If you’ve been anywhere near most WoSo circles the last few years, then you would have been exposed to one of the prevailing narratives surrounding this team: playing the youths. Everyone talks about when and how to integrate them into the fold, the uncertainty that comes with leaning too heavy on a squad built around youth and, quite frankly, inexperience. However, it occurs to me as the discourse and scorching hot takes continues around this subject, nobody really touches into the meaning.
That is to say, examining why so many fans are foaming at the mouth to see a team filled with teenagers. Looking deeper into what it would mean, especially for this generation in particular, to feel more connected to the team that is supposed to represent them. In a lot of ways, it mirrors the issues vocalized about soccer as a whole, the holding onto the past far too long while stifling the very obvious talent permeating throughout the rising youth. So, consider this our attempt at doing just that, from our perspective.
If you’ve been around the block within women’s soccer, then you could almost pinpoint the moment this narrative really began to gain steam: the 2020 Olympics. The squad that was there featured just two players under the age of 26, then 22-year-old Tierna Davidson and 21-year-old Catarina Macario. Ernest Hemingway has an excellent quote, “when you go to war as a boy you have a great illusion of immortality, other people get killed, not you. Then When you are badly wounded the first time, you lose that illusion and you know it can happen to you.” Dramatic, sure, but it was one of those moments for the USWNT.
There was so much talk, as there is now, about the rest of the world finally investing in their own respective women’s teams, causing the sense that other Nations were catching up. For the most part, the USA avoided those prophecies, until the 2020 Olympics. The team won just one of their group stage matches, with the famous 3-0 blowout by Sweden and scoreless draw to Australia, and were able to sneak past Netherlands in the quarterfinals. They fell in the semifinals to the eventual gold medal-winning Canada in a tournament that really marked the beginning of what felt like the end of another glorious era for USWNT.
It proved to be true, just look back at that roster and you’ll see most of those players either retired from soccer completely, or have been phased out of the USWNT team in some capacity or another. What was really frustrating even then, was the lack of faith put in some of the more obvious rising stars. Players like Midge Purce who got just two appearances between 2019-2021. Or Sophia Smith who at the team was incredibly young, but was coming off a National Championship with Stanford, and the talent was clear. It’s that, not so distant history, that has so many around this squad anxious now. It seems like those mistakes are being repeated. While players like Alex Morgan were going through massive slumps for the better part of two years, rising stars like Mia Fishel were essentially being told they were playing in the wrong league despite clearly being ready for the call-ups, look no further than the past World Cup showing.
Now, change is truly here, with a new head coach coming in the summer with Emma Hayes wrapping up her tenure at Chelsea FC. With her arrival comes some much anticipated rosters. For the first time since her announced signing on with USWNT, the roster heading into She Believes this weekend feels like hers. Even though she wont be here to manage, this feels like the early group of players that has her interest. It’s also a very young roster, with a solid mix of veterans, but at its core, this is the first time we will be seeing a youth-led USWNT. Sure, there are the veterans like Alex Morgan, Sonnett and Horan, but this is mostly a roster that will give us our first, real true look at the future of what this team will be.
What’s even more endearing, giving hope to those who have only wanted to see young talent thrive and cultivate within this federation, are the additions of the babies who are already making names for themselves. Players like 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw who has really come into her own on this team, 18-year-old Phenom Olivia Moultrie, and even a call-up for teenage sensation Lily Yohannes, who has already not just played in UEFA Champions League action, but has put on shows in those competitions. This tournament, more than any in the last few years, will be a proving ground. A stage where we see if the next era of USWNT is truly ready to take on a world that has significantly improved with respects to International Women’s soccer.
All of that is to say, this is why the recent roster drop was met with so much praise and hype. It’s why so many who have been watching and supporting this federation for years, are so excited at what is to come this weekend. For the first time in a while we are getting to see the rise of a young core of incredibly talented, and at times audacious, players. Not just a few, but a whole squad full, with the real scary part being some are still missing with injuries or coming back from previous knocks. This is also the first time we are seeing a USWNT roster that is primarily people of color, which is another layer of why so many current fans are so damn excited about seeing this squad, in Atlanta of all places, but that’s a whole different topic for another day. Tomorrow, we celebrate what is most likely the very beginning of USWNT’s next era.
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