Provisional USA roster for World Cup qualifying released

Concacaf has released lists of all provisional 35-player rosters from nations competing for a berth at the World Cup. Qualifying will take place from October 4 - 7, with the US playing in Cary, NC in the group stage, and in Frisco, TX should they advance to knockouts. The list of USWNT players is below:

By position:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Adrianna Franch, Alyssa Naeher, Ashlyn Harris, Jane Campbell

DEFENDERS (10): Abby Dahlkemper, Becky Sauerbrunn, Casey Short, Crystal Dunn, Emily Sonnett, Hailie Mace, Jaelene Hinkle, Kelley O’Hara, Merritt Mathias, Tierna Davidson

MIDFIELDERS (11): Allie Long, Andi Sullivan, Danielle Colaprico, Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, McCall Zerboni, Morgan Brian, Rose Lavelle, Samantha Mewis, Savannah McCaskill, Sofia Huerta

FORWARDS (10): Alex Morgan, Amy Rodriguez, Carli Lloyd, Christen Press, Jessica McDonald, Kealia Ohai, Lynn Williams, Mallory Pugh, Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath

There are a lot of interesting names in this list, but the final qualifying roster will have to be cut down to 20, so don’t bet on long shots like Dani Colaprico or Jaelene Hinkle. Regardless of the quality of opposition, Jill Ellis is probably not going to fool around when it comes to qualifying for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. She’ll take a proven roster of known quantities, perhaps with room for one or two moderate surprise players.

Who do you think should make the final 20-player roster? Should Ellis take a core 18 and have two players who are more fringe, like Mace or Colaprico? Or should she not take a single chance when going to the WC is on the line? Let us know in the comments.