Despite Being Ruled Out of FIFA Women’s World Cup, USWNT Names Five Top Picks for Paris Olympics 2024

The 2024 Paris Olympics are just a year away. After the United States Women’s National Soccer Team exited early from the FIFA Women’s World Cup, all eyes will be on them on the biggest sporting stage. USWNT’s loss to Sweden means an end of an era for U.S. women’s soccer domination and the organization will be looking at a major overhaul of the entire squad. According to reports, head coach Vlatko Andonovski will be released along with a host of starting players as the USWNT seeks redemption at the Olympics.

The upcoming Olympics present a fresh slate for the USWNT, with a chance to bounce back and redefine its legacy. While a number of legends will depart, reports indicate that several fresh faces will help take the USWNT back to the top.

USWNT looking for fresh faces at the Olympics

As the USWNT begins its revamp, a number of players are excepted to fill the shoes of the departing veterans. According to a report by Just Women’s Sports, Jayden Shaw is one of the options being explored for the upcoming Olympics. At just 18 years old, Shaw has 22 appearances and seven goals for the San Diego Wave. Her soccer skills also earned her the U.S. Soccer’s Young Player of the Year in 2022. Another forward that has been impressing USWNT scouts is Mia Fishel. She opted for the brave choice of joining Tigres UANL in Liga MX Femenil instead of the NWSL.

This decision propelled her to greater heights as she snapped up the league’s Golden Boot as a rookie. Chelsea was impressed by Fishel and she will now light up the women’s premier league with her goal-scoring prowess. The USWNT is also targeting a defensive midfielder and Jaelin Howell’s name is catching attention.

Not only can she tackle, intercept, and clear but also create chances in attack. At 23 years of age, she fits perfectly in Racing Louisville’s midfield and might prove a valuable asset for the USWNT as well. Another midfielder who is demanding attention with her performances is Sam Coffey. She missed out on a World Cup berth, but Julie Ertz’s retirement positions her as a vital asset for the future. Lastly, as the USWNT plans for the post-Alyssa Naeher era, they will be on the lookout for a goalkeeper. With her remarkable statistics over the last two seasons in the NWSL, Phallon Tullis-Joyce emerges as a choice for the future. With a save percentage of more than 70%, she has been the best goalkeeper in the league for the past two seasons. If the USWNT wants to return to winning ways, they need to make an entire organizational change before next year’s Olympics.

USWNT’s shock exit from the World Cup

Before the 2023 World Cup, the USWNT had won the last two FIFA Women’s World Cups. In fact, they came into this World Cup with the aim of securing the trophy for a third-year running. Despite a poor run of form in the last two years, the USWNT finished their first game of the tournament with a 3-0 win against Vietnam. However, they could not maintain this run of form and drew their next two games against Netherlands and Portugal. Their last encounter against Sweden saw them drawing for a third consecutive time before eventually getting knocked out of the tournament in penalties (5-4).

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Now, if the USWNT wants to bounce back from their run at the World Cup, they need to dominate next year’s Paris Olympics. With a mix of young prospects and seasoned players, the USWNT can get back to winning ways and these five players can help them redefine their story on the world’s biggest sporting stage.

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