US puts Olympic women's title defence in hands of rookies

By David Gold

May 28 – Reigning Olympic champions the United States has named its women’s team for London 2012, with a relatively inexperienced selection from coach Pia Sundhage.

Six of the team are newcomers to the Olympics, including Sydney Leroux (pictured top, far right), a prolific forward who has seven goals in nine international appearances.

Alex Morgan will vie with Leroux for a spot up front while Kelley O’Hara, Amy LePeilbet and Becky Sauerbrunn were chosen for their first Olympics in defence.

Megan Rapinoe (pictured below, in white) was picked in midfield for the first time, in a squad whose average age is just 25, if 36-year-old captain Christie Rampone is taken out of the equation.

There are some more familiar faces, however, such as the country’s top goalscorer, Abby Wambach, an Olympic gold medallist.

Goalkeeper Hope Solo, who boasts more than 100 caps for the national team, is another gold medal winner hoping to help the US to a third successive Olympic title.

“The team is a mix of very experienced players and several new fresh faces,” said Sundhage.

“All the players are versatile, which is extremely important when you have just 16 field players on a roster.”

The US will face a particularly tough test if they are to retain their title with Japan having beaten them in the World Cup final last year and looking strong while Brazil are expected to be a major threat.

However, history is on the Americans’ side with the US having reached the final of every Olympic Games since the women’s tournament began at Atlanta 1996.

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