Seven OL Reign players expected to be with national teams for upcoming window

It’s going to be a busy international window for OL Reign players, with at least five called in for national team duty and others expected to be named to their teams as well.

Three Reign players were called up by USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski for a pair of upcoming friendlies against Uzbekistan in April. Defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta and midfielder Rose Lavelle are among 26 players named to the roster. All three players were also with the U.S. for their last set of matches, during the SheBelieves Cup in February. This will be the first time the two countries have played one another. Uzbekistan is currently ranked 48th in the world.

“We have four games left before World Cup and Olympic qualifying and it’s up to the players and staff to maximize every minute we get together on the field and in the meeting room,” said Andonovski in a team release. “We have quite a few injuries in our player pool that we are dealing with, but that also means more opportunities for other players and the chance to continue to deepen our roster as we continue to work to find the best combination of players to take to Mexico in July.”

The first match will take place on Saturday, April 9 in Columbus, Ohio at 2:30 PM PT and the second will be played on Tuesday, April 12 at Subaru Park in Chester, PA with broadcast scheduled to begin at 4 PM PT. The complete USWNT roster can be viewed here.

For Canada, head coach Bev Priestman has called in midfielder Quinn as the Women’s National Team Celebration Tour continues following their Olympic gold medal victory. The Canadians will face Nigeria in a pair of games. The first will take place Friday, April 8 at BC Place in Vancouver, and the second match on Monday, April 11 at Langford’s Starlight Stadium on Vancouver Island. The first match will also celebrate Christine Sinclair’s world international goalscoring record in front of a hometown crowd.

Pia Sundhage has named midfielder Angelina to her 23-player Brazil roster for a pair of games against Spain and Hungary. Both matches will be played in Spain, the first on April 7 and the second on April 11. Reign forward Zsani Kajan was not called in by Hungary for their games in this window.

Two additional Reign players are expected to be called in by their respective national teams, but those rosters have not yet been announced as of this story’s publication. Midfielder Jess Fishlock is anticipated to be with Wales for a pair of important UEFA World Cup Qualifiers, at home against France on April 8 and on the road against Kazakhstan on April 12. Jimena Lopez is similarly expected to be called in by Mexico for their Concacaf W Championship qualifiers. They travel to Anguilla for a game on April 9 and will host Puerto Rico at La Bombonera on April 12.

All players are expected to report to camp after this weekend’s NWSL matches. OL Reign have no games during this international window, but they do have a home match against San Diego on April 14.