Emma Hayes Names U.S. Women's Olympic Soccer Team Roster
The preparation for Paris begins
Emma Hayes named the roster for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Soccer Team on Wednesday.
“Making an Olympic roster is a huge privilege and an honor and there is no denying that it was an extremely competitive process among the players and that there were difficult choices, especially considering how hard everyone has worked over the past 10 months,” said Hayes. “Choosing an 18-player roster plus alternates involved many considerations, but I am excited for the group we have selected and I’m looking forward to building on the work from last camp as we head into the Send-Off matches and then onto France. These are great opportunities for us to continue to show the progress we are making.”
The roster is a mix of experience and youth with Lindsey Horan having the most caps (148) and Jenna Nighswonger having the least caps (9). The 18-player roster has an average age of 26.8, which is the fourth-youngest roster the USA has ever sent to the Olympics and the youngest since 2008. The average age of the 2020 Olympic Team was 30.8 years old.
One noticeable absence is Alex Morgan. This is the first major tournament since the 2008 Olympics that will not feature Morgan on the roster.
“Today, I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” Morgan wrote on Twitter. “This will always be a tournament that is close to my heart and I take immense pride any time I put on the crest. In less than a month, I look forward to supporting this team and cheering them on alongside the rest of our country. LFG”
The 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team will come together for the first time on July 8 in New Jersey in preparation to face Mexico on July 13 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The USA will then head to the nation’s capital for the 2024 Send-Off Match on July 16 against Costa Rica at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.