Part of the World Cup viewing experience for many Americans is rooting for more than one team: the U.S. women’s national team and the country they or their parents may have immigrated from. The same concept can be seen among the players in the tournament.
The diaspora of multiple countries is prevalent across the United States. At the international level, playing for the U.S. isn’t always the first choice or, in other situations, even an option.
This year, the Women’s World Cup expanded to 32 teams, increasing the chances of Americans playing for nations that aren’t the U.S. — in fact, 54 players in this year’s competition were born in the U.S. and represented another country that makes up their identity.
Casey Phair (left) is the youngest player to appear in a World Cup. Photo by Bradley Kanaris, Getty Images.
Casey Phair became the youngest player at a World Cup when she took the field for South Korea — she’s also currently enrolled at The Pingry School in New Jersey. The Philippines are by far the team with the most American-born players, with 18 of the 23 players playing for the country. Jamaica, who made the knockout round in its second-ever World Cup, also has double-digit U.S.-born players. With the Reggae Girlz elimination Tuesday, there are only three American-born players left in the competition.
Only two teams featuring American-born players. The expectation is that those players won’t see much of the field during the next round of the knockout stages, due to their place in the overall roster for their country. Here’s a look at the American-born players who took part in the World Cup as members of teams other than the USWNT.
Colombia
- Angela Baron – Keller, Texas
- Elexa Bahr – Buford, Georgia
The last team with American-born representation, Colombia booked its ticket to the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup for the first time in team history. Neither Baron nor Bahr have featured for Colombia in this tournament. They aren’t considered in contention for starting spots or as players who can come on and change the game for Colombia due to Baron being superseded by Daniela Arias, Monica Ramos and Jorelyn Carabalí in defense, while Linda Caicedo, Lady Andrade and Mayra Ramirez keep Bahr on the bench up top. They may only see minutes at the tournament if an injury happens to those above them in the depth chart, even with Colombia advancing to the quarter-finals.
The Netherlands
- Damaris Egurrola – Orlando, Florida
Highly sought-after by the U.S., Spain and the Netherlands, Egurrola decided to play for the Dutch and has seen minutes at the World Cup as a substitute in all of the Netherlands’ games so far. She has Jill Roord, Jackie Groenen and Danielle van de Donk in front of her in the midfield depth chart, but many view Egurrola as a player set to star soon for the Netherlands. They are still at the World Cup, so chances are Egurrola will continue to feature as a substitute for as long as the Dutch are in the tournament.
Despite their journeys ending before the quarter-finals, some of the other players on this long list managed to make their mark in a significant way for their country.
Argentina
- Sophia Braun – Beaverton, Oregon
Braun made her debut at the World Cup in a defeat against Italy at right-back. Despite the loss, she showed glimpses of quality which were amplified by her goal in Argentina’s draw against South Africa. Braun is also capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, which she showed in the game against Sweden. Argentina didn’t make it out of the group stages, but Braun was a highlight for the team.
Sophia Braun absolutely hammers it home from DISTANCE ???????????? pic.twitter.com/66VdX0GNnH
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 28, 2023
Canada
- Simi Awujo – Atlanta, Georgia
At 19 years old, the Atlanta native did not make an appearance at the World Cup. With midfielders like Jessie Fleming, Quinn, Sophie Schmidt and Julia Grosso ahead of her, Awujo will have to look to the future for minutes with Canada. The tournament did provide an opportunity for Awujo to gain valuable experience, even with the team going out in the group stage.
Haiti
- Chelsea Surpris – Crowley, Texas
- Danielle Etienne – Richmond, Virginia
- Lara Larco – Boca Raton, Florida
- Milan Pierre-Jerome – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Noa Ganthier – Boca Raton, Florida
Surpris (right-back) and Etienne (midfielder), from Texas and Virginia respectively, were the only American-born players to feature for Haiti at the World Cup. Surpris started for Haiti in their final group match having been kept as a substitute in the other games, while Etienne only saw time as a substitute as she came on in the 81st minute against China. With Haiti now out of the World Cup, no other American-born player featured for Haiti at the tournament.
Ireland
- Chloe Mustaki – Lima, Ohio
- Courtney Brosnan – Millburn, New Jersey
- Kyra Carusa – San Diego, California
- Marissa Sheva – Sellersville, Pennsylvania
- Sinead Farrelly – Havertown, Pennsylvania
Brosnan, Carusa and Farrelly have established themselves as starters for the Republic of Ireland at goalkeeper, striker and midfielder. Unfortunately for them, Sheva and Mustaki, Ireland’s World Cup dreams were over after the group stage and the loss to Canada. Throughout the tournament, Brosnan and Farrelly were standouts for Ireland and, while Carusa didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet, she was a vital hold-up player for the attacks.
Jamaica
- Allyson Swaby – Hartford, Connecticut
- Chantelle Swaby – West Hartford, Connecticut
- Cheyna Matthews – Lynn, Massachusetts
- Havana Solaun – Gainesville, Florida
- Kameron Simmonds – Midlothian, Virginia
- Kayla McKenna – Skokie, Illinois
- Kiki Van Zanten – Buffalo Grove, Illinois
- Liya Brooks – Eugene, Oregon
- Peyton McNamara – Norwalk, Connecticut
- Solai Washington – Brookhaven, Georgia
- Sydney Schneider – Dayton, New Jersey
- Tiernny Wiltshire – Elmer, New Jersey
Almost all of the Jamaican players listed here would be considered key members of the team, but the Swaby sisters are its heartbeat. With dominant defensive displays in the draw against France in their opening game at the World Cup and a win against Panama, Jamaica made a massive statement. After a brilliant defensive display by the Swaby sisters, Jamaica made it to the round of 16 for the first time in its history. On top of that, Allyson Swaby can add a goal to her World Cup resume, a 65th-minute winner against Panama, and the goal that ultimately sent them through to the knockout stages.
THERE IT IS!
Jamaica scores its first goal of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup ???????? pic.twitter.com/QsEtTWaz3M
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 29, 2023
The youngest players on the team, Washington and Simmonds are worth noting as well. At 17 and 19 years old respectively, the pair are seen as Jamaica’s future.
Despite their defensive efforts, the Swaby sisters couldn’t stop Colombia from knocking them out of the tournament. They, and the rest of the players listed above, did all they could to push Jamaica further than it has ever been at the World Cup and should be proud of their achievements.
New Zealand
The captain of the co-hosts started off her World Cup campaign with an improbable win against Norway, but the defeat against the Philippines and draw with Switzerland showed Riley and her teammates an early exit. Over 99,000 people combined were in attendance for all three of New Zealand’s games and Ali Riley captained the team throughout. The hosts didn’t make it past the group stages but the fan attendance shows that they captured the support of the nation, and Riley was pivotal throughout those matches.
Nigeria
- Ifeoma Onumonu – Rancho Cucamonga, California
- Michelle Alozie – Apple Valley, California
- Toni Payne – Birmingham, Alabama
- Yewande Balogun – Washington, D.C.
Both Onumonu and Alozie have been standout performers for Nigeria, but it’s Payne who makes the team tick. When she’s on song in that midfield, Nigeria can threaten any team in the world, as shown by their recent performance against Australia. Payne runs that midfield with a dominant and confident air. Nigeria pushed England right to the end, only losing out on penalties. This was a showcase for how far Nigeria has come as a team and the contributions made by Payne and Alozie in particular, helped them on their impressive journey.
Quick reminder that Michelle Alozie can do it all. ???? pic.twitter.com/pFey0awcFf
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) August 7, 2023
Panama
- Carina Baltrip-Reyes – Austin, Texas
- Riley Tanner – Grand Rapids, Michigan
It’s been tough going for Baltrip-Reyes, Tanner and Panama. Baltrip-Reyes started for Panama at this World Cup as a center-back in their 4-0 loss to Brazil, and Tanner came on in the second half as a forward. Baltrip-Reyes also featured in the final game against France and did well enough for her team at right-back. A 6-3 loss isn’t usually something you want to write about for a team but with all that Panama came through to qualify for the World Cup, scoring three goals against a solid French side cannot be discounted. They were in a difficult group with France, Brazil and Jamaica, but can look back at their time in Australia with more hope for the future than disappointment.
Philippines
- Alicia Barker – Woodinville, Washington
- Carleigh Frilles – Fairfax, Virginia
- Chandler McDaniel – Orange, California
- Dominique Randle – Seattle, Washington
- Hali Long – Cape Girardeau, Missouri
- Isabella Flanigan – Fairmont, West Virginia
- Jessika Cowart – Fairfield, California
- Kaiya Jota – Baldwin Park, California
- Katrina Guillou – Washington, D.C.
- Kiara Fontanilla – Fullerton, California
- Malea Cesar – Newport Beach, California
- Olivia McDaniel – Laguna Beach, California
- Quinley Quezada – Rosemead, Califórnia
- Reina Bonta – New Haven Connecticut
- Ryley Bugay – West Lafayette, Indiana
- Sarina Bolden – Santa Clara, California
- Sofia Harrison – Montgomery County, Maryland
- Tahnai Annis – Zanesville, Ohio
The star of this team, and the name many should keep paying attention to in the U.S., is midfielder Bolden. She scored the goal that put the Philippines into the World Cup for the first time in its history and then proceeded to score the goal that won the game against New Zealand. The story for these talented players ended with a heavy defeat against Norway, which saw them exit the World Cup in the group stages.
SARINA BOLDEN WILL NOT BE DENIED FROM CLOSE RANGE ????????
Philippines gets its first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup Goal! pic.twitter.com/RflEAtLbIZ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 25, 2023
“When you go up against quality players like Norway have, it’s a way to gauge how far you as a player have to go to compete with them,” Bolden said after the match.
South Korea
- Casey Phair – Warren Township, New Jersey
It was a tough start to the World Cup for the 16-year-old striker from New Jersey. South Korea lost their opener to Colombia 2-0. Head coach Colin Bell was very careful with his management of Phair, making sure to not ask her to do too much due to her age and development level. Phair was given the start against Germany in South Korea’s final game and almost produced a fairytale moment. Only three minutes in, she was sent through on goal and only a great save by Merle Frohms prevented the Phair from giving South Korea a dream start. South Korea found the back of the net three minutes later and held Germany to a draw, sending one of the tournament favorites out at the group stages.
Switzerland
- Noelle Maritz – Newport Beach, California
Maritz shined in Switzerland’s backline and has helped set up her nation with the easiest path to qualification in Group A. After a solid win against the Philippines, a draw with Norway and a draw against New Zealand, Switzerland qualified for the round of 16. Switzerland tried to keep its steady defensive shape against Spain in the round of 16 but couldn’t stop the team who managed to find enough quality to knock out the Swiss. Maritz again was a steady presence, but it wasn’t enough to stop them leaving the tournament early.
(Photo: Elsa/Getty Images)
