Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan Left off USWNT Roster for SheBelieves Cup

As the United States women's national team looks toward the future, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan won't be on the squad for the SheBelieves Cup. 

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski named Sophia Smith and Ashley Sanchez to the roster for the upcoming tournament: 

Trinity Rodman, the 19-year-old who signed the richest contract in National Women's Soccer League history (four years, $1.1 million) with the Washington Spirit, also isn't on the roster. 

The decision to not include Rapinoe and Morgan doesn't come as a total surprise. 

Andonovski didn't include Rapinoe, Morgan, Christen Press and Tobin Heath on the team's camp roster last month because they have long established their credentials. 

Speaking to Jeff Kassouf of The Equalizer in November, Andonovski explained he wanted to use the run up to the 2023 World Cup qualifiers as a way to find the next wave of stars who can lead the American squad. 

"In the next chapter up until the qualifiers, the main goal is to identify the players that we believe will help us in the qualifiers, first and foremost, and then will hopefully help us in the World Cup," he said. 

More than half of the 22-woman roster who played in two friendlies against Australia in November weren't on the Olympic squad that won the bronze medal in Tokyo over the summer. 

Carli Lloyd, who had been on the U.S. team since 2005, announced her retirement from national competition after the Olympics. Rapinoe said after the United States' bronze-medal win at the 2020 Games she is considering retirement, but has yet to make a final decision.

Per ESPN's Caitlin Murray, 11 players on the SheBelieves Cup roster have 25 or fewer caps in their careers. 

Murray noted that Rodman is with the team as a training player leading up to the start of the SheBelieves Cup. 

This will mark the seventh year of the SheBelieves Cup. Team USA has won this tournament in four of the past six years, including back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021. 

The 2022 SheBelieves Cup will run from Feb. 17-23. The United States will be competing in the round-robin tournament against Iceland, New Zealand and the Czech Republic.