Mal Pugh

The United States women’s national team will go on a month-and-a-half hiatus following a spring that saw them lift the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup and their seventh SheBelieves Cup. We’d say we’ve seen enough for a USWNT Olympic roster prediction.

Incoming USWNT head coach Emma Hayes will need to narrow the roster to 18 names for the Paris Olympics. She’ll have watched both tournaments and have a solid idea of who deserves to go.

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

Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario will make their long-awaited returns to the United States women’s national team after missing an extended period due to knee injuries.

Swanson’s last USWNT game was April 8, 2023, against the Republic of Ireland. During that game she suffered a gruesome torn patella tendon.

Macario returns after nearly two years with her previous national team appearance being a friendly vs. Uzbekistan on April 12, 2022. She tore her ACL that summer with her previous club Lyon.

Mallory Swanson entered free agency for the first time and cashed in with a record-breaking contract with the Chicago Red Stars worth a reported $2 million including a fifth-year option.

Swanson, a popular United States women's national team striker, was acquired by Chicago in 2021 in a trade with NJ/NY Gotham FC, becomes the highest-paid player in NWSL.

Mallory Swanson new contract

One of the biggest “What-ifs” for the United States women’s national team in 2023 is what would the year have looked like if star forward Mallory Swanson didn’t suffer a knee injury in April.

During a friendly against Republic of Ireland Swanson’s 2023 World Cup dreams were shattered after suffering a gruesome tear to the patellar tendon in her left knee. She hasn’t played for the USWNT or the Chicago Red Stars since.

United States women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski is set to put out his first-ever World Cup starting XI on Friday against Vietnam. Here’s an idea of the expected USWNT starting XI vs Vietnam that Vlatko might field.

It’s no secret that the USWNT are heavy, and we repeat, HEAVY favorites against Vietnam. One Vietnamese reported even asked Vlatko if his team was going to do to Vietnam what they did to Thailand in the last Women’s World Cup (win 13-0).

The USWNT's 2-0 friendly victory over Ireland on Saturday was overshadowed by a horror injury to Mallory Swanson that left the 24-year-old hospitalized in Austin, Texas.

On Sunday, the USWNT provided a Mallory Swanson injury update that confirmed the seriousness of the incident. Swanson suffered a torn patella tendon in her left knee and has been replaced in the squad by 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson.

A terrifying Mal Swanson injury overshadowed the USWNT’s 2-0 victory vs. Ireland in a friendly match at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

Swanson went down injured twice in the first half. The first came when Swanson collided with goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan after Ireland’s Aofie Mannion shoved Swanson in the back. The star American forward was down for several minutes with what appeared to be a neck injury.