U.S. national team begins busy year with CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup
The U.S. women’s national team will start 2024 in an unfamiliar position.
The USWNT has been dethroned as World Cup champions after suffering a shocking Round of 16 exit, new coach Emma Hayes has yet to take over, with Twila Kilgore serving as interim coach, and they’re days away from the first competition of a busy calendar year.
The U.S. will open the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup on Tuesday against Guyana or Dominican Republic in the first of three group stage games at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, followed by showdowns with Argentina on Feb. 23 and Mexico on Feb. 26.
“It’s such an important year. Any time you get invited to the national team it’s an honor, so I’m honored and humbled and really excited to be a part of this group,” defender Abby Dahlkemper said. “It’s a really challenging one (tournament), just really looking forward to getting the games going.”
Dahlkemper made her way back to the national team in the December camp. She went through a serious back injury, but was also able to return to the field for her NWSL team (San Diego Wave FC).
“You want to do your best every day, and trying to stay focused and present and controlling the things I can control is important,” the former UCLA star said. “I feel really good physically. I feel really good mentally. I am hopeful and excited for this year.”
The tournament, which begins Saturday with three preliminary games with the winners advancing to the group stage, also consists of Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama and four nations from South America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Paraguay).
With the Olympics on the calendar this year, this camp and tournament are a good opportunity for players to open some eyes.
“It’s a great opportunity to get in with the team and show myself,” defender Jenna Nighswonger said. “It’s just great preparation for the Olympics. We are going after gold in this tournament, and every game is looking to help us for the Olympics.”
Nighswonger, a Huntington Beach native, earned NWSL Rookie of the Year honors after her first season with Gotham FC.
“I’m really excited to be here and ready to give my all for the team,” she said. “There’s always lessons you can learn from anything and I learned so much in my first year in the NWSL and I want to take all of those lessons and do the best that I can.”
The roster is a good mix of youth and experience. Seven players have fewer than seven national team appearances, with two teenagers on the roster (18-year-old Olivia Moultrie and 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw), and 12 players competed in the 2022 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.
All 26 players on the roster arrived in time for Wednesday’s first day on the training field. Mallory Swanson, Savannah DeMelo and Gisele Thompson are “non-rostered” players, who are also in the training environment. Alana Cook, who was on the original roster, has been replaced by Becky Sauerbrunn.
The U.S. will also compete in the SheBelieves Cup in April with Brazil, Canada and Japan, before the Paris Olympic Games, four years after the team won the bronze medal in Tokyo.
Dahlkemper understands there will be a lot of attention on the team, but that’s nothing new.
“With this team, there’s always going to be pressure and eyes on us,” she said. “I think that we take that, acknowledge that and face it head on. This group is truly a special group and a special team, filled with amazing fans that support us. Yes, there is pressure, but pressure is a privilege and we carry that and we know that it’s always going to be there.”