There aren’t many minutes to be had in between those players, so prospects currently coming up through the USYNT and college systems need to make a startlingly loud case to earn minutes. These five have done just that.

We’ve zeroed in on the youth national team goalkeepers knocking on the USWNT door. We’ve talked about the defenders. Now it’s time to hone in the top five midfielders currently in the USYNT pool with major national team aspirations.

Today’s continuation of my Rating the YNT series takes us through the top five current YNT-eligible defenders who haven’t yet gotten a full USWNT cap. Aside from that, I assessed both the current skill level and future pro prospects of every defender in the pool, and these five, in my estimation, have the best chance to break through as a major senior team contributor down the line.

After our four-part series on the men’s USYNT system ran its course earlier this week, it’s time to dip into the women’s side. And we start with the keepers.