Gotham FC October international break recap: A return to international play | OneFootball

For the first time since the summer break, NJ/NY Gotham FC had another round of international call-ups. Nine players were named to their respective international rosters.

Rose Lavelle, Lilly Reale, Jaedyn Shaw, and Emily Sonnett were named to the full senior USWNT, while Sarah Schupansky was named to the U-23 roster, and Mak Whitham was named to the USWNT U-17 World Cup roster. Notably, Whitham was not a part of the nine since her call-up was before the break. In addition to the six Americans, Bruninha, Jess Carter, and Josefine Hasbo were named to the rosters for Brazil, England, and Denmark, respectively. Esther González was called up to represent Spain, but an injury held her out.

It is worth noting that multiple Gotham internationals did not receive a call-up for this window, mostly for injury-related reasons. Ann-Katrin Berger of Germany and Geyse and Gabi Portilho of Brazil have all been battling injuries of late, which saw them miss the recent international window.

With just one game remaining in the NWSL regular season, the international break falls at a weird and pretty inconvenient time in the season. Luckily for Gotham FC, it seems the players made it through the window without picking up any injuries.

Gotham FC and the October international break

Rose Lavelle: USWNT

Lavelle took part in two of the three matches in this window for the USWNT. She started, played 78 minutes, and scored the US's one and only goal in a 2-1 loss to Portugal at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. She was then an unused substitute in the second match against Portugal at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut, which the US won 3-1. She was then restored to the Starting XI against New Zealand in the USWNT's first-ever match at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. The Gotham star played 45 minutes and scored again in an emphatic 6-0 victory.

Lilly Reale: USWNT

Reale was on the bench for the USWNT's first game before starting the final two. She played the full 90 minutes against Portugal in Connecticut before starting and playing 80 minutes against New Zealand in Kansas City, helping keep a clean sheet in the process.

Jaedyn Shaw: USWNT

In her first call-up to the senior national team as a Gotham FC player, Shaw played a part in all three games for the USWNT. She first came on in the 78th minute for Lavelle in the first game against Portugal, before starting and playing 77 minutes in the second meeting with the European team. In this game, the attacker provided arguably the highlight of the international window with a slick backheel assist on Olivia Moultrie's second goal of the game. She then played the final 23 minutes against New Zealand in the third and final fixture of the window.

Emily Sonnett: USWNT

Sonnett played the full 90 minutes in both matches against Portugal before being an unused substitute against New Zealand. The defender was one of just three players on the USWNT roster with over 100 caps, while 13 of the 26 players had 10 caps or fewer. This is in stark contrast to recent USWNT rosters, where experience was heavily valued. With the long-term stability of NWSL and changes in philosophy under head coach Emma Hayes, the players' pool is as young and widespread as it has arguably ever been in the program's history.

Sarah Schupansky: USWNT U-23

After not being named to any USWNT youth national team, Schupansky has now earned her fourth call-up to the U-23s this year. The team held a nine-day training camp in Philadelphia, which included training concurrently with the senior national team for four of those days.

Mak Whitham: USWNT U-17

Whitham was one of three NWSL players named to the USWNT U-17's 21-player roster. Former Sky Blue FC and NWSL player Katie Schoepfer coaches the team. After being an unused substitute in the group stage opening 3-0 win against Ecuador, she played the final 20 minutes in the 5-2 win over China. She earned her first start of the tournament in a 5-0 win over Norway, where she played 66 minutes and scored to round out the US's perfect record in group play. She was then an unused sub when the US crashed out in the round of 16 on penalty kicks to the Netherlands.

Bruninha: Brazil

After missing out on being named to Brazil's Copa América Femenina roster over the summer, Bruninha received her first call-up since April. She was an unused substitute in the team's 2-1 win over England. In the second game of the window, which was against Italy, she started and played 65 minutes in a 1-0 win.

Jess Carter: England

Carter started and played 63 minutes in the aforementioned loss to Brazil, picking up a yellow card in the process. She was then an unused sub in England's 3-0 friendly win over Australia. The main storyline from this match was the return of Sam Kerr to the Australian National Team for the first time since the 2023 World Cup due to an ACL injury suffered in January 2024. The former Sky Blue FC/Gotham FC record goal scorer started and played 70 minutes in the match.

Josefine Hasbo: Denmark

Finally, Hasbo came on as a substitute in both legs of Denmark's UEFA Nations League A relegation playoff. She first came on in the 70th minute of their 6-1 away win in the first leg. Then, she played the final four minutes of their 2-0 win at home in the second leg. This secured Denmark's place in League A, the top level, of UEFA Nations League rankings.