The United States under-20 women’s soccer team is preparing to compete in the World Cup this week in Poland. The team is composed of 21 stars from around the country, eight of whom currently play for NWSL clubs.
In order to compete abroad to represent the United States, these eight pro players—Kennedy Fuller (Bay FC), Katie Scott (Kansas City Current), Evan O’Steen (Seattle FC), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle FC), Emeri Adames (Seattle FC), Linda Ullmark (Houston Dash), Micayla Johnson (Chicago Fire) and Audrey McKeen (Racing Louisville)—will briefly leave their NWSL clubs.
“We all have seen the massive growth of the women’s game over the last decade, and the U-20 Women’s World Cup is a prime example of that,” U-20 coach Vicky Jepson said in a press release. “More and more players at this age level are in professional environments, the competition is elite and this tournament is a true proving ground for players who aspire to play for their senior National Teams. I know all our players are excited to face the challenges this World Cup will present in every match.”
For players like Scott, whose team is in the middle of the league standings as they enter the final month of play, she is grateful to still have an opportunity to represent her country even though she’ll be missing a crucial time in the season.
“It means a lot to me,” Scott said of the Current. “It’s going to be unfortunate missing the games, but the club’s really good at releasing me and allowing me to go.”
Although Jepson is excited about the 21 players selected, there were some notable absences in the roster announcement, like Claire Hutton (Bay FC), Kimmi Ascanio (San Diego Wave) and Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), to name a few. These players weren’t released from their respective clubs. The teams aren’t required to release them as the U-20 tournament doesn’t fall in the official FIFA window.
“Ultimately, the main focus now is the players that are released, the players that are coming, because I think that we have enough quality within this squad,” Jepson told reporters on Aug. 19.
“We’ve had a lot of clubs that have released, which is fantastic with the relationship,” Jepson continued. “We want to try and avoid players being stuck in the middle. What’s sad sometimes is when a player is desperate to represent their country and they’re not being released; that’s something we can’t control.”
The decision to release players seems to be on a case-by-case basis. Both Bay FC and the Seattle Reign allowed some competitors to join the U-20 squad, but kept Hutton and Bugg behind, respectively.
For Bugg specifically, Seattle manager Laura Harvey explained that the defender had already competed in the 2024 U-20 World Cup, meaning a repeat appearance wasn’t the biggest priority for her to let Bugg compete for Team USA again. On the flip side, Seattle players O’Steen and McCammon will be making their U-20 World Cup debuts.
“I think it’s really hard for the players and for the clubs and for everybody involved really when we’re having to decide what’s best for the player, first and foremost, for where we’re at in our season and that’s been a really difficult journey, I’d say. It’s not easy,” Harvey said during a press conference on Aug. 21. “But we’ve always had at the forefront of our minds like what’s right for the player now and what’s going to be right for them in the near future.
“We just sat with if they’d been to a U-20 World Cup, we didn’t think it was a necessity for them to go, but if we felt that where they sit with us right now it might be a benefit for them to go, we sort of went down that mindset. Once we got there and once we decided, obviously we are very excited for them. Hopefully they can come back with a medal and be ready to see out the end of our season and that last push to the end of the playoffs and beyond.”
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The U-20 World Cup is a prime opportunity for NWSL players to gain high-intensity and international experience to better help them prepare for potentially joining the USWNT in the future. Some might argue that all experience is good experience, even if the player has already competed at that level.
One of the people who argue this point is USWNT manager Emma Hayes. She recently told ESPN how concerned she is for the future of women’s soccer because of the lack of international experience at younger ages.
“When I speak about this subject, I am sending a warning sign that I am worried. I am massively worried about the direction for and the lack of all of those experiences for American players,” Hayes told ESPN last month. “I consider the Under-20 event the biggest platform for young players to play in. I keep thinking about so many of our players that, whether they miss the Under-17, how critical it is for them to come through the Under-20s.”
Some of the players who didn’t make the final roster still trained with the U-20 team last year, Jepson said. For the coach, though, this only made it more heartbreaking to see which players were not released. But it was likely beneficial for the players to gain the experience competing with their fellow national team members.
“I worked with players for 10 months and prepared them for a World Cup and they’re not released. That is upsetting for me because of the athlete that misses out,” Jepson said. “But the focus turns to those that can go, and they are delighted to go and well-equipped to compete and be ready when called upon.”
The U.S. campaign starts on Sunday, Sept. 6, when they face Team Italy in Poland. Racing Louisville’s Audrey McKeen is hoping to make her U-20 debut at just 17 years old. She’s in the middle of her rookie season for Louisville.
“I’m super excited to represent the U.S. This is one of my goals for the season, I knew it was coming up,” McKeen told reporters on Aug. 21. “I’m just super excited to go.”
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Houston’s Linda Ullmark, who is also a rookie, made her U-20 debut at last year’s CONCACAF Championship, scoring two goals for Team USA. In six matches with the U.S. U-20 team this year, Ullmark leads the team with six goals, highlighted by a hat trick against France on June 5.
Ullmark is ready to make her U-20 World Cup debut and continue the momentum she’s been playing on this year internationally.
“I’m so excited, I’m so grateful for the opportunity,” Ullmark told reporters on Aug. 21. “We have a really good group heading there. So hopefully we can go there and just win the whole thing.”
Team USA will face Japan in its second group-stage match on Wednesday, Sept. 9, followed by a matchup against New Zealand on Saturday, Sept. 12. The tournament will continue throughout September, with the World Cup final taking place on Sunday, Sept. 27.
