At least historically, the U.S. has had very few problems producing upper echelon USWNT defenders. Recently, names like Johnston, Sauerbrunn and Klingenberg, three of the best in the world, prove the point as well as any.

And there’s more where that came from.

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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.

The future is indeed bright.