USWNT roster: Naomi Girma returns, Lo’eau LaBonta debuts, Korbin Albert absent

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Naomi Girma returns to the U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) for the first time this calendar year as head coach Emma Hayes shifts focus away from throwing players into the frying pan and toward building squad depth, having extended new or renewed invitations to players who have shone at the club level in the NWSL and abroad.

The USWNT manager named her 24-player roster on Tuesday for two upcoming friendlies against China on May 31 and Jamaica on June 3. In addition to Girma’s crucial return to the backline, the player list features two first-time call-ups in Kansas City Current midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta and Orlando Pride defender Kerry Abello.

Korbin Albert, the 21-year-old Paris Saint-Germain midfielder who was a part of the USWNT’s gold medal-winning Olympic team, was left off the roster for this window, and with Trinity Rodman out indefinitely to treat her back injury and Mal Swanson’s recent announcement of her pregnancy, the entirety of Triple Espresso will be stepping away from national team duties for some time. (Sophia Wilson announced her pregnancy in March.)

USWNT May and June friendlies roster

Goalkeepers (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United)

Defenders (8): Kerry Abello (Orlando Pride), Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint-Germain), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC)

Midfielders (6): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Lo’eau LaBonta (Kansas City Current), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC), Lily Yohannes (Ajax)

Forwards (7): Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle Reign FC), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC)

Strengthening the bench

During the USWNT’s last two friendlies, in which it went 1-1 against Brazil in California, Hayes was clear about her intentions to evaluate and experiment. This time around, she is prioritizing depth, an objective made all the more convenient by the variety inherent in the fixtures themselves. Seven of the players on this roster did not compete against the South American giants in the Olympic gold medal rematches last month.

“We have two different types of opponents ahead of us, so we’ll have to be creative in breaking down those teams in different ways,” Hayes said in the U.S. Soccer news release. “Now that everyone has settled into a rhythm with their clubs, or is coming right off their European seasons, our players are at a good level. As has been one of our focuses this year, this camp and the following camp are going to be two amazing opportunities to develop squad depth.”

Given the current state of the team, depth means something different at each positional level. We’ll address the defense in a separate section, but as the USWNT midfield continues to be a long-term project in flux, Hayes’ focus on depth could provide an advantageous opportunity for LaBonta, whose steadying presence and command of the Current’s midfield has been critical to their success for two seasons now as they enjoy the view from the top of the table.

At 32, LaBonta could become the oldest player to earn a cap for the USWNT if she gets playing time during this window. Bringing her on midway through the second half of a game in which the U.S. is either trying to hold a lead or increase its goal tally could have high yields.

Up top, Hayes made an intriguing change in plucking 19-year-old Gisele Thompson from the back line to see how she fares as a forward. She’ll join her sister, Alyssa, who’s in arguably the best form of her career for club and country, and recently assisted her younger sister on a goal for Angel City FC when they upended the Washington Spirit last month. Like Crystal Dunn, the second-highest goal-scorer on this roster with 25 goals in 159 caps, Gisele possesses a high IQ on both sides of the ball, and her ability to carry the ball forward could come in handy if the U.S. needs to scramble an organized Chinese side or tease out a defensively-minded Jamaican one.

Auditioning for the role of Girma’s costar

With Girma back on the national team, fresh off an FA Cup title with Chelsea, Hayes can now resume her quest to appoint the star center-back’s counterpart in earnest. Though the assignment feels more like a beginning, considering the absence of Tierna Davidson, who has been ruled out for the season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last month. Hayes has appeared bullish on Tara McKeown, a striker-turned-central defender who quickly became a reliable pillar of the Washington Spirit’s defense. Her distribution and hunger to advance the ball when it’s at her feet could make for an interesting dynamic with Girma’s spatial acuity.

Emily Sams, last year’s NWSL Defender of the Year, has been given curious few minutes on the national team of late. While she was invited to camp for the Brazil friendlies, the Orlando Pride center-back last earned a cap when the U.S. played Australia at the SheBelieves Cup on Feb. 23. If there was a time for Hayes to inquire about her potential with Girma at the back, it’s increasingly beginning to feel like now or never.

You could argue, though, that in terms of current form for the club, both McKeown and Sams are competing with Emily Sonnett to play alongside Girma. With Davidson out, Sonnet has stepped up as an unstoppable force for NJ/NY Gotham FC.

The last time the U.S. played China, in 2023, it outscored its opponents 5-1 across two fixtures. Its last meeting with Jamaica was a 5-0 victory three years ago at the CONCACAF W Gold Cup in Monterrey. Between the two matches, it’s unlikely to encounter too much of an attacking threat, potentially offering more of a chance for Hayes to assess her back line on its attacking prowess. This, of course, is where the outside backs are expected to shine, and frankly, the kinds of scenarios in which first-time call-up Abello thrives with the Orlando Pride. The same goes for Avery Patterson, who recently netted a rocket for the Houston Dash a couple of weeks ago.

(Photo of Naomi Girma: Daniela Porcelli / ISI Photos / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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