Who Is The US Women's Team Goalie At The 2019 World Cup? Meet Alyssa Naeher, Hope Solo's Replacement

The U.S women’s national soccer team is widely thought to be the best in 2019 World Cup, in large part because of a roster filled with championship experience. Nine of the 14 players that took the field during Team USA’s 2015 World Cup title run are back and looking to repeat.

Carli Lloyd has returned after winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player four years ago. Alex Morgan is the face of the team and competing in her third World Cup. Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath are also set to make their third World Cup appearances and rank among the best players in the world.

Hope Solo is one of the most recognizable players in U.S. soccer history, having won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper in 2015. She won’t be the team’s starting goalkeeper for the first time since the 2003 World Cup, leaving her replacement with large shoes to fill.

Alyssa Naeher is charged with the task of taking over for Solo. She will be in net Tuesday when the U.S. has their first match of the World Cup, ready to prove that she has what it takes to help lead the team to another championship.

Naeher isn’t some new member of Team USA that knows nothing about being on a World Cup contender. The goalie is 31 years and old and was part of the 2015 team that won the championship.

But it was Solo that was on the field for the entirety of the team’s run. Now, all eyes will be on Naeher, who seems unconcerned with the comparisons to her predecessor.

“I can only control me, be the best version of myself, making sure I’m a good teammate,” Naeher said a few weeks ago during a media event, via The New York Daily News. “I try to get better each day. The biggest thing is learning and never stop learning. Every goalkeeper brings her own personality to the job.”

Naeher was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She attended Penn State and has since put together a resume that would seem fitting of the top goaltender in the country.

In 2008, Naeher led the U.S. to the Under-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup title and was named the tournament’s best goalkeeper. She won the 2014 Goalkeeper of the Year award in the National Women’s Soccer League. In the following year, she tied the NWSL record with 205 saves.

Naeher was also part of the 2016 U.S. Olympic team that failed to win a medal. She watched from the sidelines in every match.

How will Naeher respond with the spotlight on her?

“She’s a terrific goalkeeper, and probably top-10 in the world. But it’s her first major tournament. All eyes will be on her,” FOX broadcaster J.P. Dellacamera told USA Today in February.

“I think Solo always gave the team an advantage physically,” Dellacamera said. “Opponents knew it’s going to be tough to beat Hope Solo on that day. Good as Alyssa Naeher is, until she gets that experience, gets those reps, gets that confidence, she won’t have that.”

Solo’s time with the U.S. national team came to an end shortly after the 2016 Olympic Games. She was suspended for six months after making controversial comments about Sweden, who defeated the U.S. in the quarterfinals, though the punishment was thought to be the result of multiple incidents over the years.

After the last World Cup, Solo transcended women’s soccer and became one of the most famous athletes in the United States. Naeher was—and still is—a relative unknown among sports fans.

That could change over the next month if the U.S. reaches expectations in France.

“What I’ve seen, probably within the last few months, is just this, for lack of a better term, badassery, where she’s just owning it now,” Team USA defender Becky Sauerbrunn told The New York Times. “She knows that she’s the No. 1, and she knows how good she is, because we’ve been telling her how good she’s been and how good she is.”

Naeher was in net for the team’s last match, leading the way in a 3-0 win over Mexico on May 26. It marked her second straight shutout.

The U.S. enters the World Cup with nine consecutive matches without a loss.