Tuesday’s USWNT roster announcement included the return of Julie Ertz, who has not played a competitive game in 600 days. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
The US women’s national team’s biggest hole was temporarily and surprisingly closed on Tuesday when Julie Ertz was called up to the USWNT’s final pre-World Cup roster after nearly 20 months without football.
Ertz, a two-time world champion who was a feared figure in midfield, has not played for the USWNT since the Tokyo Olympics. In fact, it’s been 600 days since she last played a competitive game. She gave birth to a son, Madden, in August 2022. She has worked her way back into her playing form but remains a free agent without a professional club.
So her inclusion in a 26-man squad for two friendlies in April against Ireland, the USWNT’s last games before naming the World Cup squad in June, was somewhere between revealing and amazing.
Julie Ertz’s 20-month absence
Ertz, 30, has barely spoken publicly since essentially retiring from the sport after the August 2021 Olympics. She had entered this tournament with a broken knee, having sprained her MCL in a National Women’s Soccer League game a few months earlier. She did not play the remainder of the 2021 NWSL season, nor did she return to the national team.
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said last winter before announcing Ertz’s pregnancy:
“I’ve spoken to Julie before, and I’ve said this before: Julie wasn’t physically ready to come to camp. And in the conversations I’ve had with her, she understands that in order to get back to camp – and this doesn’t just apply to Julie, it applies to every player on the team – first and foremost you have to be healthy, fit and ready to play.
“And next you have to appear in your club market to earn your place in the national team. So whenever Julie is ready and performing well, we know how good she can be. We know how valuable she is to the team. We will be happy to get her back.”
The pregnancy announcement came in April, a few months after Angel City FC, who had traded in their NWSL rights, said Ertz would not play at all in 2022. When the season ended, she became a free agent. Months later, by the opening weekend of NWSL 2023, she still hadn’t signed with a club.
The story goes on
Andonovski had been in contact with Ertz the whole time. But in public comments he had become increasingly pessimistic about their World Cup prospects. In January he said:
“We had a conversation and obviously she needs a little more time to prepare before even starting training with the team. So we just decided to give her a little more space and time until she’s fully ready to join.”
A few weeks later in February, after picking a squad that didn’t include Ertz, Andonovski said:
“Of course we see she hasn’t signed a team in the league yet and time is running out, pretty much… She’s someone we probably can’t count on at the World Cup. “
Speaking about Ertz and fellow midfielder Sam Mewis, he said in part:
“These are two big names that may or may not be missing from the World Cup. …And that’s something we planned, and so we tried different names, different players in those positions.”
Prior to Tuesday, there had been no indication that Ertz would be returning. But she is one of two true defensive midfielders in the April squad and one of five moms who will be at training camp, which begins in Texas next week.
Ertz’ World Cup selection chances
The addition of Ertz likely means she plans to sign with a club soon. However, that doesn’t mean she’s suddenly a ban on the World Cup squad. It’s unclear how much, if any, she will play in the upcoming April 8-11 USWNT games. Andonovski is expected to address these questions and more in a video conference call with reporters soon.
However, it offers a potential last-minute fix for the USWNT’s most notable shortcoming.
Ertz’s physical presence and wrecking ball-like ability to break down opposing attacks has been unparalleled in the US player pool for a while. She allowed the national team to play with two other attacking midfielders in front of her – often a combination of Mewis, Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan.
In their absence, Andonovski stuck to the same 4-3-3 formation with a similar midfield structure. He often placed Andi Sullivan in Ertz’s position. But while Sullivan is a viable defensive midfielder, he’s not a destroyer and definitely not an equivalent replacement for Ertz. As a result, the USWNT midfield often lacked bite.
In January, six months before the World Cup, Andonovski began testing alternative solutions, but the sobering reality was and is that no one can replicate Ertz’s influence. So the latest fix – and likely the last with the World Cup in less than four months – is to see if Ertz can replicate her mid-20s self.
USWNT player Alex Morgan celebrates with Mallory Swanson after scoring a goal during a 2023 SheBelieves Cup game against Brazil at Toyota Stadium on February 22, 2023 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)
The complete April list from USWNT
Elsewhere in the squad, defensemen Kelley O’Hara and Tierna Davidson are back after medium and long-term injury layoffs respectively. Casey Krueger is also returning for the first time since 2021 after giving birth to her son in July 2022.
They are three of a total of 10 defenders; the Worlds list of 23 women is likely to include eight, meaning the April camp will serve as an internal competition for July places to New Zealand.
Up front, Sophia Smith is back after recovering from a foot injury. Megan Rapinoe is absent after missing the NWSL opener of OL Reign with what appeared to be a minor calf injury. Catarina Macario, who tore her cruciate ligament last June, is also absent, although she was previously optimistic April could be an opportunity to welcome the star attacker back to the squad.
And with Lynn Williams, there’s no room for electric 18-year-old winger Alyssa Thompson.
Here is the full list:
Goalkeeper (3): Adrianna Franch (Kansas City Current), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders (10): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red ). Stars), Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)
Midfielder (7): Julie Ertz (Unbound), Lindsey Horan (Lyon), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
Forward (6): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham)