Racing Louisville FC star Savannah DeMelo on Wednesday became the first player in the club’s young history to receive a World Cup call-up to the United States Women’s National Team.
The midfielder made the 23-player roster for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which runs from July 20-August 20 in Australia and New Zealand. Players report to camp Monday with the Americans in pursuit of a third straight World Cup title following victories in 2015 and 2019.
“I am honored to have been selected to represent my country at the Women’s World Cup,” DeMelo said. “This has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. I have so many people to thank, but I’ll start with my family, friends, team and staff. This wouldn’t be possible without any of you, and I am just beyond grateful for this opportunity. Let’s go USA!”
In her second year as a professional, DeMelo is in the midst of a breakthrough National Women’s Soccer League season for Racing, putting together a Most Valuable Player campaign with eight goals and three assists across all competitions. The 25-year-old from California also converted a penalty kick in a May 12 win that was later deemed an own goal.
DeMelo has 12 goal involvements in 12 appearances, playing her way onto the most competitive roster in women’s soccer. She was named the NWSL’s Player of the Month for May and made the league’s Best XI for the month.
DeMelo ranks among the NWSL’s best in a number of categories, including fouls won and fouls won in the attacking third (first), goal-creating actions (fifth), shot-creating actions (sixth), scoring chances created (eighth), touches in the opponent’s box (19th) and tackles won (20th).
“Savannah has been a game-changer in every single game, with assists, goals and more,” Racing coach Kim Björkegren said. “She has worked so hard, and this is well-deserved. In my opinion, she has been one of the best players in the league this season, and her progress since the start of last year has been amazing.”
DeMelo’s inclusion in the tournament roster is a rarity – she is only the third player to make a U.S. World Cup squad without previously earning a cap, and the first in 20 years. Future USWNT legend Shannon Boxx last made the cut as an uncapped player in 2003.
A fixture in the U.S. Youth National Team system, DeMelo featured for the Americans at the 2016 and 2018 U-20 World Cups and helped lead the U.S. to the 2015 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship.
DeMelo earned two U.S. Women’s National Team call-ups last fall but did not feature in a game. She’ll have her a chance to make her first appearance before the World Cup, with the U.S. set to play a warmup exhibition against Wales on Sunday, July 9, in San Jose.
“The club could not be prouder or more excited for Savannah to represent Louisville and the United States on soccer’s biggest stage,” said Racing general manager Ryan Dell. “Her growth and development the past two years at Racing have been special, and the entire community here cannot wait to support her in Australia and New Zealand this summer.”
An accomplished college player, DeMelo bounced back from a torn Achilles tendon in 2019 to lead the University of Southern California to the 2020 NCAA Division I women’s soccer tournament, which was played in the spring of 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than a year later, Racing Louisville selected DeMelo with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft.
After a stellar rookie campaign that saw her lead the NWSL in free kick goals and fouls won, DeMelo is now tied with Nadia Nadim as the club’s all-time regular-season goal scorer, with nine goals in her 33 appearances for the club. Including UKG NWSL Challenge Cup games, DeMelo is already the club’s top scorer in its three-season history.
The U.S. opens World Cup group stage play against Vietnam at 9 p.m. ET Friday, July 21. Racing will host Chicago at 7 p.m. that day at Lynn Family Stadium and invites fans to remain at the stadium to watch the U.S. play on the stadium video board. Tickets are on sale now at RacingLouFC.com/tickets.
