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June 21 (UPI) -- Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Trinity Rodman -- the daughter of NBA icon Dennis Rodman -- are among 23 players who will represent the United States at the 2023 World Cup, the team announced Wednesday. The 32-team tournament will be held from July 20 to Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
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"The task of selecting a World Cup Team is never easy, but I'm proud of the players for their work ethic and focus during the process and of our coaching staff for doing the work to put together the best team possible," U.S. manager Vlatko Andonovski said in a news release.
"It's the players that make the biggest impact on our environment. They push each other to be better, and I know as a group they are extremely motivated to make our country proud at the World Cup."
Goalie Alyssa Naeher, defenders Crystal Dunn, Kelley O'Hara and Emily Sonnett, and midfielders Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle will join Rapinoe and Morgan as those on the roster with World Cup experience.
Morgan, Rapinoe and O'Hara will make their fourth World Cup appearances; Ertz and Naeher their third.
Rodman, fellow forwards Lynn Williams, Sophia Smith and Alyssa Thompson, midfielders Savannah DeMelo, Kristie Mewis, Ashley Sanchez and Andi Sullivan, defenders Alana Cook, Emily Fox, Naomi Girma and Sam Huerta, and goalies Aubrey Kingsbury and Casey Murphy will make their World Cup debuts.
Rapinoe, who will turn 38 on July 5, is the oldest player on the roster.
Thompson, 18, is the youngest player on the roster. The Angel City FC forward, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, is one of eight former top picks on the team. That group includes: Dunn (2014), Sonnett (2016), Lavelle (2017), Sullivan (2018), Smith (2020), Fox (2021) and Girma (2022). Rodman was selected No. 2 overall in 2021.
"Every player has a different journey to get to this point so our roster has some amazing stories and we have a really good mix of veterans and younger players," Andonovski said.
The U.S. women are the top team in the FIFA World rankings, followed by No. 2 Germany, No. 3 Sweden, No. 4 England and No. 5 France. They will share Group E with No. 32 Vietnam, No. 21 Portugal and the Netherlands (No. 9) for the first round of games.
The Americans -- who won the last two World Cup titles -- will face Wales in a friendly at 4 p.m. EDT July 9 in San Jose, Calif. They will meet Vietnam in their World Cup opener at 9 p.m. July 21 in Aukland, N.Z.
The 2023 Women's World Cup final will be Aug. 20 at Accor Stadium in Sydney. The tournament will air on Fox.
