The young American has had quite the week in her return to USWNT camp.
Following a more than controversial end of March for the USWNT's Korbin Albert, the 20-year-old midfielder was relegated to the bench and booed by fans as she came onto the pitch as a substitute.
Korbin Albert booed by fans in USWNT-Japan
The United States women’s national team mounted a 2-1 comeback victory vs. Japan in the SheBelieves Cup semifinal on Saturday in front of a record crowd in Atlanta, Georgia.
The 50,644 fans (the most ever for a non-World Cup or Olympic game on U.S. soil) in Mercedes-Benz Stadium sat stunned when Japan figuratively punched the USWNT in the mouth with a goal just 30 seconds into the game.
30 seconds is all it takes for Japan’s Kiko Seike to take the lead vs. USWNT.
Woah
United States women’s national team head coach Twila Kilgore turned heads with her starting XI for the SheBelieves Cup semifinal vs. Japan on Saturday. Korbin Albert will start the game on the bench and Mallory Swanson returns for the first time in a year.
Swanson last started a game with the USWNT on April 8, 2023, when she suffered a severe knee injury. She’s back in the starting XI for the first time since.
USWNT starting XI vs Japan
The XI to get us started in Atlanta
All eyes will be on the United States women’s national team starting XI on Saturday ahead of the SheBelieves Cup semifinal vs. Japan. The elephant in the room is obvious. Will Korbin Albert start the game?
Under normal circumstances Albert starting in the midfield for the USWNT would be a no brainer. She was terrific for the team alongside Sam Coffey during the Concacaf W Gold Cup and broke her way into the starting XI.
The United States men’s national team’s triumph in the Concacaf Nations League in March resulted in FIFA bumping the team up two spots in the world rankings to No. 11.
Wins against Jamaica and Mexico saw the USMNT move past Uruguay and Morocco in the rankings. Uruguay suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in March while Morocco had a surprising 0-0 draw with Mauritania.
New USMNT FIFA ranking
The United States women’s national team held a press conference on Wednesday which saw leaders Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan address the controversial situation involving midfielder Korbin Albert.
The 20-year-old received waves of backlash after fans discovered she’d reposted anti-LGBTQ+ videos on TikTok and was caught liking a post making fun of Megan Rapinoe’s career ending injury.
The March international break recently finished which means it’s time for The18’s latest Copa América power rankings. The big tournament is only about three months out!
Two Concacaf teams secured the final two qualification spots with Canada and Costa Rica booking their tickets for this summer’s big event.
These rankings are based on recent performances and how we feel each team will perform in the tournament. After each person listed their top 16 teams, we aggregated the results into one official power rankings list.
Here’s our spring list for the 16 teams.
Megan Rapinoe has stepped into the Korbin Albert controversy with a clear shot at the 20-year-old United States women’s national team midfielder.
Albert has been facing a tidal wave of backlash after fans discovered reposts on her TikTok that featured anti-LGBTQ+ posts.
The Korbin Albert controversy kicked off Wednesday night when United States women’s national team fans discovered her far-right political reposts and likes on social media.
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The reposts that got USWNT fans the most upset were on TikTok. It appears Albert’s account reposted videos about people needing to “be saved from being gay or transgender.”
Gotham FC and United States women’s national team forward Midge Purce is out for the season and unavailable for this summer’s Olympics after suffering an ACL injury.
Purce was substituted in the first half of her side’s 1-0 victory against the Portland Thorns on Sunday after picking up an injury.
The 28-year-old confirmed on social media that she had sustained an ACL injury and will be out for an extended period.
Midge Purce ACL injury