(Reuters) – Veteran forwards Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan headline the 23-player United States women’s squad for the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship, U.S. Soccer announced Monday.
The eight-team tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, serves as a qualifier for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics.
The four-times World Cup winners will rely on a mix of experienced talent and newcomers, with just 10 members of the squad having experience in World Cup and Olympic qualifying.
Stalwarts including 37-year-old captain Becky Sauerbrunn and 2021 U.S. Women’s Soccer Player of the Year Lindsey Horan feature alongside 20-year-old sensation and National Women’s Soccer League Rookie of the Year Trinity Rodman.
“We’ve been evaluating a lot of games and hours of video and have had extensive conversations among the coaching staff,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski said in a statement. “As usual, the players don’t make these decisions easy.”
The back-to-back defending champions will face Mexico, Jamaica and Haiti in Group A, with Canada, Costa Rica, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago in Group B.
The winners of Group A play the Group B runners-up in the semi-final round and vice versa.
The top two teams in each group also qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The tournament runs from July 4-18.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris)
