INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce made six saves while earning a clean sheet against Brazil on Saturday in her first appearance for the U.S. women's national team.
Her toughest test of the day, however? "The first whistle," the 28-year-old said, smiling as she spoke about nerves ahead of that game.
Such is the current state of the USWNT's goalkeeping position: For the first time in decades -- maybe ever -- the squad now faces an extended period of uncertainty without a clear No. 1 emerging. A fabled position of strength is now one of the team's biggest question marks.
Two-time World Cup winner and 2024 Olympic champion Alyssa Naeher retired from international duty at the end of last year at age 36. Since then, USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has effectively been conducting an open tryout for the position over the past six months.
Tullis-Joyce firmly entered her name into that open audition on Saturday. The Manchester United goalkeeper had been watching the goalkeeper race from a slight distance up until recently, but even after earning her first senior cap, Tullis-Joyce is as much of a contender to become the new No. 1 as any other goalkeeper in the pool.
Jane Campbell, 30, had ostensibly become the favorite for the job in recent months, but she did not play in either match against Brazil during this window. Mandy McGlynn made her international debut in goal last October. The three goalkeepers, plus uncapped training goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, entered this April training camp with 12 combined caps.
Casey Murphy, with 20 caps at 28 years old, is the most experienced goalkeeper available for selection in the USWNT pool. But she has not received a call-up in 2025, and it's increasingly fair to wonder if her absence is more about an incumbent successor falling out of favor than it is simply Hayes testing out new goalkeepers.
Hayes had promised she would dole out opportunities in this two-game window against Brazil, and she did that by turning to Tullis-Joyce in the first game and McGlynn in Tuesday's rematch, the two biggest USWNT games of the year.
For months, Hayes has said that by July she should have a clearer picture of who will be her new starting goalkeeper. By then, Hayes will have seen the USWNT in pairs of games against Brazil, China and the Republic of Ireland, and another against Canada. If the timeline holds, Hayes' preferred starter will have two years to refine herself in the role ahead of the 2027 Women's World Cup.
"If you think about this, prior to when even Alyssa made the No. 1 [job] her own, it takes a period of time to be able to solidify that," Hayes said prior to this training camp. "And I think it's fair to say we've got a lot of really good quality goalkeepers.
"Who will emerge from that as the No. 1? Don't know, but they have to take their chances when they get them. This is a performance-related business, and each and every opportunity they get, they have to make the most of it because, of course, that will impact my decision making as we progress."
Hayes is correct in pointing out that Naeher took time to make the position her own. Naeher took over the No. 1 job in the years ahead of the 2019 World Cup under immense scrutiny as she tried to fill the boots of Hope Solo, who won a World Cup, two Olympic gold medals, and was arguably the best net-minder the world has ever seen.
Naeher is a quiet, calm personality -- the antithesis of Solo, and the dichotomy between their personalities added to the outside skepticism of Naeher ahead of, and during, the 2019 World Cup. Those questions were ultimately squashed when she started and played every minute as the USWNT captured a second straight crown. She followed that up with dazzling performances at the 2023 World Cup and last year's Olympics.
So yes, goalkeeper successions -- especially in the shadows of departed legends -- are nothing new to the USWNT. Solo followed Briana Scurry, who was also a World Cup winner and two-time Olympic winner, in an infamous USWNT goalkeeper changeover around 2007-08. What's different now, however, is a true sense of inexperience among goalkeeper options -- not only in terms of caps, but in big moments.
Solo was an alternate at the 2004 Olympics, which the USWNT won, and the starter at the 2007 World Cup before then-head coach Greg Ryan benched her for the semifinal in favor of Scurry. Solo reassumed the starting role for the 2008 Olympics and didn't let go of it for eight years, until U.S. Soccer terminated her contract for off-field reasons.
Naeher was part of the USWNT's 2015 World Cup-winning squad. She didn't play at that tournament, but she still got to experience that pressure-packed environment ahead of taking the starring role four years later.
Murphy was the backup goalkeeper for last year's Olympics and the 2023 World Cup. She looked like she might challenge Naeher for the No. 1 role at World Cup qualifying in 2022. Campbell was an alternate at last year's Olympics. And ... that's the extent of major-tournament experience among the goalkeepers who have been in senior camp in 2025.
Hayes is unabashed by inexperience, whether in goal or in the middle of the park, where she's increasingly given important assignments to 17-year-old midfielder phenom Lily Yohannes. Hayes said Tullis-Joyce looked "authoritative and commanding" in her debut, Saturday's 2-0 win over Brazil.
Tullis-Joyce played the ball long too often for Hayes' liking, but the USWNT coach added that she understood why: It was Tullis-Joyce's debut, and her club team frequently plays that way.
To be sure, there is a stylistic fit that needs to be made, but all of Hayes' options are strong shot-stoppers. Murphy ranks ahead of Campbell and McGlynn this NWSL season in post-shot expected goals minus goals against, per FBRef, which is a measurement of shot-stopping ability. McGlynn ranked second in the NWSL and first among Americans in that category by a significant margin last season. Tullis-Joyce is the runaway leader in that category in England's WSL, per FBRef.
Whoever is to assume the starting goalkeeper role, however, is expected to be comfortable on the ball to help the USWNT possess in deeper spaces, Hayes has said on multiple occasions.
"I would say for the goalkeepers that are not in here, they all know what they have to work on, and what is a key focus area," Hayes said in February.
Murphy, who plays for the North Carolina Courage, the NWSL's most possession-oriented team, is arguably the most suited for that style. The Houston Dash, where Campbell starts, is attempting to build a similar identity under a new head coach.
McGlynn registered a rare goalkeeper assist on opening weekend of the 2025 NWSL season, but she and the Utah Royals have also struggled with deep-lying turnovers on other occasions this season. She and an inexperienced USWNT back line made a series of errors early in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Brazil while trying to keep possession around their own goal. McGlynn admitted after the match that she was "forcing it" in the first half as she played into the hands of Brazil's press.
Hayes made similar points about McGlynn and Tullis-Joyce needing to read the game in possession and figure out when to play short or go long.
So, who will be the next USWNT No. 1?
"I think it's been a competitive camp," Hayes said of her goalkeeper pool after Tuesday's loss. "I think both [McGlynn] and Phallon have had the opportunity to play against a top opponent, just like Jane had the opportunity to play against a top opponent with Japan, and I think it's fair to say I'm a lot clearer."
Whoever assumes the role will know well the scrutiny that awaits: World Cup titles and Golden Gloves are the program's standard. They will have two years to prepare for that inevitable pressure.