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Twice world champions Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn were
joined by an array of young talent in the American squad named
on Thursday, with the team due to face England on Oct. 7 and
Spain in Pamplona on Oct. 11.
England are on a high after winning this year's European
Championship and completed a flawless World Cup qualifying
campaign this month.
"We wanted to go through adversity and figure out a way to
overcome it. And what better way to do that than playing in
front of a full stadium away, 90,000 people, against England and
Spain later on," Andonovski told reporters on Thursday.
It will be the first time the American women have played at
Wembley since Rapinoe and Sauerbrunn helped the Stars and
Stripes to their fourth Olympic gold medal in 2012.
"They know what it takes to win big games and play environments
like this and be successful," said Andonovski.
"But then we have the next generation... the younger ones that
have to experience this, which I believe is going to be the
closest that we can get to playing in the actual World Cup
game."
They include 17-year-old high school senior Alyssa Thompson, the
youngest to get a call-up in some five years, and 20-year-old
Trinity Rodman, who earned NWSL Rookie of the Year and U.S.
Soccer Young Female Player of the Year honours in 2021.
Veteran Alex Morgan was ruled out with a knee injury.
It is expected to be the second-largest crowd the U.S. women
have ever played for, behind the 1999 World Cup final in
Pasadena, California which drew over 90,000 fans.
"Looking forward... to show what women's soccer means around the
world, because this is the next stage in the evolution of the
game, the support of the game," said Andonovski.
Andonovski played down the controversy surrounding the Spain
team after the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said last week
that 15 members of the squad had threatened to quit if head
coach Jorge Vilda was not fired. The players later denied asking
for Vilda to be sacked.
"We're preparing for the best that Spain can put out there,"
Andonovski said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York)
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