USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn will not play in the 2023 World Cup due to a foot injury. (Brad Smith/USSF/Getty Images)
Becky Sauerbrunn held out hope for an appearance at the 2023 World Cup until the last possible minute. But the longtime U.S. women’s national team captain will miss the tournament with a lingering foot injury.
Yet even as she shared her World Cup disappointment with USWNT teammates Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis on the latest episode of Snacks, she offered encouragement to the players — including Williams — who will make the trip.
The 38-year-old defender announced last Friday that she would miss the World Cup after injuring her foot while playing for the Portland Thorns in April. She returned to the pitch for the first time since the injury on June 3, playing 24 minutes against OL Reign, but she was still “in a decent amount of pain.”
While a World Cup return remained “possible,” she said, doctors warned that it would be “aggressive” for her to get back in time for the tournament, which kicks off in…
