United States women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski named a 26-player roster for a pair of friendlies against Ireland scheduled for April.
The two game series will be the final set of international games before Andonovski names the final roster for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Several star players will return for the April training camp, which will mark the beginning of a four-month build up to the World Cup. The two game series will begin on April 8 in Austin, Texas and conclude on April 11 in St. Louis.
The big news is the comeback of two-time World Cup champion midfielder Julie Ertz. She is making her return for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and after the birth of her son in August of 2022. Ertz, currently unattached to a domestic club, previously spent eight years in the NWSL with the Chicago Red Stars.
After sustaining a long term knee injury at the beginning of the 2021 club season, a Bronze medal finish in the Olympics, and maternity leave — her player rights were traded to Angel City FC with Sarah Gorden in exchange for roster protection in the expansion draft. While on maternity leave she did not make appearance for the California…
