As the NWSL is in a month-long break for the 2026 Men's World Cup in June, some players had a few more matches to play during the June international break. Players from NJ/NY Gotham FC were no exception, with 12 players called up for their national teams.
Tierna Davidson, Rose Lavelle, Lilly Reale, Jaedyn Shaw, and Emily Sonnett received call-ups to the United States women's national team. Meanwhile, Sofia Cook and Jordynn Dudley were called in to the U23 camp. In addition, there were five international call-ups: Ann-Katrin Berger for Germany, Jess Carter for England, Esther González for Spain, Guro Reiten for Norway, and Talia Sommer for Israel.
Gotham FC and the June international break
Sofia Cook and Jordynn Dudley: USWNT U23
The U23 USWNT travelled with the senior team down to Brazil for a pair of closed-door friendlies against Brazilian club side SC Corinthians Paulista, the same side that beat Gotham in the FIFA Champions Cup semifinals back in January. Given the closed-door nature of these matches, very little is known about them and whether Cook and Dudley played. It has been reported that the U23 team came out victorious in both games by scores of 2-0 and 1-0.
Tierna Davidson: USWNT
Davidson started the first of the two friendlies against Brazil, which the USWNT lost 2-1. She started and played the full 90 minutes, the first time she has played 90 minutes in a game for the USWNT since returning from her ACL injury at the beginning of the NWSL season. She did not dress for the second fixture.
Rose Lavelle: USWNT
Lavelle ended up playing in both of the friendlies against Brazil. She replaced Lily Yohannes as a substitute in the 79th minute of the first friendly. She then started and played 62 minutes in their 1-0 win in the second friendly and was the first of 10 players in that match to have received a yellow card.
Lilly Reale: USWNT
Despite receiving a call-up, Reale was an unused substitute in both of the USWNT friendlies. While she has been off the injury report for some time now, it isn't unreasonable to think that the injury that caused her to miss the game against Bay FC at the end of April has been continuing to linger and affect her ability to play a lot. She is one of the players for whom this break should help in getting her back to full health.
Jaedyn Shaw: USWNT
Shaw saw very limited time in these two friendlies, with her playing just the final two minutes of the first friendly, coming on for Claire Hutton in the final minutes. She was then an unused substitute in the second friendly.
Emily Sonnett: USWNT
After being used less frequently in recent weeks for Gotham as she returned from injury, Sonnett was back to her typical ironwoman ways, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in both friendlies. She partnered with her Gotham FC teammate Davidson in the first game before playing alongside San Diego Wave FC defender and 2027 World Cup hopeful Kennedy Wesley in friendly number two of this window.
Ann-Katrin Berger: Germany
After the injury scare against Club América Femenil on May 20, which caused her to miss both the CONCACAF W Champions Cup third-place match against C.F. Pachuca Femenil and the subsequent NWSL match against the Houston Dash, there was a positive sign for Gotham FC fans. They saw Berger back in action for Germany. The goalkeeper started Germany's 2-0 victory over Norway in World Cup qualifying before seeing the bench in their 2-0 win over Slovenia, also a part of World Cup qualifying.
Jess Carter: England
It was a busy international window for Carter both on and off the field. She first played the final five minutes of England's 4-0 loss to Spain in World Cup qualifying before starting, playing the full 90 minutes, and even scoring in their 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Ukraine. This was the defender's first international goal in over two years when she scored against Austria in a friendly.
In addition to her on-field exploits, Carter has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in King Charles III’s Birthday Honours List for services to football. The honor recognizes her contributions to the sport and her role in helping advance the women’s game in England and around the world.
Esther González: Spain
It was a quiet window for González, who played just the final 13 minutes of Spain's 4-0 win over England in World Cup qualifying. She was then not named to the matchday squad for Spain's subsequent World Cup qualifying match against Iceland, which they won 6-1.
Guro Reiten: Norway
Reiten's first international window as a fully-fledged Gotham FC player saw her start and play 77 minutes in Norway's 2-0 loss to Germany before starting and playing 65 minutes in a 2-1 victory over Austria, registering an assist on the opening goal. Both of these matches were part of World Cup qualifying.
Talia Sommer: Israel
Finally, Sommer started and played the full 90 minutes in both of Israel's World Cup qualifying matches against Scotland. Scotland would end up winning both matches by scores of 6-0 and 5-1, with the Gotham FC player registering an assist on their one goal of the window.
