Ali Krieger

And so I think because of her confidence, because of the way she showed up, the way she was leading the

within the camp itself, which Emma had mentioned in the press conferences before.

That's why she had given her an opportunity.

The way that she presents herself, I think, is key, especially leading from the back.

You need a goalkeeper who's communicative, who's motivated to want to lead from the back, to have a good spine of the team.

Obviously, you know, Fallon Tellis-Joyce is a top choice as well.

But in her absence, when a lot of the European-based players are not in this camp, then she has an opportunity to step up and prove herself, and I think that's exactly what Mandy did.

I was lucky enough to play alongside her in our championship year, and she played in that final, and I was so...

grateful that she was behind us because she had communicated the entire game.

She demanded excellence.

She demanded us to defend well, to continue to keep the ball and regain possession consistently.

I think just having her voice within those really pressure moments was key for us to win.

It's really exciting to see that because of her performances with Utah, now she's getting this reward with the national team.

So it's going to be tough.

Any player at this level who's good enough to be there can have an opportunity and be number one.

So I'm excited for her.

She's proven herself.

And once again, as long as you're performing well in training, then you get opportunities and you have to run with it.

I think I could have played in the back or any one of us could have played.

Could have played in the back.