U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named 25 players to the training camp roster for the 2018 Tournament of Nations. The USA will gather on July 20 for several days of training before opening the tournament against Japan on July 26 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas (6 p.m. CT on FS1).

CHICAGO (July 18, 2018) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named 25 players to the training camp roster for the 2018 Tournament of Nations. The USA will gather on July 20 for several days of training before opening the tournament against Japan on July 26 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas (6 p.m. CT on FS1). Ellis will name a 23-player final roster prior to the start of the four-team tournament, which will also include games against Australia on July 29 in East Hartford, Conn. (7 p.m. ET on FS1) and against Brazil on Aug. 2 in Bridgeview, Ill. (7:30 p.m. CT on FS1). Japan, Australia and Brazil have all qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Five Things About the 2018 ToN, Presented by Thorne

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position; Caps/Goals
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 16/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 29/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 19/0), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 8/0), Jaelene Hinkle (NC Courage; 8/0), Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 139/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 21/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 17/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 75/6), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 61/15), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 51/5), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 8/2), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 254/100), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 36/7), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 39/6), McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 2/0)

FORWARDS (7): Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 64/23), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 133/19), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 142/86), Kealia Ohai (Houston Dash; 3/1), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 100/44), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 137/37), Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC; 131/30)

USA Once Again Welcomes World’s Top Teams
The 2018 SheBelieves Cup that U.S. Soccer hosted last March featured the teams currently ranked 1-4 in the world. The 2018 Tournament of Nations will feature the top-ranked USA, Japan (#6), Brazil (#7) and Australia (#8) and many of the world’s top players on display over six games. This is the second time U.S. Soccer has staged the Tournament of Nations, which is planned to be held every summer that does not feature a World Cup or Olympic Games, meaning the competition will return in 2021. Australia won last year’s tournament, while the USA finished second, Japan third and Brazil was fourth.

Said Ellis
“This is again an opportunity to host and play against some of the world’s best teams,” said Ellis. “We will see different styles and scenarios, which for sure will benefit us down the line, but ultimately our players love to compete and they are driven to win medals. Outside of our injured players, the core of our team has been together since January and even with just a few days of prep, this group will be excited and ready to get back on the field together against Japan.”

World Cup Qualifying on the Horizon
The USA has five matches remaining before kicking off the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship that will be held from October 4-17, a tournament that will determine this region’s three representatives at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Two of those games will come against Chile in California (Aug. 31 in Carson and Sept. 4 in San Jose) after the U.S. tackles a three-match set at the Tournament of Nations. The USA’s 25-player roster for ToN reflects a narrowing of the pool in preparation for World Cup qualifying. The roster features 22 players who have played for the USA this year. The other three are uncapped goalkeeper, Adrianna Franch, forward Kealia Ohai, who last played for the USA in November of 2016, and defender Jaelene Hinkle, who last played for the USA in February of 2016. All have had quality NWSL seasons for their clubs so far. The roster also marks the return of defenders Casey Short and Emily Sonnett from injury. Short last appeared for the USA in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, while Sonnett missed the most recent friendlies in June against China PR.

2018 TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS SCHEDULE

Buy Tickets
Tickets for all three doubleheaders are on sale through ussoccer.com. For the games in Kansas City and Chicago, tickets are also available via phone at 1-800-745-3000. For the games in Hartford, tickets are available via phone at 1-877-522-8499 (8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET only) and at the XL Center ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.). [Note: Tickets are not sold at any of the three stadium ticket offices except on the day of the event.] Groups of 20 or more can order at ussoccer.com.

Did You Know…

• For the first time in a long while, the U.S. roster features all domestic-based players, with 24 playing in the NWSL along with rising Stanford junior Tierna Davidson. All nine NWSL teams are represented.
• Davidson is once again the youngest player on the roster. She does not turn 20 until September.
• The three goalkeepers in camp are all starters for NWSL clubs currently in the playoff hunt. Alyssa Naeher of the Chicago Red Stars leads the way with 29 caps, six earned this year, followed by Ashlyn Harris of the Orlando Pride with 16 caps, two earned this year. Adrianna Franch, who recently returned from injury and has been outstanding in goal for Portland Thorns FC, has seen extensive training time with the U.S. team but has yet to earn a cap. This is Franch’s first call-up since January of this year, after which she was injured early in the NWSL season. Naeher is the only player on the roster who hails from Connecticut.
• North Carolina Courage defender Merritt Mathias earned her first cap when she played against China on June 12 in Cleveland, becoming the 25th player to earn a first cap under Jill Ellis.
• Christen Press earns her first call-up since returning to the NWSL to play for Utah Royals FC after a brief stint in Sweden. Press earned her 100th cap on June 12 vs. China PR and will be honored for the achievement later this year.
• Lindsey Horan is tied (with Australia’s Sam Kerr) for the NWSL lead in goals with nine. Crystal Dunn and Megan Rapinoe are tied (with Christine Sinclair) for fourth in the NWSL with seven goals each.
• Rapinoe and Kerr are tied for second in NWSL in shots with 58 each. Dunn is in fifth place with 44.
• Dunn is tied (with Japan’s Yuki Nagasato and Sinclair) for the league lead in assists with five each, Rapinoe and Jaelene Hinkle are tied for fourth with five other players.
• Allie Long scored her first two international goals in East Hartford, Conn, tallying twice against Colombia in April of 2016.
• Casey Short hails from Naperville, Ill., outside of Chicago.
• As has been the case for the past two years, the roster features a good mix of veterans and younger players. Eleven players on the roster have 51 or more caps and 13 players have 36 or less.
• Australia and Japan qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup by finishing first and second, respectively, in Group B at the 2018 AFC Asian Cup in Jordan. The two countries tied 1-1 in group play, and both won their semifinal matches: Australia over Thailand in penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie in regulation and Japan over China, 3-1, setting up a rematch in the championship game. Japan came out victorious, 1-0, on an 84th minute strike from Kumi Yokoyama.
• Brazil qualified for the Women’s World Cup by finishing in first place in the final stage of the 2018 Copa América Femenina in Chile. Brazil won all four of its opening-round games by a 22-1 margin to advance to the four-team final stage, where it beat Chile (3-1), Argentina (3-0) and Colombia (3-0). In front of huge home crowds, Chile finished second in the final stage group to also qualify for France, while Argentina finished third and will face the fourth-place finisher from the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in a two-game playoff for a final World Cup berth.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (June 12, 2018) – The U.S. Women’s National Team used a first-half headed goal from Megan Rapinoe and responded quickly with a Tobin Heath game-winner after China PR had equalized in the second half to record a 2-1 win.

Press, who got her first start of 2018 and had both assists, became the 37^th female player in U.S. history to earn 100 caps.

The victory gave the USA a two-game sweep of China who have already qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. China came out a bit more aggressively than it did on June 7 in Sandy, Utah, pressing the USA higher up the field, but still did well to stay compact in the defensive half while challenging the USA to find a way through. The USA out-shot China 16-9, but had to work very hard to create dangerous chances.

The opening goal was a beauty as a quick series of passes got Christen Press free on the right flank and she sent a perfect cross the far post for Rapinoe to finish with a well-placed header in the 35^th minute.

China tied the game in the 71st minute on a swift counter as Li TingTing got behind the defense on the left side and raced into the penalty area before playing a square pass to the unmarked Li Ying, who rolled it home.

Ashlyn Harris made a spectacular save in the 74th minute to keep the game tied, pushing away a free-kick that was headed into the upper right corner, before Press connected with Heath – a 64^th minute substitute -- on the opposite end for the game-winning score a minute later.

Next Up: The players will now return to their NWSL clubs and the next action for the USA will come at the 2018 Tournament of Nations, featuring the USA, Brazil, Australia and Japan. The round-robin tournament will be comprised of three doubleheaders that will be played on July 26 in Kansas City, Kansas, July 29 in East Hartford, Conn., and Aug. 2 in Bridgeview, Ill.
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Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Megan Rapinoe (Christen Press), 35th minute: The USA faced an organized and compact China defense, but broke them down with quick interplay in the midfield that sprung Press open on the right flank. Her long cross to the far post dropped perfectly onto the head of Rapinoe, who struck a powerful header back into the middle of the goal to give the USA the lead. USA 1, CHN 0. WATCH.

CHN – Li Ying (Li Tingting), 72nd minute: China tied the game in the 72nd minute on a swift counter as Li Tingting got behind the defense on the left side and raced into the penalty area before playing a square pass to the unmarked Li Ying and she rolled it home. USA 1, CHN 1.

USA – Tobin Heath (Christen Press), 75th minute: The USA answered right back and it was Heath, who due to injury hadn’t played in a U.S. match since Sept. 19, 2017, that bagged the game-winner. Press nutmegged a defender on the right flank and then drove laterally across the top of the penalty area before playing a give-and-go with Heath. The return pass then bounced off Press’ shoulder and back to Heath, who hit a spinning half-volley from 15 yards that looped over the goalkeeper and settled into the net for the game-winner. USA 2, CHN 1. WATCH.

Additional Notes:

• The USA is 7-0-1 so far in 2018, with wins over Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (twice) and China PR (twice), along with a tie against France.  
• The USA is unbeaten in its last 16 matches (14-0-2). The USA has outscored its opponents 49-13 over those 16 matches, and has scored in all 16 games.
• Press two assist tonight were her first ones of the year.
• Rapinoe made her 137th international appearance today. She scored her 37th career goal and has moved ahead of April Heinrichs and Sydney Leroux into sole possession of 15th on the all-time goals list.
• U.S. head coach Jill Ellis made five changes from the starters who lined up against China on June 7, giving nods to forward Christen Press, midfielders Samantha Mewis and Morgan Brian, defender Sofia Huerta, and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.
• Mewis made her first start of 2018 after playing the second half of the June 7 match. Mewis played in every match in 2017.
• Ashlyn Harris earned her 16th cap tonight and made her first start of 2018.
• Tobin Heath and Rose Lavelle played their first minutes for the USA since Sept. 19, 2017. Heath’s goal was her first for the USA since Nov. 13, 2016 vs. Romania.
• Defender Merritt Mathias earned her first cap for the USA. She is the 26th woman to earn a first cap under Jill Ellis.
• Tierna Davidson received the first yellow card of her WNT career.
• Not dressing tonight were Casey Murphy (GK), Abby Smith (GK), Abby Dahlkemper (D) and Savannah McCaskill (F).

– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. China PR
Date: June 12, 2018
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium; Cleveland, Ohio
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 12,335
Weather: 77 degrees; Cloudy

Scoring Summary:   1          2          F
USA                             1          1          2                     
CHN                            0          1          1                     

USA – Megan Rapinoe (Christen Press)                35th minute
CHN – Li Ying (Li Tingting)                                         72
USA – Tobin Heath (Christen Press)                         75                                                                                   

Lineups:
USA:  24-Ashlyn Harris; 14-Sofia Huerta (27-Merritt Mathias, 77), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 12-Tierna Davidson, 19-Crystal Dunn; 2-Julie Ertz (9-Lindsey Horan, 57), 3-Samantha Mewis (16-Rose Lavelle, 65), 6-Morgan Brian (20-Allie Long, 46); 23-Christen Press, 13-Alex Morgan (capt.) (17-Tobin Heath, 64), 15-Megan Rapinoe (10-Carli Lloyd, 57)
Substitutes: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 25-McCall Zerboni
Head coach: Jill Ellis

CHN: 12-Peng Shimeng; 5-Wu Haiyan (capt.), 6-Lin Yuping, 7-Wang Shuang, 10-Li Ying, 11-Wang Shanshan (21-Xiao Yuyi, 66), 16-Yan Jinjin (29-Li Tingting, 59), 18-Han Peng, 23-Ren Guixin (26-Wang Yan, 66), 25-Lou Jiahui, 27-Yao Wei
Substitutes: 24-Yang Yan, 31-Zhou Li, 2-Liu Shanshan, 4-Li Danyang, 9-Tang Jiali, 14-Xu Yanlu, 19-Tan Ruyin, 20-Zhang Rui, 30-Yang Li
Head coach: Jia Xiuquan

Stats Summary: USA / CHN
Shots: 16 / 9
Shots on Goal: 5 / 6
Saves: 5 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 0
Fouls: 10 / 14
Offside: 2 / 6

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Tierna Davidson (caution)                               69th minute    
CHN – Han Peng (caution)                                       78

Officials:
Referee: Christina Unkel (USA)                           
Assistant Referee 1: Kimberly Moreira (CRC)}
Assistant Referee 2: Jennifer Garner (USA)                         
4th Official: Quetzalli Alvarado (MEX)                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Budweiser Woman of the Match:  Christen Press