It’s been nearly nine years since the U.S. women’s national soccer team last won an Olympic gold medal. A squad of 18 women will look to get the USA back to the highest podium at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The “Women’s Football Tournament,” as the competition at the Olympics is officially known, will see the USWNT and 11 other nations battle it out for a place on the medals stand.
The event kicks off with a round-robin group stage on July 21. Eight teams qualify for the single-elimination knockout rounds which start with the quarterfinals through to the final on Aug. 6 in Tokyo (Aug. 5 in the USA due to the time difference).
MORE: USWNT makes big bet with Olympic roster picks
USA Olympic women’s soccer roster
Below is the 18-player U.S. women’s national team Olympic roster, including four alternates who can replace a rostered player due to injury at any point before or during the tournament.
Pos. | Name | Club | Olympic Exp. |
GK | Adrianna Franch | Portland Thorns FC | — |
GK | Alyssa Naeher | Chicago Red Stars | 2016 |
DF | Abby Dahlkemper | Manchester City (ENG) | — |
DF | Tierna Davidson | Chicago Red Stars | — |
DF | Crystal Dunn | Portland Thorns FC | 2016 |
DF | Kelley O’Hara | Washington Spirit | 2012, 2016 |
DF | Becky Sauerbrunn | Portland Thorns FC | 2012, 2016 |
DF | Emily Sonnett | Washington Spirit | — |
MF | Julie Ertz | Chicago Red Stars | 2016 |
MF | Lindsey Horan | Portland Thorns FC | 2016 |
MF | Rose Lavelle | OL Reign | — |
MF | Kristie Mewis | Houston Dash | — |
MF | Samantha Mewis | North Carolina Courage | — |
FW | Tobin Heath | Unattached | 2008, 2012, 2016 |
FW | Carli Lloyd | NJ/NY Gotham FC | 2008, 2012, 2016 |
FW | Alex Morgan | Orlando Pride | 2012, 2016 |
FW | Christen Press | Unattached | 2016 |
FW | Megan Rapinoe | OL Reign | 2012, 2016 |
U.S. Olympic Team Alternates
The following four players are not part of the official U.S. roster. If a player from the official roster needs to be replaced due to injury before or during the tournament, it would come from this group. The four players are traveling to Japan to train with the U.S. team in case they are called into action.
Position | Name | Club (Country) | Olympic Exp. |
GK | Jane Campbell | Houston Dash | — |
DF | Casey Krueger | Chicago Red Stars | — |
MF | Catarina Macario | Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) | — |
FW | Lynn Williams | North Carolina Courage | — |
Who coaches the USWNT?
The individual responsible for selecting the squad is head coach Vlatko Andonovski (above), who is leading the USWNT in his first major international competition.
He was hired as USWNT coach in October 2019 and in his first 21 matches at the helm the team has compiled an impressive 20-0-1 mark, setting a record for best start for a head coach in USWNT history.
Andonovski, who has been praised by the players for his staff’s level of detailed match preparation, joined the U.S. team after successful coaching stints at two NWSL clubs: Kansas City and OL Reign.
USWNT at the Olympics
The U.S. women reached the gold-medal match in every Olympics tournament except for the 2016 edition in London, where the USWNT was stunned by Sweden in a quarterfinal penalty-kick shootout.
Since women’s soccer was first introduced as an Olympic competition in 1996, the USA has won a total of four of the five finals it has played, losing only to Norway in 2000 on a sudden-death goal in extra time.
Year | Site | USWNT Finish (Final match) |
1996 | Atlanta | Gold Medal (2-1 win vs. China) |
2000 | Sydney | Silver Medal (3-2 loss vs. Norway) |
2004 | Athens | Gold Medal (2-1 win vs. Brazil) |
2008 | Beijing | Gold Medal (1-0 win vs. Brazil) |
2012 | London | Gold Medal (2-1 win vs. Japan) |
2016 | Rio de Janeiro | QFs (1-1 vs. Sweden, 4-3 loss in PKs) |
USWNT 2021 Olympics Schedule
The USWNT is ranked No. 1 in the world and at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics it will compete against three other teams in the group stage: Sweden (No. 5 in the world), Australia (No. 9) and New Zealand (No. 22).
There are a total of three groups in the women’s soccer tournament. The top two teams automatically advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place finishers.
Group G
Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sweden | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Group G schedule
Date | Match | Time |
Wed, July 21 | Sweden vs. USA | 4:30 am ET |
Wed, July 21 | Australia vs. New Zealand | 7:30 am ET |
Sat, July 24 | Sweden vs. Australia | 4:30 am ET |
Sat, July 24 | New Zealand vs. USA | 7:30 am ET |
Tues, July 27 | New Zealand vs. Sweden | 4 am ET |
Tues, July 27 | USA vs. Australia | 4 am ET |