Rating the YNT: Top 5 girls defenders

If there’s one area of the field the U.S. women’s national team pool does not need to fret over at present, it’s at the back. Defensively the U.S. is more sound than any country on the planet, and in that there is no debate.

Between outsize talents like Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg and Becky Sauerbrunn, all of whom were reared in American college soccer, the U.S. is set for a long time.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t incredibly talented pieces to add to that puzzle for the future. Indeed, there may be players who can surpass even the quality we’ve seen, and they could be moving up the ranks right now. These five are as good as any in the pool.

This series takes into account the top five young prospects currently eligible for a USYNT (read: U23 and down) who have yet to be capped by the full USWNT. We started with goalkeepers this week, and after defenders we’ll move on to midfielders and forwards. But for now, we stick to the back line and the five top prospects for tomorrow.