How Vicky Jepson Selected the Roster for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
U.S. U-20 head coach set to bring eight professionals, 13 collegiate players to Poland for 12th edition of the tournament
Since U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team head coach Vicky Jepson joined U.S. Soccer in May of 2025, her focus has been on two objectives: bridging the gap for her players to move to the U.S. Women's National Team and preparing her team to compete in a World Cup.
Both of those objectives were in the forefront of her mind as she went through the process to select the 21-player roster for the upcoming 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland. The USA will open the tournament on Sunday, Sept. 6 against Italy before facing Japan (Sept. 9) and New Zealand (Sept. 12) to finish the group stage.
“We're really happy with the squad that we've assembled,” Jepson told media on Wednesday. “These players that are going to the World Cup in a week's time are so excited to represent the crest, and I know that they have what it takes to give a good showcase and represent this country to the best of their ability to make everybody proud back home.”
The roster, which consists of eight National Women’s Soccer League players and 13 college players, was narrowed down from a provisional pool of 55 players, part of an even larger group that Jepson and her staff had monitored over the last year. Jepson said she spoke with each player within the provisional pool ahead of the roster selection.
“Sometimes those conversations are difficult because I'm having to say, ‘Unfortunately, you've not been selected for this World Cup, but I want to thank you for your hard work in the cycle,’” Jepson said. “There arealso conversations of, ‘Congratulations, you made the 21-player roster to come into the World Cup.' And then there's another conversation of, ‘We would like you to come as a training player with us in pre-camp as an alternate in case there is an injury.’”
From there, Jepson and her staff spoke with the clubs of the professional players to discuss the time frame the player would be away. Since youth tournaments are not a part of FIFA regulations and with the NWSL in mid-season, it was then up to the club to allow the player to leave for international duty.
“We can't force a club to release a player,” Jepson said. “We have to respect that. The only thing that we can do is take on what we can control and make sure that we select a squad of players that are in a good position to go and compete at this World Cup, which is what we have done. That's the great thing about being in the U.S. is the depth of quality across the country at this age group.”
This tournament has shown to be a key steppingstone for players on their way to the senior National Team. Over the last three editions of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, 23 players on the U.S. rosters have gone on to compete for the U.S. Women’s National Team.
That pipeline is one of the reasons USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has been so involved in this World Cup cycle for the U-20s. Hayes and assistant coach Denise Reddy both attended the last U-20 WNT camp in July at the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, and many of the WNT staff are also traveling to Poland to attend the upcoming tournament.
“We're very fortunate that we have a manager of the Women's National Team that is very much invested in our youth talent pathway,” Jepson said. “Every camp I do, I have a list of players that Emma wants to see, and we do high potential reports on those players that are given to the Women's National Team staff, so they're very much aware of the players in this group.”
Two players, goalkeeper Caroline Birkel and forward Emeri Adames, were a part of the U.S. roster at the 2024 edition of this tournament, while eight more played in the 2024 and/or 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cups. Goalkeeper Evan O’Steen of the NWSL’s Seattle Reign FC won the Golden Glove at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup while midfielder Kennedy Fuller of Bay FC earned the Silver Boot. Chicago Stars forward Micayla Johnson and Florida State midfielder Nyanya Touray were both prolific scorers with the U-17s before moving age groups over the past year.
As the team looks to return to the top of the podium after taking bronze in 2024 in Colombia, this roster looks promising not only for this World Cup but for the future as well.
“I think that we have a lot of quality within this squad,” Jepson said, “and I'm really proud of the way that the players have competed in this cycle and earned their spot to represent this crest at the U-20 World Cup.”