Julie Ertz is back. Fans of the U.S. women’s national team have been hoping to hear those words for more than a year, but she is — as of two substitute appearances for the team — only back for the USWNT in the most factual and implication-free sense of those words.
Angel City FC has signed Ertz to a one-year contract, which gives her the opportunity to prove she deserves a spot on the World Cup squad. She’s appeared three times since signing, and has the chance to suit up for at least six more games via the NWSL regular season and NWSL Challenge Cup before USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski is expected to announce his World Cup roster, roughly a month before the tournament starts in late July.
Ertz had barely recovered from an MCL injury in time for the Olympics in 2021, and then sat out the rest of the NWSL season after playing every game in that tournament in Tokyo for the USWNT. She sat out the 2022 season due to pregnancy, having her first child in August, and then took her time deciding whether she wanted to return to the league, opting not to sign for any club ahead of preseason.
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In April’s final international break before Andonovski will…
