rookie almost eight months months ago, and now, as we’re signing her to a new contract, we’re not just doing it with a top player in the NWSL — we’re also doing it with a U.S. national team player.

“She is important for this team, both on and off the pitch, and I’m looking forward to seeing her in the Racing shirt for many more years.”