U.S. women's national team boss Vlatko Andonovski says he always planned to bring Megan Rapinoe back into the fold for this camp while adding that Christen Press was never in his plans even before suffering a recent injury.
Rapinoe and Morgan have received their first call-ups since October, with the U.S. going with younger squads in the months since, but Andonovski says the plan was always to bring them back for the summer tournament.
What did Andonovski say about Rapinoe?
"Megan and I had a great conversation after the season last year and she understood the processes that we're going go through and that this team will take," the U.S. head coach said.
"First I have to say that she had a tremendous Olympics, helped us win a medal, and after that she finished the season very well as well. So, within that conversation, she understood that we are going to bring a lot of players in, we are going to test a lot of players, we want to give the young players lots of minutes and opportunity to play and give us a chance to evaluate them as much as possible.
"After everything is said and done, if she's healthy and fit, she will be on the roster because we know what Megan is capable of doing or is able to do. We saw that even [in the few] minutes she got in the last game, how dangerous she can be."
Andonovski went on to say that Rapinoe's importance is more than just on the field, as she can mentor young stars like Mallory Pugh, Sophia Smith, Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman.
"She is very important for this group. Obviously this is a young group and we're bringing in lots of young players. Her experience and going through adversity, going through tough times, her mentality, winning mentality, her knowledge and understanding is very valuable for the group.
"But even more so for players like Mal and Soph and Trinity, for forwards playing in the same position with Megan, I think that she's going to be instrumental to help them go through these games, go through these qualifiers, because at some point, whether it's within the game or in between the games, they're going to need Megan's voice and responsibilities to help them be the best version of themselves."
What did Andonovski say about Press?
When asked about Press, Andonovski revealed that the Angel City attacker wasn't in his plans even before she suffered a knee injury against Louisville over the weekend.
As things stand, he said, she is on the outside looking in and will need to play her way back into what is suddenly a young, crowded attacking picture.
"First thing that she needs to do is get healthy as soon as possible," Andonovski said. "That's the first thing and we're hoping that she will get healthy and ready to perform soon.
The thing with Christen is first she's doing well and I think that she's performing well, but it is not just her now. At this point, it is her competing with the players that are in front of her.
"For Christen to be back on the field is not just to do well or perform well in the club environment. It is also outperforming the players that she's competing against and that would be players like Mallory Pugh and Soph Smith and Alex Morgan and Ashley Hatch, Trinity Rodman.
"It's not easy being a forward in the United States right now. Obviously, it's great, but it's not easy because the competition is getting bigger and bigger."
Shortly after Andonovski's comments, Press confirmed on social media that she has suffered a torn ACL and will be out for some time. "My heart is broken," she wrote.
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