Naomi Girma is going to play at home in Northern California with the U.S. team this month for the first time since a send-off game for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Coach Emma Hayes announced Wednesday that Girma, who was born in San Jose and played at nearby Stanford, will be on the roster for the United States when they play a three-game series with Japan, starting on April 11 at San Jose’s Pay Pal Park.
Her last national team appearance in her hometown was in a 2-0 victory over Wales ahead of the 2023 World Cup.
"Playing for the national team in the Bay always just feels like kind of surreal, and seeing a lot of people who come to support me, who were there when I was playing club soccer, just playing for fun, and being like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that we’re all here and we’ve made it this far.’ So it always is really special for me,” Girma said.
Girma's Stanford teammate, Sophia Wilson, was named to her first roster in 15 months after taking last year off for the birth of her daughter. Defender Tierna Davidson, who tore her ACL last season, will also return.
“I think it’s a great test for us,” Girma said about Japan. “They’re a great side, just won the Asian Cup. And I think they’re very organized in their defense, but then also in their attack and they bring something different to a lot of other opponents that we play. So I think it’s always a good test for us to measure ourselves against them.”
Girma plays professionally in England for Chelsea. She joined the Women's Super League club in early 2025 on a $1.1 million transfer from the San Diego Wave. The defender scored her first WSL goal last weekend in a 4-3 victory over Aston Villa to move the Blues into second in the standings behind Manchester City.
She made her debut for the national team in 2022. She has appeared in 52 games with the United States and played on the squad that won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Wilson was left off the U.S. roster for the recent SheBelieves Cup as she worked her way back from maternity leave with her club team, the Portland Thorns. Wilson has played in 58 games for the national team, scoring 24 goals, including three at the Olympics in France.
Davidson, a left-back, last played for the United States in February 2025 before she was injured playing for Gotham early in the NWSL season. She has played in 67 matches for the national team. Hayes said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters that she will be on limited minutes.
The return of those experienced players, coupled with Hayes’ integration of the under-23 player camps alongside the senior camps, has put the national team in a good place 15 months out from the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, Girma said.
“Seeing a lot of younger players be able to come into a full team camp and not really miss a beat, and not seem like they don’t know what’s going on, or feel like it’s a little bit too much, I think that transition has become really smooth. And I think with having some players come back in that weren’t in last year, it’s a really exciting time for our team,” Girma said. "We have a big pool who now has experience, whether it’s in the last year, in the last couple years, ready to fill any role that we need.”
After the match in San Jose, the series against Japan will move to Seattle's Lumen Field on April 14. The final game is set for April 17 at Dick's Sporting Good's Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
The roster by position with club affiliation:
Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United).
Defenders: Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Naomi Girma (Chelsea), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC), Emily Sams (Angel City), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC), Gisele Thompson (Angel City), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave).
Midfielders: Sam Coffey (Manchester City), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), Claire Hutton (Bay FC), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes).
Forwards: Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns).
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - United States' Naomi Girma controls the ball during a women's group B match between the United States and Zambia at Nice Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics, July 25, 2024, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)
FILE - England's Alessia Russo and United States' Naomi Girma challenge for the ball during the International friendly women soccer match between England and United States at Wembley stadium in London, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors on Wednesday as airstrikes pounded Tehran and U.S. President Donald Trump again made contradictory statements about whether he was ready to wind down the war or escalate it.
Trump struck a belligerent tone Wednesday in a Truth Social post, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” A day earlier, Trump said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz; that was an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran's power grid if it didn't open the strait by April 6.
Trump, who is scheduled to give a televised address Wednesday evening, said Tuesday he could walk away from the war in two to three weeks once he felt confident Iran would not be able to build a nuclear weapon — even if Tehran does not agree to a ceasefire.
But his latest Truth Social post struck a harder line as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive after weeks of airstrikes targeting Iran.
Trump also claimed Wednesday that “Iran's New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn't clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump's claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about the purpose of their deployment.
Just days ago, Trump threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And there has also been speculation about whether the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, according to experts and former government officials.
Adding to the confusion is what role Israel - which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.
Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war as oil prices have skyrocketed, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was up more than 40% since the start of the war, trading at more than $103 a barrel on Wednesday.
The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for its nuclear program to be rolled back.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. And in a report last week by Iranian state TV's English-language broadcaster, an anonymous official was quoted as saying Iran had its own demands to end the fighting, including retaining sovereignty over the strait.
In the interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”
He warned against any U.S. attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”
In a deal ostensibly to give diplomacy a chance, U.S. officials have given “clear assurances” that Araghchi and Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf won't be targeted, according to three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
A cruise missile slammed into an oil tanker off Qatar’s coast Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said. The crew was evacuated and no casualties were reported. A Kuwaiti oil tanker came under attack off Dubai the day before, one of more than 20 ships attacked by Iran during the war.
In the United Arab Emirates, a person was killed when he was hit by debris from an intercepted drone in Fujairah, one of the country’s seven emirates.
In Kuwait, the state-run KUNA news agency said a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a large fire.
Jordan’s military said it intercepted a ballistic missile and two drones fired from Iran in the last 24 hours. No casualties were reported. Two drones were also intercepted in Saudi Arabia.
In Israel, sirens sounded to warn of incoming missiles and AP reporters heard loud booms in Tel Aviv as the windows of buildings shook from the reverberations. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
An airstrike on Tehran appeared to have hit the former U.S. Embassy compound, which has been controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard since American diplomats were held hostage there in 1979. Witnesses said buildings outside the massive compound had their windows blown out.
In Lebanon, at least five people were killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighborhood.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon after the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the war. Many Lebanese fear another prolonged military occupation.
More than 1,200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million displaced, according to authorities. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
A young girl is comforted by her father and Israeli soldiers as they take cover in a bomb shelter during air raid sirens warning of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People inspect the site of an Israeli strike amid debris and damaged vehicles in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man feeds stray cats in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
Firefighters and rescue workers work at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
A police vehicle is seen through a shattered windshield at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Two men ride scooters past charred debris at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
