The U.S. women’s national team’s quick rebuild ahead of the Olympics continues this month at the SheBelieves Cup, where they will battle Japan, Canada and Brazil to win the competition for a seventh time.
Interim head coach Twila Kilgore brought back the bulk of the squad that won the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup last month, with the 19 players who featured in both squads considered part of a group of frontrunners for tickets to Paris. This year’s edition of the SheBelieves Cup, though, could see some new candidates enter the fray, since Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario are back with the USWNT after recovering from long-term injuries and Europe-based youngsters Lily Yohannes and Eva Gaetino are in camp for the first time.
It’s unclear how much experimentation Kilgore will opt for after prioritizing tinkering at the Gold Cup, but the new additions to the roster are full of potential in both the short-term and the long-term. Swanson seemed destined to be the center point of the USWNT’s attack before tearing her patella tendon a year ago, while Macario was poised to be an important of the team’s midfield before a nearly two year absence with an ACL tear. Fitness will play a big deciding factor in their…
