Look over the U.S. Olympic roster and the names jump out, familiar to anyone with even a passing interest in the game over the last decade.
Morgan. Rapinoe. O’Hara. Heath. Lloyd. Sauerbrunn. Press.
Players that have won everything there is to win in the international game multiple times over. Players who have formed the nucleus of the USWNT for years. Players that are looking to make history in Japan and become the first team to win the World Cup and the Olympics back to back.
But this Olympics will have even more significance for the USWNT’s core, as it will also likely be the last major tournament they will all compete in together.
U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski has put together a veteran-laden roster for his first major tournament in charge.
The U.S. still heavily relies on the likes of 36-year-olds Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn, as well as Kelley O’Hara (32), Alex Morgan (32), Christen Press (32) and Tobin Heath (33). Carli Lloyd, who is the team’s oldest player at 39, is also still a key figure.
As Andonovski puts it: “I don’t judge the players by their age - they are either good and will perform well and help us win or they can’t.”
So far, Andonovski has been justified in his decision to rely on his aging core, putting together the best-ever start for a USWNT coach by winning 22 and drawing one of his first 23 games in charge.
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Andonovski has younger options at every position, but the team’s veterans have performed so well recently that his hand has essentially been forced.
Rapinoe leads the USWNT in goals in 2021, Lloyd leads the team in assists. Press and Morgan are shoo-in starters up top. O’Hara continues to hold an iron grip on the right-back spot. Sauerbrunn, meanwhile, has become the team’s indispensable captain, organizing the back line, putting out fires and starting attacks from deep.
Those players – four of whom started the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal game – will carry the team through this summer’s competition in Japan. What happens afterwards though, is much less clear.
A lot can change in two years, and the 2023 World Cup could prove to be a bridge too far for some of the USWNT’s giants.
Lloyd will be 41 in two years’ time, while Sauerbrunn will be 38, making it unlikely but not impossible either player could return.
It is also not unrealistic to imagine players like O’Hara, Press, Morgan and Heath making the roster in two years, but injuries could play a factor as they aim reach a World Cup in their mid-30s.
Then there is Rapinoe. Many have speculated that this Olympics could be her swansong as she continues to focus more on her off-field activism, but in an interview with the BBC last year, she did not rule out the potential of playing on.
“I absolutely want to play at the Olympics,” she said. "After the Olympics I'll have to take a longer look at the next three years. We're a year closer to the next World Cup and it's pretty enticing. We'll leave that one out in the open.”
The USWNT’s veterans will remain in the picture as long as they are playing at a high level, but any slips will open the door a crack for a talented younger generation that may only need a glimmer of daylight to exploit.
Tierna Davidson and Alana Cook are ready to take over in defense while Mallory Pugh, Ashley Sanchez, Sophia Smith, Catarina Macario, Trinity Rodman, and many others could make up the future of the team's attack.
But this Olympics will belong to the USWNT's veteran core, who will look to potentially bow out on top.
It is not hard to see them achieving that goal either, as they have so many times during their decade-plus of dominance.
“I don’t look at players by age, because there are so many other things we are looking for before we see how old they are,” Andonovski said. “The important thing is whether they help us win the Olympics or not.”
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