Ashely Hatch’s Absence from the 2023 World Cup Roster

Women’s soccer experienced an upset when Ashely Hatch was not added to the roster for the Women’s 2023 World Cup back in late June. Fans were expecting Hatch to go on to the roster with no issue.

Because of her 19 past games for the USWNT since seven years ago, it would have only been logical for her to go on the World Cup roster this year, especially since 78% of her international gameplays have occurred in the past couple of years. Alas, this was not the case.

Now that the United States endured an upsetting loss against Sweden on Sunday, August 6, is Ashely Hatch’s absence the reason for America’s subpar performance? We will break down the game to find out where America went wrong and how Hatch could have helped.

Football Odds for the Women’s World Cup

Fox Sports reported on July 21st that the top four nations with the best odds for winning the Women’s World Cup trophy this year are America, England, Spain, and Germany. While America may be out of the running for the Women’s World Cup trophy, you can still place bets on upcoming games until the end of the event.

Peruse these great football betting odds so you can make more informed decisions for the bets you place. Of course, while analyzing the odds can be helpful with bet placement, it does not guarantee you will win every time. Despite America being the top contender for possibly winning the Women’s World Cup, note their performance and how quickly they were knocked out of the running after four games into the tournament.

How America Performed In Their Four Games of the Women’s World Cup

Sweden won the game at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne, Australia thanks to five penalty kicks in contrast to America’s four.

Because of America’s loss against Sweden, it is the first time in Women’s World Cup history that they were not able to land in the semifinals. Winning the Women’s World Cup four times in its history, such performance is abnormal for the United States.

The United States came second place in the group stage when they took the win against Vietnam in their first tournament match. Then, they tied against Portugal and the Netherlands.

Throughout these games, some players experienced injuries. It also did not help that Rose Lavelle, one of their best-performing midfielders, got two yellow cards: one in the Netherlands game and the other in Portugal. Hence, she was suspended from the Sweden game.

Hatch’s Career Highlights

So far in 2023, Ashley Hatch (Forward) has participated in 15 games for the NWSL where she has scored eight goals and two assists. In 2022, she played in 18 games for the NWSL and scored nine goals with no assists. She has been with the Washington Spirit team since 2018.

Hatch was an integral player leading the Washington Spirit to earn the league title in 2021, helping them win the Golden Boot for that year. Hence, this was the best year in her football career. Before the 2023 World Cup, Hatch participated in five games for the United States Women’s National Soccer organization where she scored a goal among her collective contributions.

When she played for the BYU Cougars for three years from between 2013 to 2016, Hatch gained 18 assists and scored a whopping 45 goals during the 69 games in which she appeared. After transitioning from college to her professional career, Hatch was awarded the 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year because of her performance scoring seven goals over a period of four seasons. For the draft for that year, she was the second pick overall.

Hatch’s Offensive Skills Could Have Helped the American Team

Because of her past performance, Hatch could have propelled the American team to more victories during the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It’s clear that her offensive skills are on point just by looking at her game stats, which was something that the American team was severely lacking this year.

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