Washington (AFP) – Alyssa Naeher, the only women’s goalkeeper with shutouts in a World Cup and Olympic final, announced her retirement from international football on Monday after two final United States team matches. The 36-year-old netminder is with the US squad training in London for matches on Saturday against England and in the Netherlands on December 3.
Naeher was on two World Cup champion squads, in reserve to Hope Solo on the 2015 US squad and playing every minute of the US 2019 World Cup title run, and backstopped the US women to gold at this year’s Paris Olympics. Naeher blanked the Netherlands 2-0 in the 2019 FIFA World Cup final in France and defeated Brazil 1-0 in this year’s gold medal match at Paris.
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“Having the opportunity to be a part of the USWNT for the past 15 years has been the greatest honor,” said Naeher. “When I began this journey, I never could have imagined where it would take me, and now I find myself so grateful for all the incredible teammates that I have shared the field with, teammates that have turned into lifelong friends. This has been a special team to be a part of and I am beyond proud of what we have achieved both on and off the field. The memories I have made over the years will last me a lifetime.”
Naeher, whose first US cap came in a 7-0 win over Argentina in Brazil in 2014, has a US career record of 88-6 with 14 drawn and a 0.50 goals-against average. Naeher had 12 clean sheets with 12 goals allowed in 22 Olympic and Women’s World Cup matches. She will continue to play for the National Women’s Soccer League’s Chicago Stars in the 2025 campaign.
Naeher was the NWSL 2014 Goalkeeper of the Year for Boston before being traded to Chicago in 2015, and she is the NWSL all-time leader in saves and appearances by a goalkeeper.
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