The FIFA Women’s World Cup is closer than anyone might want to admit, and not even the goalkeeper depth chart — the shortest list of any other position — is all that straightforward for the United States women’s national team.
This is the USWNT Form Index, a series checking in on the form of players in each position ahead of the World Cup roster drop in late June. The Equalizer opted for the USWNT Form Index in lieu of rewriting a mock roster every two weeks, because that’s how uncertain things have been in several key positions.
We’ve already checked in on forwards and central midfielders. Now, let’s talk about the goalkeepers. There are four players fighting for three positions. And is there really an open battle for the No. 1 position? Let’s go down the line.
Alyssa Naeher: The incumbent veteran
Alyssa Naeher was the team’s starting goalkeeper in 2019 and was in net for all seven matches, as the U.S. won another World Cup title. She faced relentless and often misguided media scrutiny as the notably quieter replacement for Hope Solo, who was in net for the 2015 World Cup triumph.
Naeher has basically been the team’s No. 1 since then, although that status was challenged in 2022. U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski tested out Casey Murphy in three of the team’s five games at the Concacaf W Championship, including the opener. Murphy getting the nod in the semifinal against Costa Rica ostensibly suggested she may have emerged as the favorite, but Naeher was back in net for the final against Canada, a 1-0 U.S. win that booked the only 2024 Olympic berth at stake that day (World Cup qualifying was already secured in the semifinal).
Naeher is the likely starter again, as Andonovski clearly values experience in net. Her form this season for the Chicago Red Stars hasn’t been stellar, however, with 23 goals against in 10 regular-season games. Plenty of that can be attributed to poor defending in front of her, but there have been individual mistakes along the way, right from the season-opener in San Diego.
Will Andonovski look past some of these issues, knowing that the back four in front of Naeher for the U.S. will provide much more protection than she is getting in Chicago? (Granted, there are defenders in contention for this roster in that mix). That seems likely, but it’s less than an ideal entry point to the tournament.
Casey Murphy: In the wings(pan)
One thing Andonovski spoke about last year was the need to provide real-game experience to more than one goalkeeper. The U.S. coached referenced the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when Naeher got hurt in the semifinal and was replaced by Adrianna Franch, who had not played in a major tournament. Murphy was the beneficiary of the lesson that followed.
The biggest experience she could get in games that mattered prior to the World Cup was at qualifying. There were a couple of shaky moments on the ball in possession, especially in the group-stage finale against Mexico, but the reality of the U.S. goalkeeper role is that the starter need not be a Kailen Sheridan-level distributor on the ball. The U.S. No. 1 needs to quickly find the feed of her playmakers (including defenders) and not take unnecessary risks. There is enough talent in front of her to handle the more difficult passes.
Murphy can fit that description, as well as Naeher, as neither is known for distribution. Murphy can’t match Naeher’s experience, but the North Carolina Courage goalkeeper is a taller shot-stopper with a larger wingspan.
Statistically, Murphy ranks better than Naeher this year in goals against and save percentage, and Murphy’s post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed (a measurement of shot-stopping ability) is mildly better. She’s been good, not great for North Carolina, which creates a dilemma for Andonovski. If the incumbent No. 1 is struggling with club form and the challenger is on fire, it might make sense to make a change. Right now, that decision is not so obvious.
Adrianna Franch: The true test of ‘form matters’?
If club form matters in this roster selection, what does that mean for a player not consistently starting on a week-to-week basis in the NWSL?
Adrianna Franch has been in and out of the starting goalkeeper role for the Kansas City Current this season, ebbing and flowing as the team has gone through significant turbulence, from the abrupt ousting of Matt Potter as head coach to a laundry list of injuries that helped contribute to poor defending in front of the goalkeeper. Franch has rotated with Cassie Miller, with the latter emerging as the option for Kansas City lately, including in the 1-0 victory over the North Carolina Courage on Saturday.
Franch has not played a competitive match in over three weeks. She conceded 14 goals in five games this season in all competitions, all of which were losses. Kansas City’s defending has been woeful at times, but Franch played a direct role in some of those goals — some unlucky, some self-inflicted. She’s been credited with two own goals this year thanks to some harsh bounces. Her last start — a 3-2 loss to Racing Louisville in the Challenge Cup — featured a costly mistake in which Franch mi**** a goal kick right to the opponent, and Savannah DeMelo scored seconds after a would-be goal had been called back.
.@Savannah_DeMelo scoring so fast that admin can't keep up. pic.twitter.com/gW5IVgUVV4
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) May 18, 2023
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) May 18, 2023
In short, Franch has not been in form and the numbers are not good. What she has going for her is something that runs against the idea of form dictating selections in a vacuum. Ironically, given Andonovski’s comments about the Olympics, Franch is still the leader in the experience department behind Naeher.
Franch was the No. 3 goalkeeper for the U.S. at the 2019 World Cup. She stepped in for an injured Naeher in the Olympic semifinal in 2021, then was in net for the bronze-medal match that the U.S. won (albeit in a 4-3 nailbiter).
Reality is this: the No. 3 goalkeeper almost never plays at the World Cup. That is true for all teams, but especially the U.S. Only the starting goalkeeper played the entirety of the past three World Cups for the U.S. The last time the backup goalkeeper for the U.S. played at a World Cup was the controversial 2007 campaign. The U.S. No. 3 has never played (forward Mia Hamm played six minutes in goal at the 1995 World Cup after Briana Scurry was sent off against Denmark).
The role of the No. 3 goalkeeper at a World Cup is two-fold and thankless: Be a darn good teammate, and get peppered with shots at training to make sure the attacking players get what they need. That’s the reality. Franch has been in the role before and she is well liked by teammates. She isn’t in form right now, but at her best (which we saw in 2022), she’s an exceptional shot-stopper.
Aubrey Kingsbury: In form but inexperienced
First, the irony: Kingsbury might end up being the first goalkeeper cut and she is in the best form among the four players in consideration.
Kingsbury leads the league in save percentage, per FBRef, and is a close second in goals against average, with nine goals conceded in 10 regular-season games.
At the international level, Kingsbury only has one cap to her name, a shutout (and blowout) against Uzbekistan in early 2022. She has been in and around the team in training camp as the No. 3, including at the Concacaf W Championship. That tournament isn’t at the level of a World Cup or Olympics, which Franch has been to, but it could be enough experience in the role in Andonovski’s eyes (and the eyes of goalkeeper coach Philip Poole, who plays a large role in this decision) to feel that Kingsbury can handle the grind of the No. 3 role.
Whether it’s Franch or Kingsbury as the No. 3 is one of the bubble questions to watch. What happens will obviously mean a lot to each player personally. What it means on the field will develop in training sessions behind closed doors.
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