Racing Louisville FC stars Emily Fox and Jaelin Howell have been called up by the U.S. Women’s National Team for competitions this summer, it was announced Monday.
The defender Fox is one of 23 players selected for both June’s friendlies and July’s Concacaf W Championship, which will serve as a qualifier for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2024 Summer Olympics.
Howell, a rookie midfielder, is among three additional players who will be with the USWNT for the friendlies. Should injury or other circumstances necessitate a change to coach Vlatko Andonovski’s roster, Howell remains eligible for the Concacaf W Championship as an alternate.
“Since we were last together in April, we’ve been evaluating a lot of games and hours of video and have had extensive conversations among the coaching staff to arrive at this 26-player roster for the Colombia games and the final 23 for qualifying,” Andonovski said. “As usual, the players don’t make these decisions easy, but we feel this is a roster that can accomplish all of our goals over the four weeks we will be together for what we hope will be seven successful games.”
The Americans are preparing for their march to the World Cup by twice hosting Colombia. Friendlies are set for 7:30 p.m. ET on June 25 from Commerce City, Colorado, and 10 p.m. on June 28 from Sandy, Utah. FS1 and ESPN will broadcast those games, respectively.
The USWNT — which has won the past two Concacaf W Championships — starts the tournament’s group stage on July 4 with Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico serving as competition. The group’s top-two teams advance to knockout stage games on July 14 and July 18.
A top-two group finish also qualifies teams for the 2023 World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The Concacaf W Championship winner will already lock itself into the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Dating back to October 2021, Fox has started eight consecutive USWNT games — the national team’s longest active streak as the 23-year-old outside back establishes herself among the country’s top players. She has totaled 13 senior team appearances so far.
Howell, 22, continues to break into the national team after going to Racing as the No. 2 overall selection in the 2022 NWSL Draft. The Florida State University product scored her first international goal April 9 in a victory over Uzbekistan while earning her fifth cap.
USWNT Concacaf W Championship Roster (Club; Caps/Goals)
Goalkeepers (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 4), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 80)
Defenders (7): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 9/0), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC; 13/0), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 1/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 12/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 152/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 202/0), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 65/0)
Midfielders (6): Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 109/25), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave FC; 0/0), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 71/20), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 38/5), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 7/2), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 27/3)
Forwards (7): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 8/4), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC; 190/115), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 14/3), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 72/23), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign; 187/62), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 3/1), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 15/4)
Additional Players for June Friendlies Roster vs. Colombia (Club; Caps/Goals)
Defenders (1): Carson Pickett (North Carolina Courage; 0/0)
Midfielders (2): Jaelin Howell (Racing Louisville: 5/1), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0)
