U.S. Under-16 Girls’ National Team Will Travel to Türkiye for UEFA Development Tournament Featuring Spain, Denmark and England
U.S. U-16 GNT Head Coach Katie Schoepfer Names 20 Players, All Born in 2010
ATLANTA (Feb. 11, 2026) – U.S. Under-16 Girls’ National Team head coach Katie Schoepfer has named 20 players for a training camp and three matches at the UEFA Development Tournament being held in Antalya, Türkiye from February 16-27.
The USA will play three highly competitive matches, taking on its counterparts from Spain on Feb. 21, Denmark on Feb. 23 and England on Feb. 26. All the games will be played at Emirhan Sports Center Stadium in Antalya, Türkiye.
The 20 players headed to Türkiye form an entirely different roster from the 20 players who traveled to Spain in January where the USA lost to Germany 4-1, tied Germany 3-3 and beat Belgium 4-0.
“We felt it would be an excellent opportunity to get 40 different players three extremely valuable games of international experience while we are in a development year preparing for qualifying for the 2027 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup,” said Schoepfer. “We want to make this pool as deep as possible going into the next World Cup and with the camps so close together, that’s a lot of school to miss. I’m looking forward to taking this group to Türkiye for three great matches.”
There will be no overtime played in the tournament but if any of the matches end in ties after regulation time, the winner will be determined by a penalty kick shootout.
The overall winner of the tournament will be determined on points with three awarded for winning in normal time, zero for losing in normal time, one point for losing in penalty kicks and two points for winning in penalty kicks.
If teams are tied on points at the end of the round-robin competition, the tiebreakers will be as follows: head-to-head result, best goal difference and most goals scored.
All 20 players on the roster were born in 2010, which is the birth cutoff year to be eligible for the 2027 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the tournament that this age group of players will be attempting to qualify for at the 2027 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship this Spring.
The roster is made up of 19 youth club players and forward Stella Spitzer, who is on the books at the Carolina Ascent in the USL Women’s Super League.
The camp is part of the Federation’s continued focus on the U.S. Way philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.
U.S. U-16 GIRLS’ NATIONAL TEAM (Club; Hometown)
International Training Camp – Türkiye
Goalkeepers (2): Molly Gaffney (Real Colorado; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Carmen O'Dea (FC Barcelona; Barcelona, Spain)
Defenders (6): Cali Hejduk (Columbus United SC; Westerville, Ohio), Mercy Karson (Mustang SC; Walnut Creek, Calif.), Kendra Kates (Albion Hurricanes FC; Friendswood, Texas), Madison Kline (St. Louis Scott Gallagher; Edwardsville, Ill.), Addison Staats (Solar SC; Forney, Texas), Lilly Yakel (Portland Thorns Academy; Camas, Wash.)
Midfielders (6): Carly Barnes (Penn Fusion SA; Havertown, Pa.), Mia Sommers (FC Prime; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Avery Walbruch (La Roca FC; Highland, Utah), Brynlie Ward (FC Dallas; Prosper, Texas), Sofia White (Bethesda SC; Kensington, Md.), Hannah Yu (Nationals SC; Troy, Mich.)
Forwards (6): Anaya Bursey (Real Colorado; Broomfield, Colo.), Koi Edwards (Legends FC; Chino Hills, Calif.), Tatum Gardner (Arizona Arsenal SC; Queen Creek, Ariz.), Riley Rountree (Eastside FC; Seattle, Wash.), Stella Spitzer (Carolina Ascent FC; Lewis Center, Ohio), Addison Stout (Mustang SC; Pleasanton, Calif.)