USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announces retirement from international soccer
U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announced Monday her retirement from international soccer ahead of the team’s two European friendlies against England and the Netherlands. She said the European competitions will be her last.
A 2019 World Cup winner and gold medalist at the Paris Olympics this summer, she will continue to play for the Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL. She re-signed with Chicago in September to play the 2025 season, which will be her 10th season with the club.
For the USWNT, however, this is the end of a great goaltending era. Naeher’s career ranks comfortably in the top three behind fellow World Cup winners Briana Scurry and Hope Solo.
“Every tear in the challenging times and disappointments made every smile and celebration in the moments of success that much more joyful,” Naeher wrote in her social media announcement Monday. “This was a special team to be a part of and I am beyond proud of what we accomplished both on and off the field.”
Naeher made her debut a decade ago in December 2014, and after stints as primary backup goalkeeper for the 2015 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, she took over as number one. 1 spot after leaving the quarter finals. Ahead of what could be her two final games for the United States, she has a record of 88 wins, 14 draws and just six losses in 113 appearances.
“It has been the greatest honor to be a part of the USWNT for the past fifteen years,” she wrote. “When I started this journey, I could never have imagined where it would take me.”
She earned her 100th cap at the W Gold Cup earlier this year, cementing her status as someone who could not only save but also convert penalties. In the W Gold Cup semi-final against Canada, she buried her attempt from the spot, but also saved three of Canada’s attempts, making her the only USWNT goalkeeper to make three saves in a PK shootout. She would repeat the same double later that spring, against Canada, at the SheBelieves Cup.
At the Olympics this summer, she again went above and beyond to help the USWNT to their gold medal victory, including a poster-worthy save against Brazil in the closing moments of the Gold Cup match at the Parc des Princes. Off the field, she bonded with the forward line of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mal Swanson (aka “Triple Espresso”) who pulled her out of her shell.
GO DEEPER
USWNT on goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher: ‘We’re making her a little mushier’
“We make her a little mushy, which I like,” Rodman said in France. “We’re opening up a side that I think has always been there, but is kind of hidden.”
(Top photo: Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
