USA vs. Iceland: Starting XI and lineup notes

USWNT vs Iceland
Date: October 24, 2024
Venue: Q2 Stadium; Austin, Texas
Transmitted: TBS, Universo, Max, Peacock
Official kick-off time: 6:37 p.m. CT / 7:37 p.m. ET

Starting XI against Iceland: 1-Alyssa Naher; 4-Naomi Girma, 5-Jenna Nighswonger, 6-Lynn Williams, 7-Alyssa Thompson, 9-Mallory Swanson, 10-Lindsey Horan (Capt.), 14-Emily Sonnett, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Sam Coffey, 23 -Emily Fox

Available subs: 2-Ashley Sanchez, 3-Korbin Albert, 8-Hailie Mace, 11-Sophia Smith, 12-Emily Sams, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 15-Jaedyn Shaw, 18-Casey Murphy, 19-Hal Hershfelt, 20-Casey Krueger, 24-Yazmeen Ryan, 26-Emma Sears

Not attractive: Jane Campbell, Eva Gaetino, Alyssa Malonson

GAME NOTES| FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this game): Horan (157), Naeher (113), Lavelle (107), Swanson (101), Sonnett (100), Williams (72), Fox (58), Smith (56), Girma (41), Coffey (25), Nighswonger (16), Thompson (10)
• Tonight's starting lineup features 10 players from the 2024 Olympic squad, with forward Alyssa Thompson the only non-Olympian in the XI. Six of the 11 starters – Alyssa Naeher, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Sam Coffey, Lindsey Horan and Mallory Swanson – started in the Olympic gold medal game against Brazil, while Emily Sonnett and Lynn Williams both came off the bench in the second half.
• The starting lineup averages 72 caps per player and is 27.8 years old.
• With your start tonight, defender Emily Sonnet earns her 100th cap for the USWNT, becoming the 45th player in USWNT history to earn 100 caps and the fourth player, joining Naeher, Lavelle and Swanson, to reach the century mark this year. Sonnett debuted for the USWNT nearly nine years ago, on October 25, 2015, in Orlando, Florida, and played in all six games of the 2024 Olympics, including the group stage final against Australia and the quarterfinal victory over Japan. A two-time Olympian, Sonnett is one of five players on this squad to have won both Olympic gold and a World Championship. Horan, Lavelle, Naher and Swanson are the others.
• After becoming only the fourth player to lead the USWNT in an Olympic gold medal game, Lindsey Horan will be the team's captain when she makes her 18th start in 2024. Horan, who scored a goal in the USA's last game in Austin in April 2023, was one of eight players to start all six games at the 2024 Paris Olympics and also managed two assists in the USA's opening win against Zambia.
• After becoming the first goalkeeper to record a shutout in a Women's World Cup final and an Olympic gold medal game, Alyssa Naher returns to the field for her 113th cap for the USWNT. Naheer has nine shutouts in 15 appearances for the USA this year, making her the most shutouts in a calendar year in her international career. Naher had four shutouts at the Paris Olympics, highlighted by three consecutive goals conceded in the knockout rounds.
• Naomi Girma will earn her 41st cap for the USWNT after a standout performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she played every minute of all six games. Girma has now played every minute of the last 10 games for the USWNT at the World Cup and Olympics – the only outfield player to do so – and has led the U.S. defense to seven goals in that time.
• With only ten international matches on the way to the Olympic Games, Jenna Nighswonger will make her 16th international appearance and ninth career start. Nighswonger competed in a World Cup at any level for U.S. Soccer for the first time, appearing in five games in Paris. She came on as a substitute in every game except the gold game.
• Lynn Williams will make her third start in 2024 as she reaches her 72nd cap overall for the USWNT. A two-time Olympian, Williams played in all six games of the 2024 Paris World Cup and scored her fourth touchdown in the July 28 group stage win over Germany.
• Alyssa Thompson will make her third career start as she makes her first appearance for the USWNT in over 10 months. Thompson, who will be making her 10th cap, last played for the USA in their year-ending win over China PR on December 5, 2023 in Frisco, Texas, and made her last two appearances leading up to the 2023 Women's World Cup, starting against Ireland (April 2023). and Wales (July 2023). The 19-year-old Thompson is the youngest player in the starting lineup tonight and one of three teenagers in this squad alongside Olivia Moultrie (19) and Jaedyn Shaw (19).
• After scoring the gold medal goal in her 100th international match in Paris, Mallory Swanson returns for her 11th start and 13th overall appearance in 2024. Swanson led the United States at the Olympics with four goals and also provided two assists, directly contributing to six of the United States' 12 goals scored. Swanson is the top scorer in this squad with 38 international goals, two of which came in the USA's last meeting with Iceland in February 2022.
• Rose Lavelle will earn her 107th cap as she makes her 15th appearance and 10th start for the USWNT this year. Lavelle started all five appearances at the 2024 Olympics, missing only the gold medal game. She has three assists for the USA this year – fourth on the team – and enters camp in outstanding form for NJ/NY Gotham FC, where she scored seven goals in the regular season, the most of her career.
• After playing a key role in the midfield in the USA's gold medal win, Sam Coffey will make her 16th start and 18th appearance of the year for the USWNT. The 2024 Olympics was Coffey's first ever World Cup, she started five games and only missed the quarter-final against Japan due to the accumulation of yellow cards. She ranks fifth on the team in total minutes played this year and logged a career-high 1,293 minutes played.
• Emily Fox performed exceptionally well in her first Olympics, starting in all six games and playing more minutes (572) than any other USWNT field player except Naomi Girma. Fox, making her 19th appearance as team leader this year, ranks third on the team with a total of 1,383 minutes of action in 2024, surpassing the 1,000-minute mark for the second year in a row.