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Sometimes thought experiments are a good way to go through players pools and figuring out what you like and don’t like about players. As someone who writes about women’s soccer, I do a lot of thought experiments that never see the light of day. But the last one I did was something I thought I’d share.

It started with a simple question: Who could reasonably be included in the USWNT pool? It then turned quickly into who would make the best 23? Not who ARE the best 23 players in the country but which 23 would make the most solid team? I’m sure if you looked at the list of the last few rosters of players called up to the USWNT you could put together a 23 woman list that would be the envy of most countries on earth.

But is that the best the US could do?

I think if there was an event, a fictional mid December tournament, let’s say in France with Germany, the US and Australia all invited. Each team gets 23 players on the roster and the USWNT no longer has players they have to call up due to contracts, who makes the cut?

If I were in charge, and every player were healthy, this is what would my 23 for this tournament look like.

Before you crack your knuckles and start commenting and why this or that player should have made the cut, let me explain how I got down to the pool I did. I listed out all of the players in the NWSL, sorry college players but I don’t know you well enough to judge you yet, who could be called up to the USWNT. 

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Abby Smith	Abby Dahlkemper	Allie Long	Alex Morgan
Adrianna Franch	Ali Krieger	Andi Sullivan	Ashley Hatch
Alyssa Naeher	Amber Brooks	Christina Gibbons	Beverly Yanez
Ashlyn Harris	Arin Gilliland	Christine Nairn	Carli Lloyd
Aubrey Bledsoe	Becky Sauerbrunn	Dani Weatherholt	Cheyna Williams
Haley Kopmeyer	Caprice Dydasco	Danielle Colaprico	Chioma Ubogagu
Jane Campbell	Cari Roccaro	Daphne Corboz	Christen Press
Katelyn Rowland	Carson Pickett	Julie Ertz	Crystal Dunn
Michelle Betos	Casey Short	Kealia Ohai	Jasmyne Spencer
	Christen Westphal	Kristen Edmonds	Jessica McDonald
	Emily Menges	Kristie Mewis	Lynn Williams
	Emily Sonnett	Lindsey Horan	Mallory Pugh
	Erica Skroski	Lo’eau LaBonta	Margaret Purce
	Estelle Johnson	McCall Zerboni	Merritt Matthias
	Gina Lewandowski	Megan Rapinoe	Rachel Hill
	Jaelene Hinkle	Meggie Dougherty Howard	Savannah Jordan
	Katherine Reynolds	Morgan Andrews	Shea Groom
	Kelley O’Hara	Morgan Brian	Stephanie McCaffrey
	Kristen McNabb	Nikki Stanton	Sydney Leroux
	Lauren Barnes	Rose Lavelle
	Mandy Freeman	Samantha Mewis
	Megan Oyster	Sarah Killion
	Meghan Klingenberg	Sofia Huerta
	Sam Witteman	Tobin Heath
	Taylor Smith	Tori Huster
		Vanessa DiBernardo

To start pairing down the list I removed the players who I gave a “soft pass” to. These are players who either have never been in the USWNT system, have been passed by it, or I don’t think have that special something needed to be on the full national team. 

The players given a “soft pass” are marked in red.

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Abby Smith	Abby Dahlkemper	Allie Long	Alex Morgan
Adrianna Franch	Amber Brooks	Andi Sullivan	Ashley Hatch
Alyssa Naeher	Becky Sauerbrunn	Christina Gibbons	Carli Lloyd
Ashlyn Harris	Caprice Dydasco	Dani Weatherholt	Cheyna Williams
Aubrey Bledsoe	Cari Roccaro	Danielle Colaprico	Chioma Ubogagu
Jane Campbell	Carson Pickett	Daphne Corboz	Christen Press
Katelyn Rowland	Casey Short	Julie Ertz	Crystal Dunn
Michelle Betos	Christen Westphal	Kristen Edmonds	Jasmyne Spencer
Haley Kopmeyer	Emily Menges	Lindsey Horan	Lynn Williams
	Emily Sonnett	Megan Rapinoe	Mallory Pugh
	Erica Skroski	Meggie Dougherty Howard	Margaret Purce
	Jaelene Hinkle	Morgan Andrews	Rachel Hill
	Katherine Reynolds	Morgan Brian	Savannah Jordan
	Kelley O’Hara	Rose Lavelle	Shea Groom
	Kristen McNabb	Samantha Mewis	Beverly Yanez
	Mandy Freeman	Sarah Killion	Jessica McDonald
	Taylor Smith	Sofia Huerta	Merritt Matthias
	Ali Krieger	Tobin Heath	Stephanie McCaffrey
	Arin Gilliland	Vanessa DiBernardo	Sydney Leroux
	Estelle Johnson	Christine Nairn
	Gina Lewandowski	Kealia Ohai
	Lauren Barnes	Kristie Mewis
	Megan Oyster	Lo’eau LaBonta
	Meghan Klingenberg	McCall Zerboni
	Sam Witteman	Nikki Stanton
		Tori Huster

Then it was time to look at the remaining players and remove those who just aren’t ready yet in my best estimation. Some were rookies, some had been in the league for a few years but were just becoming starters, and still yet some had shifted positions and I wanted a bit more “burn in” before they were called up.

The players given “Give Them Time” are listed in blue.
The players given a “Soft Pass” are marked in red.

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Adrianna Franch	Abby Dahlkemper	Allie Long	Alex Morgan
Alyssa Naeher	Amber Brooks	Andi Sullivan	Ashley Hatch
Ashlyn Harris	Becky Sauerbrunn	Danielle Colaprico	Carli Lloyd
Michelle Betos	Casey Short	Julie Ertz	Christen Press
Abby Smith	Emily Menges	Lindsey Horan	Crystal Dunn
Aubrey Bledsoe	Emily Sonnett	Megan Rapinoe	Lynn Williams
Jane Campbell	Jaelene Hinkle	Morgan Brian	Mallory Pugh
Katelyn Rowland	Katherine Reynolds	Rose Lavelle	Shea Groom
Haley Kopmeyer	Kelley O’Hara	Samantha Mewis	Cheyna Williams
	Taylor Smith	Sofia Huerta	Chioma Ubogagu
	Caprice Dydasco	Tobin Heath	Jasmyne Spencer
	Cari Roccaro	Vanessa DiBernardo	Margaret Purce
	Carson Pickett	Christina Gibbons	Rachel Hill
	Christen Westphal	Dani Weatherholt	Savannah Jordan
	Erica Skroski	Daphne Corboz	Beverly Yanez
	Kristen McNabb	Kristen Edmonds	Jessica McDonald
	Mandy Freeman	Meggie Dougherty Howard	Merritt Matthias
	Ali Krieger	Morgan Andrews	Stephanie McCaffrey
	Arin Gilliland	Sarah Killion	Sydney Leroux
	Estelle Johnson	Christine Nairn
	Gina Lewandowski	Kealia Ohai
	Lauren Barnes	Kristie Mewis
	Megan Oyster	Lo’eau LaBonta
	Meghan Klingenberg	McCall Zerboni
	Sam Witteman	Nikki Stanton
		Tori Huster

After the first two rounds of cuts I had 33 players left. A mix of older and younger players that was really difficult to break down much more than I had. It was from this group I’d make my 23. 

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Alyssa Naeher	Becky Sauerbrunn	Julie Ertz	Alex Morgan
Adrianna Franch	Casey Short	Lindsey Horan	Christen Press
Ashlyn Harris	Kelley O’Hara	Samantha Mewis	Mallory Pugh
Michelle Betos	Abby Dahlkemper	Tobin Heath	Ashley Hatch
	Amber Brooks	Allie Long	Carli Lloyd
	Emily Menges	Andi Sullivan	Crystal Dunn
	Emily Sonnett	Danielle Colaprico	Lynn Williams
	Jaelene Hinkle	Megan Rapinoe	Shea Groom
	Katherine Reynolds	Morgan Brian
	Taylor Smith	Rose Lavelle
		Sofia Huerta
		Vanessa DiBernardo

My person preference when I’m putting together a roster is a balance between defenders, attacking players who are strong defenders and attacking players who bring the heat with the usual 3 goalkeeper set up.

I started to pair down by looking first at the goalkeepers.

Goalkeepers

Alyssa Naeher, Adrianna Franch, Ashlyn Harris, Michelle Betos were the goalkeepers that survived my first two rounds of cuts.

At 29, 26, 32 and 29 it’s not a young group by any means.

For this roster I wanted Naeher’s experience as the current number one. Adrianna Franch, the best goalkeeper in the NWSL in 2017, was my second choice.

Third choice was down to Ashlyn Harris or Michelle Betos. In the end I went with Betos. I want to see how her time away from the NWSL has done to her game.

I would give each of the three a game to see just what they could do against high level attacks.

Just like that 3 of the 23 slots were decided.

Defenders

Going from 10 really solid defenders down to six is never easy. I am the type of roster builder that usually tries to sneak an extra defender or two in, but with the 23 I’m building I don’t have room for more than the 6 I went with.

Amber Brooks, Emily Menges, Jaelene Hinkle and Katherine Reynolds were the four that ended up chopped last.

Dahlkemper, Sauerbrunn and Sonnett are three centerbacks that give me the type of tenacity and reliability I’m looking for. Sauerbrunn has been the rock of the USWNT backline over the last 3 years in a way that has saved more goals than her lack of speed has created. In Dahlkemper and Sonnett I’d get a pair of up and coming players who are hungry to prove their worth.

And with O’Hara, Short and Smith you have speed, defense and each has an attacking soul deep down that tends to pop up in key moments.

I’d start O’Hara and Short, use Smith as a sub if needed for Short and shift O’Hara to the left. With the centerbacks I’d like start safe with Dahlkemper and Sauerbrunn and bring in Sonnett as needed.

9 players down, 14 to go. 

Attacking Players

This is a bit of a two for one.

Let’s look at the center of the park and then the forward attack.

I tend to forget just how stacked the center midfield is for the US because Ellis doesn’t call a lot of the players in.

No matter who I went with in this pool I was going to get center midfielders who can do work. I ended up keeping Julie Ertz, Samantha Mewis, Andi Sullivan, Danielle Colaprico, Rose Lavelle, and Vanessa DiBernardo.

I want a little bit of what each brings. Is it a lot of options in the center, yes. But with Ertz ability to be the 6, 8 or 10, Colaprico’s skill on the ball, Sullivan’s talent for disruption, Lavelle’s vision, Mewis’s crazy soccer smarts and DiBernardo’s everything, it is a 6 pack worth having.

Yes, I cut Horan from this, mostly because I think with the midfield I’m thinking of, Colaprico or DiBernardo could do the job with a few less yellow cards. 

Any three put out there will have all the keys needed to prevent being run over. And the level of finesse to physicality can be turned up or down depending on the team of the moment.

No team wins without attackers, right? So for my wingers/wide forwards/forwards I went with the idea of “if it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it too much”.

Having Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Mallory Pugh, Lynn Williams, Ashley Hatch, Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe, and Sofia Huerta all on the same team feels a little like playing a video game. They are all so good.

I added Ashley Hatch because the forwards need a little more spark at times. Dunn used to have that role but England has hurt Crystal Dunn’s game on the USWNT. I wish it hadn’t but she didn’t look like the same player in her minutes with the team. I hope she can come back to the NWSL and find her mojo. But until then I have to go with another attacker.

And yeah, no Carli Lloyd. They are a better team when she isn’t there to force the line up in her image.

So the full 23 would be:

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Alyssa Naeher	Becky Sauerbrunn	Julie Ertz	Alex Morgan
Adrianna Franch	Casey Short	Samantha Mewis	Christen Press
Michelle Betos	Kelley O’Hara	Tobin Heath	Mallory Pugh
	Abby Dahlkemper	Andi Sullivan	Lynn Williams
	Emily Sonnett	Danielle Colaprico	Ashley Hatch
	Taylor Smith	Megan Rapinoe
		Rose Lavelle
		Sofia Huerta
		Vanessa DiBernardo

So is my 23 the 23 best players in the NWSL that the US could take? Maybe. I went with some young choices in hopes of growing the players and trying a few new things. I think the 23 I went with would at least be a bit of an entertaining mix.

If you were going to pull together a 23-player roster for a December tournament, if all spots were open, who would you go with?