Overview:

U.S. power soccer national team head coach Tracy Mayer has named his final eight-player roster for the 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup, which will be held Oct. 15-21 at the Quaycentre at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia.

CHICAGO – U.S. power soccer national team head coach Tracy Mayer has named his final eight-player roster for the 2023 FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup, which will be held Oct. 15-21 at the Quaycentre at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia.

Champions in 2007 and 2011, the U.S., second ranked in the world, heads to Australia looking to claim its record third Powerchair Football World Cup title after finishing as runner-up to France at the 2017 edition in Kissimmee, Fla.

Team members Jordan Dickey, Natalie Dickey, Zach Dickey, Alexis Heer, Riley Johnson, Nathan Mayer and Pete Winslow were slated to meet with the U.S. men’s national team on Monday morning, prior to the team’s training session at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn.

the team also will be recognized prior to kickoff of the USMNT’s friendly against Oman on Tuesday at Allianz Field. (Coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, Universo and Peacock).

“I’m very excited for this group to represent the United States at the Powerchair Football World Cup,” Mayer said in a statement. “We’re fortunate to have a diverse and talented pool of athletes to choose from in the United States and the experience, versatility and depth we have on this roster gives us a great opportunity as we go for another World Cup title in Australia.”

Six players have previous tournament experience, with three contributing to the USA’s previous two World Cup wins. Natalie Dickey helped the USA claim the inaugural 2007 FIPFA World Cup in Tokyo Japan, while Jordan Dickey and Pete Winslow were on the 2011 World Cup squad that repeated as champion in Paris, France.

The Dickeys, along with Riley Johnson, Nathan Mayer and Peyton Sefick are the five returning players from the 2017 squad.

Part of the program for a number of years, Alexis Heer and Zach Dickey are the two first-time World Cup selections and are set to make their international debuts at the World Cup.

One of 10 teams taking part in the 2023 edition, the USA face all nine opponents in a round-robin format, beginning with hosts Australia on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. AEDT (Oct. 14 at 10 p.m. ET). At the end of the round-robin stage, the top four teams will advance to the semifinals, with the winners facing off in the final. All knockout round matches will be played on Oct. 19 and 20 in Australia.

The roster

GOALKEEPER (1): Nathan Mayer (Monticello, Minn.; 2017)

WINGS (3): Alexis Heer (Fishers, Ind.; First roster), Natalie Dickey (Carmel, Ind.; 2007, 2017), Peyton Sefick (Syracuse, N.Y.; 2017)

CENTERS (2): Jordan Dickey (Pendleton, Ind.; 2011, 2017), Riley Johnson (Saint Cloud, Minn.; 2017)

STRIKERS (2): Zach Dickey (Pendleton, Ind.; First roster), Pete Winslow (Woodbury, Minn.; 2011)

U.S. World Cup Schedule 
DateOpponentTime (U.S. Eastern Time)
Oct. 14Australia10 p.m.
Oct. 15France7 p.m.
Oct. 15Northern Ireland10 p.m.
Oct. 16Republic of Ireland7 p.m.
Oct. 17Japan1 a.m.
Oct. 17England10 p.m.
Oct. 18Denmark1 a.m.
Oct. 18Uruguay8:30 p.m.
Oct. 18Argentina11:30 p.m.
Oct. 19Semifinal #17 p.m.
Oct. 19Semifinal #28:30 p.m.
Oct. 20Third Place Playoff2:30 am
Oct. 20Final5 a.m.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.