Megan Rapinoe returns to USWNT for SheBelieves Cup, but Sam Coffey is out

If the U.S. women’s soccer team’s SheBelieves Cup roster is an indication of the path to the World Cup, it looks like manager Vlatko Andonovski is solidifying his depth chart.

Veteran winger Megan Rapinoe is back on the squad after missing last month’s trip to New Zealand with an ankle injury, but midfielder Sam Coffey did not make the cut after watching the last three games from the bench.

“It doesn’t mean that she’s out by any means,” Andonovski said in a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “There was something else that we wanted to see in this camp [and] these games. Sam is very much in the pool — she’s someone that we’re still evaluating and analyzing and is someone that we consider as a player that can have a spot in the World Cup roster.”

» READ MORE: For one Philadelphia sports writer, Sam Coffey’s USWNT debut hits home

Those words mostly were Andonovski’s usual turns of phrase when someone’s stock has dipped. The question is what the “something else” is that he wants to see.

The answer likely is Taylor Kornieck, who played in deep central midfield tandems with Lindsey Horan and Kristie Mewis over the two games in New Zealand. The Horan pairing drew subpar verdicts. The Mewis pairing, which combined two backup candidates, had the benefit of both players taking the field as subs with the U.S. up, 3-0. Kornieck, who stands 6-foot-1, scored off a corner kick to cap the 5-0 final score.

“From the attacking standpoint, it is true that we saw some different setups in the midfield” in New Zealand, Andonovski said. “We’re going to see some more of that and add a little more unpredictability to our team when we when we get on the field.”

Some major players still are out injured: forward Sophia Smith with an ankle injury, and playmaker Catarina Macario and centerback Tierna Davidson are in the final stages of recovering from ACL tears. Davidson is in good enough shape to join the U.S. team’s pre-tournament training camp in Orlando, Fla., but she won’t play in the games that follow. The tournament begins Feb. 16.

“Not the end of my recovery journey but a big step!” Davidson said on Twitter after the news was announced.

Andonovski said Smith is “back on the field running, and I think that if we rushed it a little bit, we could have got some minutes from her. But I didn’t feel like this was a situation where we rush to get her back — our goal is not just to get her back, but to stay back.”

Macario has been rehabbing at a FIFA-run training center in Qatar. She recently posted a video on Instagram of herself training with a ball for the first time in a while, which set fans alight. Andonovski said the 23-year-old will return to training with her club team, France’s Lyon, later this month, and she could be back on the field “some time in the second half of March.”

That would open the door for her to return to the national team for its two April home games, details of which are still to be announced.

Andonovski also said right back Kelley O’Hara, newly signed by Gotham FC as a free agent, could be back in April after recovering from a nagging hip issue. And he namechecked two fan favorites who’ve been out of the picture for a long time: veteran wingers Tobin Heath and Christen Press. Heath hasn’t played since August because of a knee issue that led to surgery in September; Press tore an ACL in June.

Those mentions sparked so much surprise that a reporter asked Andonovski if he meant them.

“Absolutely,” he said of Heath first. “Tobin is one of those players that has tremendous experience with the national team playing against top top-level teams, and she’s a born leader and born winner.”

He called Press “very similar to Tobin, very experienced ... and we know can be an asset on any team.”

Veteran central midfielder Samantha Mewis has been battling a long-term knee injury and isn’t near returning. She announced on Monday that she had another surgery in late January and has returned home to Massachusetts for rehab.

“This has been a really difficult time for me personally, and I’ve been devastated to be away from soccer for so long,” she said in a statement. “I don’t have a timeline for return to soccer, but I will give my best effort in my recovery as I always have. Thank you to everyone for your support and well wishes.”

Andonovski said the words aloud that many fans haven’t wanted to but knew were inevitable: “She’s not going to be able to play in the World Cup.”

He added that the U.S. coaching staff has known Mewis’ fate for a while but wanted to let her make her announcement first.

The clock also is working against Julie Ertz, who hasn’t played any soccer since the Olympics in August 2021. She was on Angel City FC’s books last year but missed the entire season between long-term effects from a knee injury and giving birth last August. She’s a free agent now and has yet to sign with a team.

“The time is running out pretty much for her as well, and she’s someone that we’re probably not going to be able to count on in the World Cup,” Andonovski said. “This is something that we have planned for, and that’s why we’ve tried different names, different players, in these positions. And we’re going to continue to try in this camp until we solidify the players that we believe will give us the best chance to be successful.”

The Americans will welcome a loaded field for this year’s SheBelieves Cup. Canada is No. 6 in FIFA’s global rankings, Brazil is No. 9, and Japan is No. 11. It’s the strongest group since 2019. As usual, the tournament will be played in a round-robin format, with games in Orlando, Nashville, Tenn., and suburban Dallas.

» READ MORE: The U.S. women’s soccer team will host Canada, Brazil and Japan in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup

Goalkeepers (3): Adrianna Franch (Kansas City Current), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders (7): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)

Midfielders (6): Lindsey Horan (Lyon, France), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (Gotham FC), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)

Forwards (7): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Midge Purce (Gotham FC), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (Gotham FC)

All times listed are Eastern time.

Thursday, Feb. 16: Japan vs. Brazil, 4 p.m. (Universo, HBO Max, Peacock); United States vs. Canada, 7 p.m. at Exploria Stadium, Orlando, Fla. (Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)

Sunday. Feb. 19: United States vs. Japan, 3:30 p.m. (TNT, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock); Brazil vs. Canada, 6:30 p.m. at GEODIS Park, Nashville, Tenn. (Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)

Wednesday, Feb. 22: Canada vs. Japan, 4 p.m. (Universo, HBO Max, Peacock); United States vs. Brazil, 7 p.m. at Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas. (TNT, Universo, HBO Max, Peacock)