USWNT roster: Naomi Girma returns to the squad and NWSL veteran Lo'eau LaBonta gets first call up

U.S. national team head coach Emma Hayes is still creating new opportunities for players. The manager has named a 24-player roster for the upcoming games against China and Jamaica, and there are new faces expected in training camp as the coaching staff continues to utilize the build-up to the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup for player pool evaluations.

The USWNT will kick off their international window against China on May 31 and then will face Jamaica on June 3 to close out the two-game series.

Familiar names around the NWSL will get a chance to make their senior national team debut. Orlando Pride defender Kerry Abello and Kansas City Current midfielder Lo'eau LaBonta each earned their first USWNT call-up and are the 22nd and 23rd first-time call-ups under Hayes.

"She's deserving of the call-up. She's been consistent in everything that she has done," Hayes said during a press conference on Tuesday. "She's a super player and someone who, like I said, is deserving [of] that and this is the right moment to do it."

Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey is back with the national team with a chance to make her first start in goal. She joined the squad for January camps, though no games were attached to the event. Hayes has been transparent about rotation at the goalkeeping position, and Phallon Tullis-Joyce earned her first start in goal just last camp.

"The data don't lie -- Claudia Dickey's probably the best performing goalkeeper in the NWSL this season. I've seen a different level in her game this year," Hayes said. "I spoke a lot with [Seattle Reign head coach] Laura Harvey about her and the things that she's pushing her on, the things that we're both looking to see from here and yes, could've maybe gone with the 23s and that would have been another step but I felt her form and the quality's she demonstrated, she's tracking in the right direction and I think she's someone who, again, deserves to be in this position."

LaBonta is a long-time NWSL veteran, and the 32-year-old is also an analyst with CBS Sports, Attacking Third podcast. Abello is coming off a stellar 2024 campaign with Orlando, where they won both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. LaBonta's Kansas City is currently in first place in the league, while Abello's Pride are in third place.

Defender Naomi Girma returns to USWNT camps after recovering from a calf injury. The 2024 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year has yet to make an appearance for the national team this year as she managed the strain, but is back after five games with Chelsea FC this season.

Forward Lynn Biyendolo is also back in the mix after missing out on the April friendlies against Brazil with a lower leg injury, but has worked back into fitness and starting games for Seattle Reign FC. Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie returns to the roster for the first time in over a year. The 19-year-old last featured with the team during the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.

Several players are back on the roster who featured in April against Brazil, including seven athletes who play club soccer in Europe. NWSL is still the most represented with 10 of the league's 14 clubs across the roster.

Sisters Alyssa Thompson and Gisele Thompson return, and the coaching staff has shifted younger sibling Gisele among the forwards to evaluate her as a winger. Following the games against China and Jamaica, the group will face Ireland at the end of June.

USWNT May/June roster

Listed by: club; caps/goalsGoalkeepers (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 0), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 3), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 1)

Defenders (8): Kerry Abello (Orlando Pride; 0/0), Crystal Dunn (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; 159/25), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 66/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG; 44/2), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 5/0), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 2/0), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 3/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 107/2)

Midfielders (6): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 33/1), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 165/37), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; 2/0), Lo'eau LaBonta (Kansas City Current; 0/0), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 5/2), Lily Yohannes (Ajax, NED; 6/1)

Forwards (7): Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle Reign FC; 78/22), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 4/1), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 23/10), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville; 4/1), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals; 7/2), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 17/1), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 3/0)

"We have to get that balance right"

Hayes continues to use the post-2024 Olympics period to expand the USWNT's player pool to address the obvious need of recruiting and preparing rising talents for the 2027 Women's World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. The goalkeeper pool is a stark reminder that the U.S. lack experience in that area -- none of the players that will take part in this camp have more than three caps, while only one active player who has been in the mix over the last year has more than 10 caps.

"I've inherited that challenge," Hayes said. "I didn't make that challenge, so you've had a goalkeeper in Alyssa Naeher that played a lot of minutes and no one else played a lot of minutes so you can't cut a corner on that stuff. Unfortunately, it will take a little bit of time. ... What I don't want to do is develop a goalkeeper for '27 and then we're in exactly the same position again. I want to ensure that from to '27 to '28 to '31 that we get the development pathways right for goalkeepers so that it is a lot more seamless than it is for me."

Hayes hopes to have a clearer picture on who her top goalkeepers are by early July, with five games scheduled in between now and then. Her approach to giving players experience is varied, though, and includes an increased utilization of the U-23 team to provide opportunities. The youth team will travel to Germany for games during the upcoming international window, with the roster announcement coming on Wednesday. Hayes, though, did mention three high-profile players would make that trip -- Jaedyn Shaw, Korbin Albert and Mia Fishel, the latter of whom recently returned from an ACL injury.

"Yes, [Fishel] could come in and sit on the bench for us, but it's much better for her to go and play in Germany and get the experiences so that these players are tracking to compete in the place that we want them to come 2027," Hayes said. "I think the trip to Germany for her, plus Jaedyn, plus Korbin will be, again, another step in their development."

Hayes' era of experimentation has also coincided with a period in which several members of the 2024 Olympics gold-medal winning team have been unavailable for a variety of reasons. The list includes Trinity Rodman, who began consulting a doctor in London last month to work on a longstanding back issue.

"She's doing really well. We speak regularly. It's certainly been a multidisciplinary approach to supporting Trin," Hayes said. "I think with regards to the issue in her back, she wants to get to a place where it doesn't keep coming back so I think these are the right steps for her and I've definitely seen a lot of progress this week but unfortunately like anything, you can't put a timeframe on it."