Following a previous win from the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) wants everyone they can get for the upcoming one, and Julie Ertz is one of the key players needed for the midfield. With a main piece of the team missing, the World Cup is becoming even more of a challenge for the United States.

In the most recent Women’s World Cups, the USWNT has been a big contender in every competition, but now they have to overcome a large obstacle. One of the team’s most valued players, Julie Ertz, may not be attending the tournament.

The last time Ertz had played for the United States was around eighteen months ago in the Tokyo Olympics. Only a near eight months later, Ertz would come out and publicly announce that she was pregnant. It has not been determined yet whether or not Ertz is set to return to playing for the national team and head coach Vlatko Andovoski does not want to rush her healing process. Not only has she not played for the national team in a while, she has not been contracted for a professional club since 2021. It is not expected, though, that Ertz returns for the World Cup, as it will not give her enough time to rest from the pregnancy.

This upcoming Women’s World Cup is definitely one to watch as some of the best women’s soccer players in the world are competing to win the entire tournament. I for one cannot wait to see how the USWNT holds up throughout this contest as they miss a key role player like Julie Ertz.