USWNT have eight players representing European teams for what is set to be a thrilling 2024-25 campaign
While the NWSL draws ever closer to its postseason, women’s soccer in Europe is only just starting to get underway for what promises to be a thrilling 2024-25 campaign.
With competitions like the English Women’s Super League, French Premiere Ligue and UEFA Women’s Champions League all kicking off, there is so much action to look forward to – and plenty of United States women’s national team stars to keep tabs on.
While Lindsey Horan, Emily Fox and Korbin Albert might have been the only Europe-based names on Emma Hayes' Olympic roster, which won gold at Paris 2024, there are many more of interest to fans of U.S. women's soccer across the pond – be it veteran midfielder Kristie Mewis or promising teenager Lily Yohannes.
So, what does the season ahead look like for the USWNT stars in Europe? What roles might they play and what are their teams looking to achieve? INDIVISA takes a look.
Getty ImagesEmily Fox (Arsenal)
After signing for the club in January, Emily Fox is entering her first full season as an Arsenal player and will hope to help her team have a big year. The Gunners picked up silverware again last season, winning the League Cup, and secured a Champions League place by finishing third, but will be out for more in 2024-25.
While fans want their team to win trophies and secure a place in the UWCL group stage, they really crave a title race and Fox will play a key role as Arsenal tries to deliver that. A regular starter at right-back, she'll be tasked with keeping wingers like Lauren James and Lauren Hemp quiet as the Gunners try to stay with Chelsea and Manchester City at the top of the WSL table.
Fox has been superb since arriving in north London and, despite competition for her place from the returning Laura Wienroither, should play huge minutes for her club and prove why she also has starting status with the USWNT.
Arsenal has already started its Champions League campaign, defeating Rangers and Rosenborg in the first round of qualifying, but it does have some work to do to reach the group stage of the competition after a 1-0 loss to Hacken on Wednesday. The second leg of that tie will follow on Sept. 26, after it starts its WSL season at home to Man City on Sept. 22.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLindsey Horan (Lyon)
Lindsey Horan earned a Player of the Year nomination and a place in the Team of the Season in the Premiere Ligue last term, such was the quality of her play as Lyon won yet another national title. Retaining that crown will be the absolute minimum expected at the club this season and Horan will be key in those plans.
There has been a big change at Lyon this summer, with outgoing coach Sonia Bompastor replaced by Joe Montemurro. The former Arsenal boss has an expansive style of play which is sure to entertain – but can it deliver big results? OL, an eight-time European champion, is a club with huge ambitions and it will want to taste success across the board. Last season, it lost in the semi-finals of the French Cup and the final of the Champions League. It will want to improve on both results.
What Horan's role looks like in Montemurro's side will be interesting, too. The midfielder no doubt thrives in a more advanced position but hasn't always been given that freedom – that is the case for club and country, even if she is a regular starter for both. We'll find out if that is any different under Montemurro when Lyon gets its season underway on Sept. 20, away at Fleury in the league.
Getty ImagesKorbin Albert (PSG)
After signing for Paris Saint-Germain in January 2023, Korbin Albert continued to make in-roads on the team's best XI in her first full season in 2023-24, earning 21 starts across all competitions as the club finished second in the league, reached the semifinals of the Champions League and, most notably, won the French Cup. It was just PSG's fifth major title on the women's side.
Much has changed since that crowning moment. Head coach Jocelyn Precheur surprisingly departed for London City Lionesses, an English second-tier side owned by the very ambitious Michele Kang; 10 senior players have also left the club, including Premiere Ligue Player of the Season Tabitha Chawinga; and there have been five significant incomings, including England goalkeeper Mary Earps and Netherlands striker Romee Leuchter.
Following so much change, it's hard to know whether the current PSG team – now led by the former Marseille and Nice midfielder Fabrice Abriel – is in a better position to compete with Lyon for the league title. The Parisians have only won it once before, after all, with OL the dominant force in French women's soccer.
It's also hard to know what Albert's role in the team will be. The 20-year-old didn't start either match on a pre-season tour of Australia, though she had only recently joined up with the team after helping the USWNT win Olympic gold. As she bids to secure a starting spot with the national team, getting meaningful minutes and opportunities to show good form at club level will be key.
PSG has already started its Champions League qualifying campaign, suffering a difficult 3-1 defeat to Juventus in Turin, and will kick off its league season on Sept. 21 at Montpellier. The second leg of that UWCL qualifier will follow on Sept. 26, with the winner to reach the group stage.
Getty ImagesEva Gaetino (PSG)
One player who earned a first USWNT call-up thanks to her strong club form last season was Eva Gaetino. The center-back was seriously impressive for PSG after joining at the start of 2024, though it was always going to be tough for her to make Hayes' Olympic roster at such short notice. This season, Gaetino will be hoping to get another call-up and earn that national team debut.
To do that, she'll need to be a regular for her club and the competition in her position has certainly increased, after Paulina Dudek returned from an ACL injury and Griedge Mbock Bathy signed from Lyon, even if Clare Hunt left for Tottenham. New head coach Abriel did play a 3-5-2 system which included all three on PSG's tour of Australia, though he did also deploy a 4-3-3 set-up that didn't include Gaetino from the start in the team's other game Down Under.
In the coming weeks and months, we'll get more of an understanding of how this PSG team is going to look and what Gaetino's role will be as she looks to get into the USWNT picture.
