Women's World Cup Player Ratings: How Every Member of the USWNT Fared in France This Summer

The winning team of one of the toughest World Cups of all time, it's fair to say that this US side are...pretty good? Yeah, they're pretty good. We've seen

The winning team of one of the toughest World Cups of all time, it's fair to say that this US side are...pretty good? Yeah, they're pretty good. 

We've seen stars rise and heroes become legends, they've got winners' medals around their necks...but it doesn't really count until we've given them an individual score out of 10, does it?

Goalkeepers

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Alyssa Naeher: 7 – Possibly this team's most unlikely hero. After their 2-1 win over Spain in the round of 16, I wrote of Naeher: "She's had two things to do in this tournament, and she's screwed them both up."

Then came a good performance against France, and that penalty save against England. As Megan Rapinoe said, Naeher had some very big gloves to fill when she stepped into the number one spot. Maybe now they'll fit a little more comfortably. 

Ashlyn Harris/Adrianna Franch: N/A

Defenders

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Kelley O'Hara: 8 – An absolute warrior, the USWNT's version of a shut-down corner. A shoo-in for the team of the tournament if Lucy Bronze didn't exist, but she'll be happy enough with 'just' the winner's medal.

Becky Sauerbrunn: 7 – Part of 'The Mixup' against Spain, but otherwise calm and collected. The image with the blood running down her face in the final, too? Iconic. 

Abby Dahlkemper: 7 – Barely noticed her all tournament. That's not necessarily a criticism of a centre-back. 

Crystal Dunn: 8 – Here's a suggestion. Let's just go a year from now without saying 'but Crystal Dunn isn't a defender!' Instead, we could say things like 'she might not be a polished defender but she's proven herself to be very effective', 'oh my goodness, Crystal Dunn is so good at football', and 'when Crystal Dunn gets moved up onto the left wing for 2023 and Tierna Davidson takes the left-back spot, that's going to be scary good too'. 

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Ali Krieger: 7 – Didn't play a starring role on the pitch, but was one of Megan Rapinoe's most outspoken allies off of it. "I thought it was really important," she said after White House Video Week, "for me not to make her feel like she has to process this alone. I don't want to stay quiet anymore about things that are important to me."

Tierna Davidson: 7 – Excellent against Chile, with two assists in that match alone. Set-pieces agogo! 

Emily Sonnett: 6 – Most notably, has a squad number (14) which was a wonderful (if unintentional, it turns out) literary reference. 

Midfielders

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Julie Ertz: 7 – An absolute rock at the heart of the American midfield, shielding the defence from most of what was thrown at it. The consummate professional.

Lindsey Horan: 6 – A weird, off, strange tournament for the woman many consider to be the USWNT's most talented midfielder. In and out of the team on the whims of Jill Ellis. A slight reality check?

Rose Lavelle: 9 – So quiet and unassuming off the pitch, and a stone-cold killer on it. Astonishingly technically gifted, an eye for a shot (or several shots, usually from about 20 yards and sometimes ill-advised) and, as Kelley O'Hara said after the final, a knack for making the extraordinary look casual. 

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Sam Mewis: 6 – Strong performances. Like, physically very strong performances, Mewis was an absolute battering ram in the American midfield – just ask Vicky Losada, who had to be substituted with a massively swollen black eye after being knocked over and (accidentally) kneed in the face by the 26-year-old.

Allie Long: 6 – 31 minutes, one yellow card, no other notable contributions. What do you want to hear?

Morgan Brian: 6 – Played the whole game against Chile, basically fine. 

Forwards

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Tobin Heath: 6 – Scary as hell with the ball at her feet! Astonishingly good at making defenders cack themselves! Ended the tournament with no goals and one assist! 

Alex Morgan: 7 – A strange tournament for Morgan, who started with a bang (five goals and three assists against Thailand) only to fade (one goal and no assists in the other six games). Worked tirelessly though, particularly against England when she switched out left on more than one occasion to keep Lucy Bronze contained. 

Megan Rapinoe: 9 – What can I say about America's de facto president that hasn't already been said? She told us on Sunday night that she's 'made for this'. Hard to argue. 

Carli Lloyd: 7 – Scored late against Thailand, that was nice. Rolled back the years to score twice against Chile, that was nicer. On the pitch at the very end of the tournament, after being a utility midfield/forward sub for the month? Nicest. 

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Christen Press: 7 – Called into the starting lineup to replace her side's leader and biggest star, in a World Cup semi-final? No problem, just score ten minutes in and boss the show. Easy work.

Jessica McDonald: 6 – Only played 45 minutes all tournament, but did force a fantastic save from Christiane Endler. 

Mallory Pugh: 7 – For a 21-year-old in her first tournament, surrounded by the players she's surrounded by? Damn.