SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame women’s soccer standout Leah Klenke was announced to the 21-player U.S. U20 World Cup roster on Thursday morning. The junior midfielder will take a leave of absence from the Fighting Irish early on the season to head to Colombia with Team USA, with the U20 World Cup running August 31-September 22.
Klenke is no stranger to the U20 U.S. squad. She is 1-of-10 returning players who were a part of the CONCACAF qualifying team. Klenke also made the U20 USA roster for the 2023 Women’s U20 CONCACAF Championships.
The USA roster is composed of eight professional players currently in the National Women’s Soccer League, 12 college players and one player still in youth soccer. The eight pros are the most ever for a U.S. team in a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2004, are age-eligible for the World Cup and the USA roster features 13 players born in 2004, four born in 2005 and four born in 2006.
For the first time ever, and in its 11th installment, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature 24 nations. The 24 teams that will compete in the tournament are host Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Venezuela and Argentina from South America, France, Spain, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands from Europe, the USA, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica from Concacaf, Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria and Ghana from Africa, Australia, Korea Republic, Japan and Korea DPR from Asia and New Zealand and Fiji from Oceania.
The 24 participating nations were drawn into six groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group along with the four best third-place teams will advance to the Round of 16 to be played on Wednesday, Sept. 11 and Thursday, Sept. 12. The winners of those matches advance to the Quarterfinals on Sunday, Sept. 15, from which the winners will advance to the Semifinals on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The Third-Place Match will be held on Saturday, Sept. 21 with the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup Final taking place on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Matches will occur at four stadiums in three Colombian cities: Bogotá’s El Campín Stadium and El Techo Stadium, Cali’s Pascual Guerrero Stadium and Medellin’s Atanasio Girardot Stadium.
The USA will open the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday, Sept. 1 (4 p.m. ET) against reigning FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup champions Spain, will face Morocco on Wednesday, Sept. 4 (9 p.m. ET) and will finish the group stage vs. Paraguay on Saturday, Sept. 7 (7 p.m. ET). The U.S. will play its first two group games at Pascual Guerrero Stadium in Cali and its third at El Techo Stadium in the capital of Bogotá.
2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup
Group C – USA Schedule
| Date | Match | Kickoff (ET) | Venue; City | Broadcast |
| Sept. 1 | USA vs. Spain | 4 p.m. | Pascual Guerrero Stadium; Cali, Colombia | TBA |
| Sept. 4 | USA vs. Morocco | 9 p.m. | Pascual Guerrero Stadium; Cali, Colombia | TBA |
| Sept. 7 | USA vs. Paraguay | 7 p.m. | El Techo Stadium; Bogotá, Colombia | TBA |
2024 FIFA U.S. U-20 Women’s World Cup Roster by Position (College or Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Caroline Birkel (St. Louis Scott Gallagher; St. Louis, Mo.; 0), Mackenzie Gress (Penn State; Lyndhurst, N.J.; 5), Teagan Wy (California; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.; 8)
DEFENDERS (6): Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign; El Cajon, Calif.; 12/0), Elise Evans (Stanford; Redwood City, Calif.; 12/0), Heather Gilchrist (Florida State, Boulder, Colo.; 6/0), Savy King (Bay FC; West Hills, Calif.; 12/0), Leah Klenke (Notre Dame; Houston, Texas; 11/0), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; Studio City, Calif.; 7/1)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Sam Courtwright (Texas Tech; Dallas, Texas; 8/0), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; Bethlehem, N.Y.; 5/0), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage; Roswell, Ga.; 8/1), Ally Lemos (Orlando Pride; Glendora, Calif.; 13/1), Yuna McCormack (Virginia; Mill Valley, Calif.; 0/0), Taylor Suarez (Florida State; Charlotte, N.C.; 8/1)
FORWARDS (6): Emeri Adames (Seattle Reign; Red Oak, Texas; 6/1), Maddie Dahlien (North Carolina; Edina, Minn.; 8/4), Jordynn Dudley (Florida State; Milton, Ga.; 9/3), Giana Riley (Florida State; Manteca, Calif.; 8/1), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals; Hanson, Mass.; 16/9), Pietra Tordin (Princeton; Miami, Fla.; 7/2)
— ND –