New mom Ertz, back with the USWNT at last, has a new drive
Julie Ertz was ready to get back to work.
The exact day escapes her, but after giving birth to her son, Madden, in August and watching the U.S. women’s national soccer team accelerate preparations for the World Cup, she knew it was time.
“The first few months, I would just stare at him and be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, how do people get back to work?’ It’s not easy,” Ertz said Tuesday in her first comments since joining the two-time reigning world champions for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
She and her husband, Arizona Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz, had long conversations about resuming her career.
“(They are) emotional conversations but also very touching and real and raw,” she said. “Anyone who has gone through that process of having kids and coming back to work, it’s challenging and I would say extremely emotional.”
What began this winter with private workouts with a high-performance coach and training sessions with an MLS academy team led to what she calls a “refreshed love for the game” and, last week, a place on the 26-woman U.S. roster for the last pair of friendlies before Coach Vlatko Andonovski names the World Cup squad in June.
Her surprise inclusion does not guarantee her one of the 23 spots at the tournament this summer in Australia and New Zealand. But it does put her in prime position to earn a third World Cup roster berth after starring as a center back at the 2015 event in Canada and as a defensive midfielder four years ago in France.
Ertz, who will turn 31 on Thursday, arrived at training camp in Austin this week ahead of tuneups against Ireland on Saturday in the Texas capital and next Tuesday in St. Louis. Last week, Andonovski said he selected Ertz because “we know the quality she has and if she comes anywhere near her best, she will certainly help us to win a World Cup.”
Aside from reintegrating with the national team, she will need to sign with an NWSL club to train daily and play weekly. A free agent who last played for the Chicago Red Stars in May 2021, Ertz said she has communicated with multiple teams and hopes to finalize a contract soon.
Andonovski said he will use this camp and the NWSL season to evaluate players before finalizing his World Cup squad. Though camp just opened, Ertz seems to have made an impression.
“She looks like she has a renewed sense of energy,” forward Sophia Smith said. “Technically, she looks like she hasn’t missed a beat.”
More than a year and a half away from the game, though, is a long time.
“Coming back from pregnancy changes things, obviously, with your body, so I just wanted to make sure when I was coming back that I felt I was strong enough to be able to feel like I could be myself,” Ertz said.
“I don’t want to go back and be the player that I
was - I want to be better,” she added. “And I know that seems weird being out (for that) long, (but) I don’t feel like I’ve been gone as long as I have. I feel good, and I love the sport differently than I did then — and I thought I loved it then. But taking a step away and having a new perspective has given me a new drive.”
Before deciding to return, Ertz said, she consulted with other mothers on the U.S. squad, such as Alex Morgan and Crystal Dunn, and those around the NWSL. Ertz’s son has joined the other youngsters at training camp, where, thanks to the team’s collective bargaining agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation, child care is provided.
“It feels like almost a team within a team,” she said of the U.S. squad’s moms.
Ertz said she also was inspired by her husband, a 10-year NFL veteran.
“It’s hard to not have that itch when you’re just so used to being so competitive and especially having a professional athlete as a husband,” she said. “You just see him being in that competitive environment and watching his games and stuff.”
After the long layoff, Ertz acknowledged she needs to not only improve her fitness and sharpen her technical skills but gain a better understanding of this group of players and Andonovski’s tactics.
“I’ve been in really good conversations with Vlatko,” she said. “It’s been fun listening to what he sees and allowing me to ask questions.”
Ertz does not have a lot of time to persuade Andonovski to include her on the World Cup roster, which has just a few spots up for grabs.
“It’s easy to look ahead and always be like, ‘Yeah, going to World Cup is amazing,’ “she said. “I’ve been blessed to be able to go to a few and enjoy that process, but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I’ve just tried to enjoy it step by step . . . . The journey of that process has already been really rewarding.”
Note: On a video call with reporters, U.S. men’s interim coach Anthony Hudson said he expects to have three or four players from outside MLS for the April 19 friendly against rival Mexico in Glendale, Ariz. He will announce the roster next week. Because the date does not fall during a FIFA international window, clubs are not required to release players. Most European clubs are expected to balk, but MLS and Liga MX agreed to supply players for the brief call-up.