Team in transition or a worrying trend? Why the USWNT only has two players in the World-Class Club

The United States has the most successful women's national team in soccer history. With four World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals, no country comes close to what the U.S. has been able to achieve over the last 30 years or so, with some of the greatest players the sport has ever seen having been central to those triumphs. Why, then, just five years removed from the fourth of those world titles, does the USWNT only have two players in GOAL's 2024 edition of the World-Class Club?

It was only back in 2019 that the U.S. reigned supreme again at the World Cup, beating the Netherlands 2-0 in the final in a year that saw the star of that success, Megan Rapinoe, claim the Ballon d'Or. Featuring the likes of Becky Sauerbrunn, Julie Ertz, Sam Mewis, Rose Lavelle, Tobin Heath and Alex Morgan, this was unquestionably a world-class side.

A lot has changed since then, due to injuries, retirements and new coaches, with the two Americans in GOAL's elite club this year still playing in college when the USWNT last conquered the world stage. But as new head coach Emma Hayes prepares to take this famous team to a major tournament for the first time, at the Olympic Games which starts this week, she goes armed with a new generation of talent that has the potential to establish itself among the sport's very best in the years to come.