With the Women's World Cup in full swing, many Americans are focused on our National Team, the four-time World Cup winners and four-time Olympic gold medalists who are now attempting to nail down a 5th star. Many of the players on the U.S. roster starred at powerhouse programs like the University of North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels, which boasts 21 NCAA women's soccer championships, and the Stanford Cardinals, the alma mater to more than 18 current and former USWNT players. But as competing countries finalized their World Cup rosters over the past few weeks, 19 players other than the two usual suspects have been plucked from U.S. universities. Here is the other twist: all of these players will compete for teams not called the United States. Fortunately, given the high level of training and competition that these players have experienced as athletes at NCAA and NJCAA colleges, their presence could make big differences on the field.

The country fielding the most active NCAA players is Jamaica. It has selected four athletes from Power-5 schools to fill out its roster as the “Reggae Girlz” make their second World Cup appearance. Jamaica is counting on two speedy forwards -- Kameron Simmonds from the University of Tennessee and Kiki Van Zanten from Notre Dame -- to get some points in the standings. Midfielder Peyton McNamara from Ohio State University and goalie Liya Brooks from Washington State University are also expected to get some minutes.

Jamaica's journey to the 2023 Women's World Cup has been difficult. After almost qualifying for the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, the team disbanded in 2010 due to lack of funding. The team reassembled a few years later and, during that process, began to look for players with Jamaican heritage outside of the tiny island country. The result was a strong national team fielded by Jamaica in the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, which included memorable saves from goalkeeper Sydney Schneider, a UNC Tar Heel at the time. Players like Schneider, who was born in the U.S., did not make the American roster, but should not be taken any less seriously, especially if they play year-round with top talent in the United States. Another case in point: Bunny Shaw, Jamaica's best player, and Manchester City's leading striker, is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee.

Haiti has the second-largest active NCAA presence, calling up three players. Though only one of these three players hails from a Power-5 conference (Ruthny Mathurin, Mississippi State University), Milan Pierre Gerome and Lara Larco come from respectable programs at George Mason University and Georgetown University and will provide valuable experience for Haiti's capable but green, roster.

As of the Sunday before kickoff, only one U.S. school, Florida State University, sent more than one active player to a non-U.S. women's national team (the USWNT currently has no active NCAA players on its roster). Those two players are Heather Payne, who will represent Ireland, and Jennifer Echegini, who will take the field for Nigeria. In a rare move for a national team roster, Hillary Jaen from Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Mississippi, joined the Panamanian team. Equally rare is the number of high school students on World Cup rosters. Kaiya Jota and Casey Phair, both American high school students, will appear in the Philippines and South Korea, respectively. Jota is verbally committed to Stanford, and Phair is uncommitted.

Regarding women's soccer, the U.S. leads the way in developing players from a young age through the national level. As a result, it is no surprise how players from other countries take advantage of NCAA competition and why so many players have the skills to represent countries worldwide. The end result may be a World Cup with unprecedented levels of competition.