She may have returned the USWNT to the top of the global football hierarchy by winning the Olympic gold medal, but Emma Hayes has a significant new task on her hands as the 2024 year comes to a close.
The future of the goalkeeper position for the United States, a position of enormous strength over the decades, now faces uncertainty as 36-year-old legend Alyssa Naeher surprisingly announced her international retirement in late November.
It came as a shock to USWNT fans as Naeher told the world she would hang up her international boots following upcoming friendlies against England and the Netherlands. Naeher's reveal was even more surprising given her NWSL club, the Chicago Red Stars, had just announced days prior that she would remain with the team for 2025 following a one-year extension of her contract.
Now, as the calendar turns over and Emma Hayes looks towards the future, Naeher will add herself to the list of past USWNT greats like Hope Solo and Briana Scurry, while the team searches for the next great between the sticks.
Alyssa Naeher stats, trophies won with USWNT
At 36, Alyssa Naeher retires as a legend of the international game. She made her debut in 2014 and upon her retirement, has logged 113 international caps with the potential for two more against England and the Netherlands.
Naeher is the only goalkeeper in women's soccer history to keep a clean sheet in both the Women's World Cup final and an Olympic gold medal match, winning the World Cup title in 2015 and 2019 and a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics, plus the bronze in 2020.
On an individual level, Naeher won NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014 and CONCACAF Goalkeeper of the Year in 2018. Thus, the former Penn State standout is one of the most decorated goalkeepers in the global game.
We’re gonna miss watching Alyssa Naeher making big saves in clutch moments for the USWNT 🥹🇺🇸
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 25, 2024
Congrats on retirement, Alyssa 🙌 pic.twitter.com/G7qQxWUiiu
“Having the opportunity to be a part of the USWNT for the past 15 years has been the greatest honor,” said Naeher in the official press release. “When I began this journey, I never could have imagined where it would take me, and now I find myself so grateful for all the incredible teammates that I have shared the field with; teammates that have turned into lifelong friends. To all my teammates, coaches and staff, thank you all for pushing me, supporting me, and making me a better person/player every single day. A special thanks goes to my family. You have traveled all over the world and were in my corner every step of the way and I love you all.
“This has been a special team to be a part of and I am beyond proud of what we have achieved both on and off the field. The memories I have made over the years will last me a lifetime. I know one chapter is ending, but I am so excited to continue to see the growth of this team going forward and what more they can accomplish.”
Who will start at goalkeeper for the USWNT after Alyssa Naeher retires?
The Sporting News looks over the top candidates to replace Naeher in goal for the foreseeable future.
Casey Murphy
At 28, Casey Murphy has been the backup to Alyssa Naeher for quite some time now. During Vlatko Andonovski's tenure, the former USWNT head coach made a point to give Murphy time on the pitch, noting publicly on numerous occasions how important it was for Murphy to get time in the national team system should she need to be called upon in a competitive environment.
Yet of her 20 international caps dating back to late 2021, Murphy has only been deployed in six competitive matches, and none at either a World Cup or Olympic games. She saw the field in the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship for three games and has made three other SheBelieves Cup appearances.
A two-time Big 10 Goalkeeper of the Year with Rutgers and a two-time NWSL Challenge Cup winner with the NC Courage, Murphy probably has the inside track to secure the long-term spot for herself. Yet due to her relative international experience and a few talented younger possibilities on the radar, it's by no means a sure thing that Hayes will hand Murphy the job. Not listed on the November roster for the European matches, the USWNT coaching staff could be thinking elsewhere.
Phallon Tullis-Joyce
2024 has been a year of rising stock for 28-year-old Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who before now hadn't been on the USWNT radar.
Then, two things happened to vault the former Miami Hurricane into contention for the long-term starting job with the national team. First, she moved to Manchester United in September of last year to back up Mary Earps. Then, the following summer, Earps departed for PSG.
Now, Tullis-Joyce is the starter for a Women's Super League contender, which lands her squarely in Emma Hayes' sights. She's been fantastic in the job, conceding just three goals in her first eight games, and has earned her first international call-up for Naeher's European swansong in late November. She likely won't see the field with Naeher getting her final show, so can she impress enough in training to warrant future communications from Hayes?
Mandy Haught
The youngest of the likely options for the immediate future, Mandy Haught has risen meteorically like the aforementioned Tullis-Joyce. Winning ACC Goalkeeper of the Year twice at Virginia Tech wasn't enough to vault her into the senior national team conversation with more experienced options available, but winning the NWSL championship last year with NJ/NY Gotham FC seemed to raise enough eyebrows.
After moving to the Utah Royals this season and logging a strong xG differential on an attack-deficient team, which earned her a nomination for NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year (quite the feat for a keeper on a non-playoff team), she has finally been brought into the fold. After being called up for the first time in October and getting her first start in a clean sheet performance against Argentina, she's again been included for Naeher's swansong in Europe.
Jane Campbell
A former four-year starter at a top collegiate program Stanford, Campbell was selected in 2017 by the Houston Dash and has been with the NWSL side ever since, winning the league's Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2023.
She has been part of the senior national team picture since 2013 and won a bronze medal with the squad in 2020, but has only seen the field eight times, largely considered third-choice behind a mix of Alyssa Naeher, Ashlynn Harris, and Casey Murphy. With the Dash struggling to a last-place finish in the 2024 season, Campbell has fallen out of the picture, but could a seismic shift in the depth charge change things up?
Other options
If Emma Hayes is looking for a younger player to mold for a longer-term solution to bring consistency to a position that has long belonged to just a few legendary players, she could turn to some young NWSL stars or even to the collegiate ranks.
Beyond Haught and Campbell, the NWSL is somewhat devoid of American standout goalkeepers (German star Ann-Katrin Berger and England-born Anna Moorhouse were two of the three 2024 Goalkeeper of the Year nominees alongside Haught).
Aubrey Kingsbury is the most obvious candidate, coming up just a game short of the NWSL title this season, but the former Wake Forest star is now 33 and has been behind many of the aforementioned names on the depth chart for years now. Bella Bixby of the Portland Thorns is also 29 without a USWNT senior call-up in her career. Claudia Dickey, still just 24, was a standout at UNC and has been on the fringes of the national team conversation, but her Seattle Reign conceded the most goals in the league this season.
At the collegiate ranks, Mia Justus of Texas is the cousin of former USMNT standout Tim Howard and won a national championship as a backup with Florida State before transferring. She's long been a U.S. youth international and was named to the Mac Hermann Award watch list alongside Emily Puricelli, who has much less recognition at the U.S. youth level but was exceptional for St. Louis this season, logging a .861 save percentage and conceding just 11 goals in 23 games this year, putting her in the conversation for best in the nation.
