USWNT Olympic roster 2021: Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd headline USA women's soccer team for Tokyo

Simon Borg

USWNT Olympic roster 2021: Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd headline USA women's soccer team for Tokyo image

It's been nearly nine years since the U.S. women's national soccer team last won an Olympic gold medal. A squad of 22 women will look to get the USA back to the highest podium at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The "Women's Football Tournament," as the competition at the Olympics is officially known, will see the USWNT and 11 other nations battle it out for a place on the medals stand.

The event kicks off with a round-robin group stage on July 21. Eight teams qualify for the single-elimination knockout rounds which start with the quarterfinals through to the final on Aug. 6 in Tokyo (Aug. 5 in the USA due to the time difference).

MORE: Complete 2021 women's Olympic soccer schedule

USA Olympic women's soccer roster

Below is the 22-player U.S. women's national team Olympic roster.

On June 30 the final Olympic rosters were officially expanded to formally include the four alternates as part of the main player roster. The International Olympic Committee allowed this one-time exception for the four alternates to be available for selection ahead of every match, providing teams increased flexibility given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on competitive match schedules, training and travel around the world. Prior to that decision, the alternates were only available as a permanent replacement in case of an injury to someone on the 18-player roster.

Jersey Name Pos. Club Olympic Exp.
1Alyssa NaeherGKChicago Red Stars2016
2Crystal DunnDFPortland Thorns FC2016
3Samantha MewisMFNorth Carolina Courage--
4Becky SauerbrunnDFPortland Thorns FC2012, 2016
5Kelley O’HaraDFWashington Spirit2012, 2016
6Kristie MewisMFHouston Dash--
7Tobin HeathFWUnattached2008, 2012, 2016
8Julie ErtzMFChicago Red Stars2016
9Lindsey HoranMFPortland Thorns FC2016
10Carli LloydFWNJ/NY Gotham FC2008, 2012, 2016
11Christen PressFWUnattached2016
12Tierna DavidsonDFChicago Red Stars--
13Alex MorganFWOrlando Pride2012, 2016
14Emily SonnettDFWashington Spirit--
15Megan RapinoeFWOL Reign2012, 2016
16Rose LavelleMFOL Reign--
17Abby DahlkemperDFManchester City (ENG)--
18Adrianna FranchGKPortland Thorns FC--
19Catarina MacarioMFOlympique Lyonnais (FRA)--
20Casey Short KruegerDFChicago Red Stars--
21Lynn WilliamsFWNorth Carolina Courage--
22Jane CampbellGKHouston Dash--

Who coaches the USWNT?

Vlatko Andonovski - USWNT

The individual responsible for selecting the squad is head coach Vlatko Andonovski (above), who is leading the USWNT in his first major international competition.

He was hired as USWNT coach in October 2019 and in his first 21 matches at the helm the team has compiled an impressive 20-0-1 mark, setting a record for best start for a head coach in USWNT history.

Andonovski, who has been praised by the players for his staff's level of detailed match preparation, joined the U.S. team after successful coaching stints at two NWSL clubs: Kansas City and OL Reign.

USWNT at the Olympics

The U.S. women reached the gold-medal match in every Olympics tournament except for the 2016 edition in London, where the USWNT was stunned by Sweden in a quarterfinal penalty-kick shootout.

Since women's soccer was first introduced as an Olympic competition in 1996, the USA has won a total of four of the five finals it has played, losing only to Norway in 2000 on a sudden-death goal in extra time. 

YearSiteUSWNT Finish (Final match)
1996AtlantaGold Medal (2-1 win vs. China)
2000SydneySilver Medal (3-2 loss vs. Norway)
2004AthensGold Medal (2-1 win vs. Brazil)
2008BeijingGold Medal (1-0 win vs. Brazil)
2012LondonGold Medal (2-1 win vs. Japan)
2016Rio de JaneiroQFs (1-1 vs. Sweden, 4-3 loss in PKs)

USWNT 2021 Olympics Schedule

The USWNT is ranked No. 1 in the world and at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics it will compete against three other teams in the group stage: Sweden (No. 5 in the world), Australia (No. 9) and New Zealand (No. 22).

There are a total of three groups in the women’s soccer tournament. The top two teams automatically advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place finishers.

Group G

TeamPTSGPWLDGFGAGD
Sweden00000000
USA00000000
Australia00000000
New Zealand00000000

Group G schedule

DateMatchTime
Wed, July 21Sweden vs. USA4:30 am ET
Wed, July 21Australia vs. New Zealand7:30 am ET
Sat, July 24Sweden vs. Australia4:30 am ET
Sat, July 24New Zealand vs. USA7:30 am ET
Tues, July 27New Zealand vs. Sweden4 am ET
Tues, July 27USA vs. Australia4 am ET

Simon Borg

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.