Horan, Smith called up to USWNT January camp

Lindsey Horan and Sophia Smith were the only two Portland Thorns FC players called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team’s January training camp. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski today named his 25-player roster. The camp will be held in Austin, TX from January 19-28.

This camp is the first time the USWNT will meet in 2022 but does not include any international matches. The U.S.’s first matches of the year will take place at the 2022 SheBelieves Cup when the USWNT will take on the Czech Republic, New Zealand and Iceland.

“Without any matches that we need to taper for, we can get in some more intense trainings and full-field scrimmages, which is great as we need to give this group as many chances as possible to play together in a National Team environment,” said Andonovski. “We understand that some of the players are coming off a break, so we’ll keep that in mind as we hit the ground running in 2022 for what will be a very important year for these players and our team.”

Notably, Becky Sauerbrunn is not included in this camp. During Andonovski’s media availability, he said that Sauerbrunn had a procedure to freeze her eggs and she had a little setback after that. They thought she wouldn’t be ready to perform in this camp.

Andonovski also was asked about potential No. 9s, specifically about Smith and Catarina Macario. Andonovski mentioned that Smith can play the No. 9, 7 and 11 and also said we can’t forget other No. 9s like Morgan Weaver and Ashley Hatch.

Macario was on the roster until recently when Olympique Lyonnais drew rivals Paris Saint-Germain in the French Cup. Lyon coach Sonia Bompastor, Macario and Andonovski decided it was best for Macario to stay in France. Andonovski will announce her replacement in the U.S. squad in the near future.

U.S. Soccer’s full release can be accessed here.