Keith McInnes / SPP

Who will be the next coach of the United States women’s national team? Answering that question will take a little bit of time, it appears.

Twila Kilgore, who was appointed the interim coach upon the resignation of Vlatko Andonovski last month, is in charge for this week’s pair of friendly matches against South Africa. Kilgore will continue her role for a pair of late October friendly matches against Colombia, a federation spokesperson confirmed to The Equalizer.

That makes for a timeline where the next coach could be hired late this calendar year, potentially — but not certainly — ahead of the final international window that begins on Nov. 27. Who that coach will be is anyone’s guess at the moment. New U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker is leading the search (sans women’s national team GM after the departure of Kate Markgraf) and still has a long list in the double digits.

There are obvious candidates to point to, but hardly any truly obvious matches. Whereas the U.S. job was once the be-all and end-all in this sector of the profession, there are more options than ever outside of it. Who comes next could go a number of ways. Let’s take a look at a (not at all exhaustive) list of possible candidates, and how realistic they might be:

Photo Copyright Michael Chow for USA TODAY Sports

Julie Ertz will take the field on Thursday at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati wearing the United States crest for the final time. After debuting on the senior team in 2013, she has spent a decade as one of the most impactful players in recent memory. This is even more impressive considering she plays two positions — center-back and defensive midfielder — that typically don’t grab the most attention.

After a stellar career in the United States’ youth system, Ertz worked her way into becoming an integral part of the senior U.S. squad helping the team win two back-to-back World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019. She became such an irreplaceable player for the national team that while out on injury for maternity leave and injury recovery for 18 months from 2021 to 2023, numerous articles were written about how the United States could fill the void she left and solve the ‘Ertz dilemma’.

Now, after a surprise return to this summer’s World Cup, Ertz is hanging up her boots for good and retiring from international play. Here’s a quick look back at just a few of the key moments that helped define a stellar career.

Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Canadian women’s national team and Portland Thorns forward Janine Beckie will be hitting the six-month mark post-ACL surgery at the end of the month.

She just started running on turf again a few weeks ago, an emotional moment for her in the recovery process.

“I thought I was gonna start crying,” Beckie told The Equalizer. “Running is one of the biggest milestones that you have in [this] injury.”

The Equalizer sat down with Beckie last week to talk about her rehab journey, finding strength in community and maximizing her platform to shine a light on important issues.

Beckie is 29 and only now facing her first major injury. “I’m really lucky that I’ve gotten this far without having other issues.” She continued, “[t]he isolation was new for me, especially being in a team sport, you’re so used to being surrounded by a large group of people all the time so that was definitely a bit of a shock.”