OpenOct 5, 2026
Emily Sams is not named in the United States roster for the 2026 Concacaf W Championship.
Resolves by Nov 27, 2026
USWNT desk
Maya Arguello
The women's pool on the road to Brazil in 2027: who is in the conversation, who has fallen out of it, and what each squad announcement says about where the coach actually is.
When he files: Weekly, and every FIFA window.
2Held up
3Missed
5Still open
5 calls resolved. Too few for a hit rate to mean anything, so there is not one.
Every call, graded
OpenOct 14, 2026
Ashley Sanchez is named in the United States roster for the 2026 Concacaf W Championship.
Resolves by Nov 27, 2026
The piece that made itAshley Sanchez needed one start to turn a recall into a selection questionOpenOct 19, 2026
Kennedy Wesley starts for the United States against El Salvador in the Concacaf W Championship quarter-final on November 27.
Resolves by Nov 27, 2026
OpenOct 20, 2026
Avery Patterson is named in the United States roster for the 2026 Concacaf W Championship.
Resolves by Nov 27, 2026
The piece that made itDahlien tore her ACL in a federation camp, and the November ledger kept movingOpenOct 26, 2026
Jaelin Howell is named in the United States roster for the 2026 Concacaf W Championship.
Resolves by Nov 27, 2026
MissedSep 19, 2026
Naomi Girma is on the field for at least one minute of a competitive Chelsea first-team match played on or before October 4, 2026. Competitive means a Women's Super League, FA Cup, League Cup or UEFA Women's Champions League fixture. Any appearance, as a starter or a substitute, for any length of time, resolves this in my favour. Being named in a squad and not used does not.
The piece that made itNaomi Girma is available again, and has not played a league minute this seasonHeld upSep 22, 2026
Ashley Sanchez is named in the United States call-up roster for the October 2026 window against Spain.
The piece that made itAshley Sanchez leads the NWSL by three goals. Her last cap was in 2024.Held upOct 6, 2026
Kennedy Wesley starts for the United States against Spain at Audi Field on October 10.
The piece that made itHayes has started six center backs since March, and three are in campMissedOct 12, 2026
Tierna Davidson does not start for the United States against Spain at Subaru Park on October 13.
MissedOct 13, 2026
None of the five uncapped players on the United States roster plays against Spain at Subaru Park on October 13.
The piece that made itHayes wants the details fixed against Spain, and the back line is the first oneThe work, newest first
The November roster
Dahlien tore her ACL in a federation camp, and the November ledger kept moving
Seattle Reign FC placed Maddie Dahlien on the season-ending injury list on October 17 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered at U.S. under-23 camp, five days after she started the under-23s' match against the Dominican Republic. The NWSL's availability report of October 18 lists Claire Hutton (leg) and Avery Patterson (foot) as questionable; neither was in her club's matchday squad on Sunday. Hutton started against Spain on October 13 and Patterson on October 10. Jeff Kassouf's ESPN board on Tuesday lists Hutton as a lock and Patterson in the squad. The United States play El Salvador in the Concacaf W Championship quarterfinal on November 27 in Mansfield, Texas, for a place at the 2027 World Cup.
The result
Ashley Sanchez needed one start to turn a recall into a selection question
The United States drew Spain 2-2 at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, on October 13, before 18,648. Alexia Putellas scored in the 27th minute and Salma Paralluelo in the 32nd. Ashley Sanchez, on her first U.S. start since October 30, 2024, scored in the 49th minute from Sophia Wilson's pass, her first goal for the United States since July 14, 2022. Mallory Swanson, a 61st-minute substitute, volleyed the equalizer in the 86th from Michelle Cooper's pass. Kate Del Fava and Pietra Tordin made their debuts. Trinity Byars, whom Emma Hayes named alongside Sanchez on September 30 as creating competition for places, did not dress for either Spain match. The next U.S. match is the Concacaf W Championship quarterfinal against El Salvador on November 27 in Mansfield, Texas; the winner qualifies for the 2027 World Cup.
Player ratings
Sanchez and Swanson came back and scored, and the bench drew level with Spain
Player ratings for the 19 U.S. players who played in the 2-2 draw with Spain at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa., on October 13, 2026. Ashley Sanchez and Mallory Swanson rate highest after each scored. Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Emily Fox, Claire Hutton and Trinity Rodman rate lowest; the back pass and clearance before Spain's second goal sit with the first two.
Spain, again
Hayes wants the details fixed against Spain, and the back line is the first one
The United States play Spain again at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, at 7 p.m. Eastern on October 13, three days after losing 2-0 at Audi Field. On Monday Emma Hayes asked her team to start earlier, said defending moments decided Saturday, and said players used to man-marking at their clubs need to defend zonally for the national team, which takes time after four months apart. Tierna Davidson and Emily Fox, two of Saturday's back four, both spoke on Monday. Spain are without Athenea del Castillo, sent off on Saturday, and have added Lucía García. None of the five uncapped players on the U.S. roster played on Saturday, and Tuesday is the last U.S. match before the Concacaf W Championship quarter-final against El Salvador on November 27.
The result
Spain won 2-0, and the back four Hayes tried lasted one half
Spain beat the United States 2-0 before a sellout crowd of 19,220 at Audi Field on October 10. Patri Guijarro scored in the 3rd minute and Eva Navarro in the 14th. The United States had 13 shots, 10 of them on target, against Spain's six and three, and Adriana Nanclares saved Lily Yohannes's 70th-minute penalty. U.S. Soccer said it was the first start together for the back four of Emily Fox, Tierna Davidson, Kennedy Wesley and Avery Patterson. Gisele Thompson replaced Patterson at halftime. Mallory Swanson and Ashley Sanchez came on in the 66th minute. None of the five uncapped players on the roster played: Trinity Byars, Jordan Silkowitz and Evelyn Shores did not dress, and Pietra Tordin and Kate Del Fava were unused substitutes. The teams meet again at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, on October 13, the last U.S. match before the Concacaf W Championship.
Player ratings
Wilson was the best American against Spain, and Davidson had the hardest day
Player ratings for the 16 U.S. players who played in the 2-0 loss to Spain at Audi Field on October 10, 2026. Sophia Wilson rates highest after a shot tipped onto the crossbar, a goal ruled out for offside and a penalty won. Tierna Davidson rates lowest: U.S. Soccer's report has Salma Paralluelo isolated against her before Eva Navarro's 14th-minute goal. Lily Yohannes had her 70th-minute penalty saved by Adriana Nanclares.
The missing seven
Hayes has started six center backs since March, and three are in camp
The Spanish federation said on October 6 that goalkeeper Cata Coll had left Spain's squad for the matches against the United States and would return to Barcelona, replaced by Athletic Club's Eunate Astralaga; the federation gave no reason, and the news agency EFE reported quadriceps discomfort. Coll started seven of Spain's ten matches under Sonia Bermúdez, including all six against England, Germany and Sweden. Spain are also without Vicky López, Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmatí. The United States are without Naomi Girma, Emily Sonnett and Sam Coffey. Six players started at center back for the United States in its last eight matches: Sonnett, Girma, Kennedy Wesley, Tierna Davidson, Tara Rudd and Emily Sams. Girma and Sonnett are injured, Wesley, Davidson and Rudd are in camp, and Sams, who has started all 27 of Angel City's NWSL matches, is not on the roster. The teams meet at Audi Field on October 10 and Subaru Park on October 13.
The roster
The United States will face Spain without Naomi Girma or Emily Sonnett
Emma Hayes called up Utah Royals defender Kate Del Fava on October 4 to replace the injured Naomi Girma on the 26-player roster for the matches against Spain at Audi Field on October 10 and Subaru Park on October 13. Del Fava, 28, is uncapped, was already due in camp as an overage player with the under-23s, and is the fifth uncapped player on the roster. Girma was ruled out on October 1 with a muscle injury; Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor said on September 30 that she got a knock in training and would be unavailable for maybe a few weeks. Girma has not played in any of Chelsea's five Women's Super League matches or two Champions League league-phase matches. With Emily Sonnett also injured, the center backs on the roster who started any of the last eight United States matches are Kennedy Wesley, Tierna Davidson and Tara Rudd.
The pool
Ashley Sanchez leads the NWSL by three goals. Her last cap was in 2024.
Ashley Sanchez has 19 goals in 25 starts for the North Carolina Courage, three more than any other player in the National Women's Soccer League and six more than Sophia Wilson, the leading scorer among the Americans the United States has been selecting. Sanchez broke the league record for goals by an American in a season on September 6, passing the mark of 15 set by Crystal Dunn in 2015 and matched by Alex Morgan in 2022. She has 28 caps and three international goals, and her last appearance for the United States was on October 30, 2024. U.S. Soccer has published four rosters in 2026, in January, February, April and May, and she is on none of them. The United States play Spain at Audi Field on October 10 and at Subaru Park on October 13.
The pool
Naomi Girma is available again, and has not played a league minute this season
Naomi Girma was an unused substitute in Chelsea's 2-0 win over Birmingham City at Stamford Bridge on September 19, two days after head coach Sonia Bompastor said she was available for selection again following a small injury. The other two players Bompastor named available, Nathalie Bjorn and Melvine Malard, both got on the field. Girma has played no minutes in Chelsea's three Women's Super League matches this season and has started two matches since April, both legs of a Champions League qualifier against Real Sociedad. Her last United States appearance was against Japan on April 17, 155 days ago, and the United States played Brazil twice in June without her. Spain visit Audi Field on October 10 and Subaru Park on October 13.