Which USWNT talents, outside of the usual suspects, have earned their spots for 2026?

The United States women’s national team settles in for a long winter nap after finishing the year with a pair of victories. The Stars and Stripes closed out 2025 with two victories against Italy and plenty of growth to reflect on.

Under head coach Emma Hayes, 2025 was a year of player pool expansion and intentional experimentation, laying the foundation for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The team will have December as a bye before reconvening in January for the annual New Year’s camp. The unofficial window may not include some European club players at this time, as January camps often fall outside of an official international window. This opens the door for even closer scrutiny of players or a re-evaluation of already regular players in the expanded pool.

Now the page turns to a new year, and the World Cup qualifiers are officially less than a year away with the Concacaf W Championship taking place in November 2026. With so many new players brought into the program at the senior level and on the U23 team, who are the ones who will make coaching decisions increasingly difficult?

We already have a Projected squad for the 2027 World Cuptherefore for this exercise, most of the players in the 2024 Olympic squad will not be taken into account. Only athletes who have won more caps, debuted and been called up for the first time, or who have not been part of the team for an extended period of time, will be categorized.

Here’s who I think is a lock to qualify for the World Cup, on or off the bubble, at the moment.

Locks for qualifiers

Goalkeepers: Phallon Tulis-Joyce, Claudia Dickey

They are the only ones to have earned two consecutive starts during an international window, and they are both coming off great club seasons. Tulis-Joyce recently suffered a fractured eye socket which kept her out of end-of-year camps and Manchester United’s recent Champions League window, but she has seven clean sheets in the tournament since the qualifying rounds. Dickey earned NWSL Second Best XI honors and was a finalist for Goalkeeper of the Year.

Defenders: Tara McKeown, Avery Patterson

A solid club season for Patterson, although the Houston Dash’s slow start hampered playoff chances. Still, the guard has made a good impression every time she’s earned minutes with the USWNT, and it can’t all be on Emily Fox. The central defender position becomes a little trickier. Here’s the lowdown: If Naomi Girma, Tierna Davidson, and Emily Sonnett are all healthy and ready to compete in the November qualifiers, then McKeown’s battle as a depth option will be against Emily Sams.

Midfield: Lily Yohannes

Part of 2025 has also been a hindrance to all expectations of a young midfielder. Hayes has expressed a desire to take pressure off the 18-year-old, but that has been difficult to do when Yohannes continues to showcase her vision and skills.

Advantages: Alyssa Thompson, Catarina Macario

If the door is open for the return of the Olympic gold medal-winning “triple espresso” attack line of Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman in 2026, then they finally have some extra cavalry in tow. After missing time with the national team for most of 2024, Thompson has become a consistent starter for Hayes. Macario is also coming off a discouraging 2024, having withdrawn from Olympic selection after being put on the roster due to injury concerns.

Today, Macario is nominated for player of the year after functioning as a false nine in Hayes’ system with seven goals and two assists. This is his best year in a USWNT kit since returning from an ACL injury; she started nine matches with her goals scored against Colombia, Brazil, China, New Zealand and Italy.

On the bubble

Goalkeepers: Mandy McGlynn

McGlynn began the year with starting minutes, but these dwindled as the year progressed with the emergence of form from Tulis-Joyce and Claudia Dickey. She is still regularly called up to the goalkeeping core and will likely remain so if she maintains consistent performances at club level.

Defenders: Lilly Reale

Reale only has a limited number of senior appearances (six, per Opta), but his minutes (449) rival those of fullback Avery Patterson (518), while Reale has fewer appearances (six) this year. This is a positive for the program, as the outside back role has often been an area of ​​concern due to lack of depth, but there are options now.

Midfield: Jaedyn Shaw, Olivia Moultrie, Claire Hutton

Some good issues emerge for Emma Hayes and her team. Both Shaw and Moultrie are players who started the year on the U23 team and are examples of Hayes’ player profiles as players who might be ready now versus players who might be ready later.

Advantages: Michelle Cooper

How to buy Cooper stock? Let me know immediately. I rate it very well. I think the USWNT coaching staff is evaluating him as well. Probably the best example of under-23 integration, Cooper was given time in the futures training camps in January 2025, earned a place on the national team in February and never returned it.

A late-season injury kept her out of the Kansas City Current playoffs and the final international window of the year, but she played in 10 games for the USWNT, with a goal and two assists, while being a wrecking winger in the process.

Outliers

Goalkeeper: Jordan Silkowitz

While Bay FC had a rough season that led to an early elimination from the playoffs, goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz was a bright spot. Tulis-Joyce’s injury opened up a spot, and if the Bay guard stays healthy, Silkowitz may be that fourth guard on the depth chart.

Defenders: Kennedey Wesley, Gisèle Thompson, Jenna Nighswonger, Crystal Dunn

The first and last time Jenna Nighswonger signed up for camp was in January. Crystal Dunn was in March. It’s safe to say that their trips to Europe were unsuccessful in terms of actual minutes played, despite the experiences they had overseas.

It’s good to see the U23 program working both ways between senior call-ups and continued development. Wesley is a central defender who started at the U23s in 2025 but aged out later in the year. She finally earned senior call-ups to close out 2025. Although that might look different now that Girma is healthier and back in the mix.

Winger Gisele Thompson had a promising start to the year but missed camps due to injury, and she could be one of those “ready later versus ready now” type players that Hayes has referenced in the past.

Midfield: Ally Sentnor

A revamped U23 program means players who could benefit from further development will have a place to do so outside of their club. After call-ups to the senior team, a mid-season move from Utah to Kansas City changed how Sentnor was used. This meant that a second-year NWSL player was now listed on the club’s depth chart instead of the face of a team to finish the NWSL season.

She was part of the U23 team that recently beat England 4-2 and scored a goal in the second half. Don’t be surprised if her extra minutes and overseas experience push her back to the senior level.

Advantages: Emma Sears

I don’t really believe Sears is out there, so let’s be clear. There’s just an abundance of offensive players in this program now, and only a limited number of spots on a World Cup qualifying roster. A lot will depend on whether the “triple espresso” is available in November 2026, and even then, Thompson, Macario and Cooper are forwards who could be ahead of her on the depth chart.