[ad_1]
European stars won’t be around when the U.S. women’s team holds their first training camp since March, but the place on the field for Brazil-born Catarina Macario marks an important step in the rising star’s journey to represent your country of adoption.
The national team will hold a 10-day camp in the Denver area beginning October 18. The United States have not met as a team since the SheBelieves Cup in March. The United States defeated England, Japan and Spain to win the tournament that was completed days before the sports world closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
October camp will be held in an environment similar to that of this summer’s NWSL Challenge Cup. Players, coaches and staff will operate from a hotel in the Denver area and will be screened multiple times prior to arrival, upon arrival, and every other day during camp.
MAIN FOOTBALL NEWS
• McKennie excited about American stars in Europe
• Study: women face high levels of prejudice
• Ozil does not join the Arsenal UEL squad
• Sources: Utd missed all of Ole’s targets
• England trio will not play Wales
• Paneka, legend of punctual kicks, in the ICU for COVID
“Bringing the national team together brings us relief and excitement, and I am grateful for all the work done behind the scenes to make this happen, and for it to happen safely for all players and staff,” said USA coach Vlatko Andonovski in a statement. “We are going to be smart and efficient in the way we run this camp, but we know the Olympics will come fast once the calendar hits 2021, so we have to move as far as we can during the time we have. . in Denver. “
That progress will have to be made without Tobin Heath, Rose Lavelle, Sam Mewis, Alex Morgan and Christen Press, the quintet of World Cup champions who signed in England with teams from the women’s Super League this fall. With no USA matches scheduled, their club teams weren’t required to release them for international service and the associated travel and quarantine restrictions would have made their participation impractical regardless.
“For this camp, it just didn’t make sense for players in Europe to leave their club environments, where they are getting quality coaching games, as they are just beginning to establish themselves,” Andonovski said. “But this opens up an important opportunity for other players to step up and show if they can contribute to the national team during our race to the Olympics.”
Also missing from the camp roster are Andonovski Carli Lloyd, who has not played in the NWSL limited knockdown schedule while recovering from injury, and Megan Rapinoe, who opted out of the NWSL knockdown series. US Soccer cited injury concerns from Rapinoe from not traveling to Colorado. Neither Lloyd nor Rapinoe have played since the SheBelieves Cup.
Midfielder Julie Ertz, a regular starter in the United States’ World Cup title race a year ago, will not be part of the camp. Ertz, who also opted out of the NWSL fall series, cited a family commitment.
But in addition to the inclusion of many NWSL players who impressed during the limited opportunities available to US-based players In a season cut down to the Challenge Cup and fall series, the list includes Macario, senior. Stanford. Born in Brazil and still working on the application process for US citizenship, she previously trained with the US Under-23 national team and played in various preseason shows against NWSL teams.
The two-time Hermann Trophy winner for best college football player was a huge favorite to become the first three-time winner of that award until the pandemic disrupted the college season. With 63 career goals, he entered this season as the active leader of the NCAA by more than 20 goals. He also had a double-digit lead as an active leader in professional assists.
Macario moved to the United States with his father and older brother when he was 11 years old to allow both children access to better educational and sports opportunities. His mother, a doctor, continues to live and work in Brazil. Macario has long expressed his desire to play for the United States.
FIFA recently amended its regulations for naturalized citizens seeking to represent their new country in competition. Previously, a naturalized citizen had to wait five years after turning 18 to play for his new national team unless he obtained an exemption from FIFA that stipulated that, among other criteria, the player moved to the new country for reasons beyond his control. to football. Danish international and former Portland Thorns forward Nadia Nadim received the waiver after her family left Afghanistan when she was a child and sought asylum in Denmark.
The amended regulations change when the clock begins the residency requirement. For someone like Macario, who moved to the United States when he was a minor (but after his 10th birthday), the five-year requirement is counted from the time of his arrival, as opposed to his 18th birthday. Therefore, Macario, who turned 21 earlier this month, will already meet FIFA’s residency requirement once she becomes a US citizen.
The other notable change in the FIFA regulations was in the wording related to the approval of the organization. Previously, the exemption depended on the person moving to the new country for reasons other than football. The new regulations only say that a player should not have moved to a new country “for the purpose of participating in their representative teams,” a stricter ban that suggests direct recruitment by a soccer federation.
Macario, whose brother studied filmmaking at USC and who herself avoided an opportunity seized by several teammates to leave Stanford early for professional soccer to complete her career, already had a strong case that her move was for reasons beyond sport. The new FIFA regulations seem to make your eligibility almost a formality once you obtain citizenship.
Macario told ESPN earlier this fall that he still hopes to complete the citizenship process this year. Your application is caught in a pandemic-related backlog, but your paperwork is complete and you are waiting for news on when you will be allowed to take the citizenship test.
The training camp roster includes a number of players with national team experience looking to return to the regular rotation, such as Kristie Mewis, the Houston Dash’s NWSL summer and fall standout. It also includes young players who may benefit from the extra year of development and auditions before Olympic roster competition, such as Portland Thorns rookie Sophia Smith and Washington Spirit rookie Ashley Sánchez, and current collegiate Macario, La Stanford defender Naomi Girma, UCLA forward Mia Fishel and Florida. State midfielder Jaelin Howell.
Unlike some US national teams, such as softball, Andonovski had not named an Olympic roster prior to the postponement of that event, so there is no problem carrying the same group of players to next summer. .
USWNT October Training Camp Roster (Club / College; International Matches / Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Aubrey Bledsoe (Washington Spirit; 0), Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 3), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 25), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 63)
DEFENDERS (10): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 61/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 26/1), Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 104/24), Naomi Girma (Stanford; 0/0), Sarah Gorden (Chicago Red Stars; 0/0) Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 107/1), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 131/2), Margaret Purce (Sky Blue FC; 1/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 177/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 32/0)
MEDIA (7): Shea Groom (Houston Dash; 0/0), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 86/19), Morgan Gautrat (Chicago Red Stars; 87/8), Jaelin Howell (Florida State; 0/0), Catarina Macario (Stanford; 0/0), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash; 15/1), Ashley Sánchez (Washington Spirit; 0/0)
FORWARD (6): Bethany Balcer (OL Reign; 0/0), Mia Fishel (UCLA; 0/0), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 2/0), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Kealia Watt (Chicago Red Stars; 3/1), Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 9/28)
Source: espn.co.uk
[ad_2]
