CHICAGO (March 28, 2023) — The United States Women's National Team (USWNT) Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski has called four Chicago Red Stars players to join the team for camp during the April FIFA window. 2023 SheBelieves Cup Champions Alyssa Naeher and Mallory Swanson will be joined by Red Stars defenders Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger as the team prepares to face Ireland's women's national team.
Both Davidson and Krueger recently returned to play for the Chicago Red Stars after they missed the 2022 season due to injury and maternity leave, respectively.
This will be the second call up this year for Davidson. The defender was called to join the team for camp in early February, but was not a part of the roster for the SheBelieves Cup as Davidson finished rehabbing from an injury. Now that the California native is back from injury, Davidson joins the formidable USWNT backline to get time with the team before Andonovski finalizes the roster for the 2023 Women's World Cup. Davidson is a former Women's World Cup champion having been a part of the team that won the 2019 championship; a team where she was the youngest player on the roster. In Davidson's 48 appearances with the USWNT, the defender has recorded one goal and seven assists.
For Krueger, this will be her first call up to the national team since the 2020 Olympics when she helped the team take home the bronze medal. The Naperville native spent most of her collegiate career playing for on the youth level of the USWNT. Krueger was part of the under-20 youth national team that won the CONCACAF qualifying tournament that secured the U.S. a spot in the 2010 U-20 World Cup. With the full USWNT that bolsters a competitive backline, Krueger has been in and out of USWNT camps and rosters, but always in the conversation of best defenders for the team. Her experience with the full national team includes 38 appearances and seven assists. Two of those appearances, and one of the assists, came in 2018 during the CONCACAF Women's Championship, which the U.S. won, allowing the team to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.
Naeher and Swanson join the national team for the third time this year. Both were part of the team that won the SheBelieves Cup in February. For Naeher, that was the goalkeeper's sixth SheBelieves title, making her and teammate Emily Sonnett the only two players to win the tournament six times. Swanson was named the tournament MVP after scoring four goals in the team's three matches, making her the only player to ever score in every game for the USWNT and the only player to score four goals in the tournament. The forward's eight goals all-time in the tournament put her ahead of Megan Rapinoe who previously held the record for most all-time goals in the tournament with seven.
The USA and Ireland, both of whom are gearing up for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, will meet on Saturday, April 8, at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas (1:30 p.m. CT / 2:30 p.m. ET on TNT, Universo and Peacock) before finishing the two-leg set on Tuesday, April 11, at the brand-new CITYPARK in St. Louis (6:30 p.m. CT / 7:30 p.m. ET on HBO Max, Universo and Peacock).
