The return of Chelsea forward Catarina Macario highlights the 23-player United States women's national team roster selected by manager Emma Hayes for the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.
The U.S. women's national team, ranked No. 1 in FIFA's women's soccer rankings, will host eighth-ranked Japan, 15th-ranked Australia and Colombia, ranked 21st.
The USWNT will open the competition on Feb. 20 against Colombia at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas.
That will be followed three days later with a match against Australia at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The final day of the competition on Feb. 26 will see the U.S. face Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Calif.
All four teams in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup field were in the women's tournament at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, with the U.S. defeating Australia (2-1) in group play and Japan (1-0) in an extra-time thriller in the quarterfinal match.
"This team is still growing, and I continue to be impressed with the dedication of our player pool to get better, individually and as a group," Hayes said. "With many players at the beginning of their club preseasons, we'll be patient with them but at the same time, we're going to maximize the time we have together.
"We are facing three excellent teams with three very different styles and the tournament will be a great test to see who can perform against world-class players, but to see that, we need to give them opportunities.
"We have put in a lot of thought on how best to accomplish that while continuing to evolve and putting out a team that can win, so every game should be a lot of fun for the staff, the players and the fans."
Macario, the MVP of the 2022 SheBelieves Cup, returns to the USWNT for the first time since last June. While she was named to the U.S. roster for the 2024 Olympic Games, persistent knee irritation meant she had to withdraw. She suffered a torn ACL in June 2022.
This season Macario has been building up her fitness, appearing in 13 games with five starts and scoring five goals with two assists.
The remainder of the roster has a youthful look, and includes 12 players from the 22-player squad that won the 2024 Olympics but just four players who started five or more games in the tournament. Ten players on the current roster have four or fewer caps.
This includes four uncapped players in the Kansas City Current duo of forward Michelle Cooper and midfielder Claire Hutton, as well as Washington Spirit defender Tara McKeown and Angel City FC defender Gisele Thompson.
Thompson is joined on the roster by sister and club teammate Alyssa Thompson. They are the third set of sisters to be on the same roster for the USWNT, and the first since Sam and Kristie Mewis were in the side back in 2021. In addition to Gisele Thompson, there are three teenagers on the roster in Ajax's Lily Yohannes (17) and Hutton (19). The average age of the 23-player game roster is 24.9.
Hayes also named three training players who will not be on the game roster but will train with the squad for the duration of the tournament. All three -- Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Angel City defender Savy King and Bay FC midfielder Hannah Bebar -- are uncapped.
The roster's youth is necessitated in part by the unavailability of several veteran players. Stalwart defender Naomi Girma, who just became the most expensive female player in history following her $1 million transfer from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea, is recovering from a calf injury.
The "Triple Espresso" frontline of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith are also not named to the squad. Rodman is recovering from a back injury, while Smith was deemed not physically ready for international competition.
Swanson misses out through what was described by U.S. Soccer as a "personal commitment." Rose Lavelle is also out as she recovers from ankle surgery.
Lindsey Heaps (formerly Horan) is the most capped player in the squad with 161 appearances. She's followed by Crystal Dunn (155), Emily Sonnett (103) and Lynn Biyendolo (formerly Williams) with 75.
U.S. Women's National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals) - 2025 SheBelieves Cup
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 8), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 1)
DEFENDERS (8): Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 65/3), Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; 155/25), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 62/1), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 0/0), Jenna Nighswonger (Arsenal FC, ENG; 18/2), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 2/0), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 103/2), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; 22/1), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 28/1), Lindsey Heaps (Lyon, FRA; 161/36), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; 0/0), Jaedyn Shaw (North Carolina Courage; 21/8), Lily Yohannes (Ajax, NED; 2/1)
FORWARDS (7): Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle Reign FC; 75/21), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 0/0), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 19/8), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash; 4/0), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 3/1), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals; 2/0), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 13/1)