Laken Litman
College Football & Soccer Analyst
Here’s some news that United States women’s national team fans will be happy to see: Naomi Girma is back in training camp.
USWNT coach Emma Hayes announced a 24-player roster for two upcoming matches — vs. China on May 31 at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota and vs. Jamaica on June 3 at Energizer Park in St. Louis — and Girma is on it.
The star center back has not been part of any USWNT squads in 2025 due to injuries, but is back to fitness after helping Chelsea win the Women’s Super League title and FA Cup over the weekend.
“I mean, you cannot underestimate the importance of players like Naomi Girma to this team,” Hayes said. “We’ve been without a lot of experienced players over the last six, seven, eight months, so to start getting some of them back in this camp with Naomi I think will add a lot of, not just quality, but the leadership piece.
“She’s the vice captain in the team. She’s someone who is growing into that role. I know she’s missed [playing for the USWNT] terribly and I think when you make such a big move [to Chelsea] like she did, it does take a little bit of time to settle in. It’s taken her body some time to adjust, but she’s in a great place and I know she’s very, very excited to be back in with us, and one that we for sure welcome.”
Other players making their return after a layoff include forward Lynn Biyendolo, who missed the April matches, and Olivia Moultrie, who has not played for the USWNT since the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.
Hayes has also called in three uncapped players, including first-time senior team call-ups for Orlando Pride left-footed defender Kerry Abello and Kansas City Current captain and midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta. According to U.S. Soccer, the 32-year-old LaBonta would become the oldest player to debut for the USWNT in program history.
“She’s deserving of the call-up,” Hayes said of LaBonta. “She’s been consistent in everything that she has done, and I think with the volume of young players or less experienced players we’re bringing in, I think we have to get that balance right.
“And with the U23’s program [going to play two games in Germany], it’s an opportunity for us to use that for less developed players that are strong candidates for the [2027 World Cup] pool and look at someone like Lo’eau. She’s a super player and someone who is deserving of that and this is the right moment to do it.”
Seattle Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey is also uncapped, but has been to previous camps under Hayes. She makes up a group of three goalkeepers, which includes Utah Royals’ Mandy McGlynn and Manchester United’s Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who recently claimed a share of the 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove with a league-high 13 clean sheets. The trio combined have four caps. Jane Campbell, who has not played in the last two Houston Dash matches, was not called into this camp.
Speaking on the state of the goalkeeper competition, Hayes said Tullis-Joyce has had “a wonderful season” at Man United and McGlynn has “great potential, great upside.” While she made mistakes in her last U.S. match against Brazil in April, Hayes was impressed with her ability to bounce back. “I thought mentally, she stood strong,” Hayes said. As for Dickey, Hayes said she probably could have included her with the U23 team that’s headed to Germany, but decided that her form and quality she’s been demonstrating in the NWSL is “tracking in the right direction.”
“We’re creating exposures for a less developed group of goalkeepers,” Hayes said, noting that honing in on a starter takes time. “A lot of them have under five caps and we’ve got to start building that.”
As Hayes has said about every position in the team, this period of time – two years before the next World Cup in 2027 – is about expanding the pool and developing players for the future.
“What I don’t want to do is develop the goalkeepers for ‘27 and then we’re in exactly the same position again,” Hayes said. “I want to ensure that from ‘27 to [the 2028 Olympics to the 2031 World Cup] that we get the development pathways right for the goalkeepers so that it is a lot more seamless than it is for me. But you have to be prepared to be patient with it because these players haven’t played at this level for very long. And I think it will be up and down for them, which is why we want to give them all the support we can to do that.
“And as I’ve mentioned all along, I want to get to about the end of the June period and [be] a lot clearer of what that looks like, and it’s certainly tracking in that direction.”
Other roster notes include the fact that four of the seven forwards on the roster — Michelle Cooper and Ally Sentnor as well as Alyssa and Gisele Thompson — are 22 years old or younger. And Gisele Thompson, who had previously been called up at outside back, will get a look at the forward line this camp. Hayes said it’s a good time to try it out given Trinity Rodman and Yazmeen Ryan were unavailable for selection.
“I’d like to see her as a wide forward,” Hayes said. “One, because it is natural for her to go forward, and two, I think there are players ahead of her in the fullback position, at least in Emily Fox. So it feels like a win-win.
“I feel like I can get her into those areas, especially in the games against China and Jamaica where I know there won’t be a lot of space in behind. So I’ll be interested to see how she presents herself when there are less spaces between the lines.”
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 0) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 3), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 1)
DEFENDERS (8): Kerry Abello (Orlando Pride; 0/0), Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; 159/25), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 66/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG; 44/2), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 5/0), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 2/0), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 3/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 107/2)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 33/1), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 165/37), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; 2/0), Lo’eau LaBonta (Kansas City Current; 0/0), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 5/2), Lily Yohannes (Ajax, NED; 6/1)
FORWARDS (7): Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle Reign FC; 78/22), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 4/1), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 23/10), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville; 4/1), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals; 7/2), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 17/1), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 3/0)
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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