Which USWNT players should Emma Hayes call up as she looks to the future? Olivia Moultrie, Lily Yohannes, more

The U.S. women’s national team will kick off a trio of friendlies in October. The matches will be the first set of games for the program post-Olympics, giving fans and supporters a chance to celebrate the team and their gold medal victory. The USWNT will face Iceland on Oct. 24 and on Oct. 27, before closing out the international window against Argentina on Oct. 30.

As part of regularly scheduled post-tournament “tour” games, large portions of the camp call-ups will feature many members of the 2024 Olympic roster, so it’s unlikely there will be major roster changes. However, this a new era under coach Emma Hayes, who has been on a tour of her own — evaluating while attending NWSL matches — and there are some injuries to take into consideration, so there might be room for some fresh faces in the upcoming camps.

Hayes has yet to name her roster for the upcoming friendlies, but she recently spoke about the next phase of the USWNT during halftime of the Chicago Red Stars vs. North Carolina Courage game.

“We’re in the review part of our journey. Just reflecting on everything, not just from the Olympics, but all the successes that exist within the program, and then that’s for us to build on,” said Hayes.

“Then I’ll start the strategy development for 2027-28 over the next couple of months, at which there’ll be several meetings, sort of up and down the country, as well as internally, to make sure we set the right course. And then start the beginning of the year with what we are calling “the futures,” where we’ll get the opportunity to see some of the best talent, both within NWSL and the Under-20 level, where hopefully we can identify future talent for the U.S. Women’s National Team. So, quite a lot of work to do.”

Hayes’ advanced plans for “the futures” may come into the picture during the final friendlies in the 2024 calendar year. The team will travel to Europe and face England in November before closing out the year against the Dutch in the Netherlands during December.

So if there is room for a handful of players to crack the upcoming camps who were not part of the Olympic roster, here’s a look at a few players we want to see in the mix moving forward:

Goalkeepers

• Katie Lund (Racing Lousiville FC)
• Teagan Wy (U.S. U-20 WYNT)

There’s no doubt that we’ll see usual suspects in this category during the October friendlies with gold medalist Alyssa Naeher and Casey Murphy and Jane Campbell as the goal-keeping trio that were part of the Olympic roster. They’re 36, 28, and 29 years-old respectively. Aubrey Kingsbury, 31, has also been in the mix of national team camps. All are starters with their club teams and have been part of the larger goalkeeper pool over the last few years dating back to former head coach Vlatjo Andonovski’s time with the team.

Perhaps the upcoming window will mean the introduction of more prospects, including 27-year-old Lund, who has put together consistent seasons in NWSL or 20-year-old Teagan Wy — who is coming off a bronze medal finish at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. 

Defenders

• Emily Sams (Orlando Pride)
• Malia Berkely (North Carolina Courage
• Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit)

The build-up to the 2024 Olymnopcs and the tournament itself crowned the present and future center back duo moving forward. There is no misunderstanding, the answer is Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson. The two defenders have had to manage injury, but when they’re on the pitch together they’re the conjoined moat that provides protection around Naeher’s castle.

Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams was an alternate at the Olympics. Her versatility along the backline at centerback or fullback likely means she’ll remain in the mix for the defender pool. There are some great options at the U20 level for fullback with Savy King and Gisele Thompson, and NWSL centerbacks Malia Berkley and Tara McKeown have been regular starters for their club teams in recent seasons.

Midfielders

• Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
• Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage)
• Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC)
• Lily Yohannes (Ajax)
• Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current)

Yes, we’re still beating the Andi Sullivan drum for her return to the national team, along with Ashley Sanchez. These are two players who were even on our Olympic mock rosters based on their early successful club play. With the NWSL postseason just around the corner, the two players have been essential figures on their respective teams. With question marks around the future of the midfield pool, and players managing injury (or lack of playing time), perhaps we see Sullivan and Sanchez in the October mix, with others like Moultrie with a shot in Europe or in early 2025.

Lily Yohannes is a top prospect for the midfield and high in the ranking for players to get involved, but won’t have Champions League play to add to her resume this season. Neither will midfielder Korbin Albert, who only started one game with PSG as a forward, and was eliminated in round two qualifying. Claire Hutton has had a breakout rookie season with Kansas City and is on her way to the NWSL postseason. The 18-year-old was a member of the U-20 USYWNT during their own third-place run. 

Forwards

• Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC)
• Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC)
• Jordynn Dudley ( U.S. U20 WYNT)
• Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals FC)

Macario is back into form with Chelsea FC after navigating a long ACL recovery and a setback that ruled her out for the 2024 Olympics. If she’s unable to participate in the post-Olympic friendlies, then she’s a clear option for European camps at the end of the year along with Yohannes and Albert. 

Thompson had a slower start to her sophomore season in NWSL, but with some injury stretches out of the way, the 19-year-old has been on fire with five goals through six games after the Olympic break and may have earned a call-in to future camps. Another name to watch is 20-year-old Ally Sentnor, who made an early impact for the Utah Royals in her rookie season and was a mainstay for the U-20 side during the youth World Cup in August. Her U-20 teammate Jordynn Dudley came up with big goals down the stretch of the tournament and could be another attacking option for the coaching staff to include.