With only five games remaining before France, the time is now to make an impact

With under 100 days until the World Cup, every moment on the field will be an audition for France.

Now that the SheBelieves Cup is over, the USWNT have just five games remaining before the World Cup. Every minute is important from here on out, and NWSL play will be vital. Head coach Jill Ellis has been trying to stick with a similar lineup and it’s clear she has an ideal starting XI. But the reserve spots are still up for grabs, so here are three players that need to have good starts to their NWSL seasons to sure up their spot for France.

Andi Sullivan

Andi Sullivan didn’t have the best 2018 season with the Washington Spirit. She was left off a number of rosters with the U.S. and it appeared as if she had fallen out of favor with Ellis. At the end of the year, she returned to the roster as the team headed to Europe. But to start 2019, Sullivan was left off the roster, then added late for the first two games of the year. Now Sullivan is coming off the SheBelieves Cup where she didn’t start a game, but was on the bench for all three.

Sullivan’s going to play an important role on her club team this season. She has strong leadership qualities and is one of the leaders on a very young team. If she wants to secure a spot in the crowded U.S. midfield, she’ll need to have a very strong start to the NWSL season. If she can establish herself as a strong playmaking midfielder who doesn’t have a problem balancing the attack with her defensive responsibilities, she would make a strong case for her inclusion on the roster.

McCall Zerboni

When it comes to strong, gritty midfielders in the NWSL, two names come to mind right off the bat. Julie Ertz of the Chicago Red Stars and McCall Zerboni of the North Carolina Courage. It’s not every day that you see a player making a run at their first World Cup at 32 years old. But Zerboni is making a very good case to be going to France. The biggest question is how much her elbow injury from last year will change how she plays the game.

She returned to the lineup for the U.S. in January against Spain, but didn’t feature in any games during the SheBelieves Cup. The NWSL season will be good for Zerboni as it will allow her to get more playing time and get comfortable with being out there once again. North Carolina are a talented, deep team, meaning Zerboni will be challenged not only in games but in practice. That’s a good thing. Zerboni probably has a better chance at making the roster than Sullivan does, but it will be a challenge no matter what.

Emily Sonnett

Emily Sonnett’s situation is an interesting one. For so long, she was in the national team as a center-back, where she also plays for the Portland Thorns. After a time out of Ellis’ plans, in recent months she has returned to the roster, but this time as an outside back. This isn’t her best role and she’s struggled a bit during recent months with the different challenges.

For her, heading back to the Thorns could be an interesting challenge just because she’ll be playing a different position. The thing Sonnett does have going for her is that she can be put at a few different positions so that makes her a good depth player. As long as she continues to improving playing with the ball at her feet, she should make a good addition to the roster heading to France.

Obviously there’s still a lot of time between now and when the tournament starts in June. Injuries could have a major impact on the roster, so now is the time to shine for all the players in the US pool right now.