New York, NY (AHN) - U.S. Women's National Team head coach Greg Ryan unveiled the first 18 players to the 2007 U.S. Women's World Cup roster on Wednesday.

Ryan will name the final three players to the final 21-player roster later this month.

The 16-team tournament will be held September 10-30 in five Chinese cities.

The U.S. will play its next game on July 14th against Norway against Norway at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. They will open the 2007 World Cup on Sept. 11 against DPR Korea.

The U.S. roster is a product of about two-and-a-half years of player evaluation by Ryan and his staff that has included 42 international matches.

Since taking over as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team in March of 2005, Ryan has looked at 43 players in full international matches and more than 60 total including training camps.

Ryan told a press conference: "We named the 18 now because we've been in Residency Camp two years in a row, we've spent two years together and we know these players inside out.

"These 18 have earned the right to be on this World Cup Team.

"We want to remove the stress from trying out and just say, 'you guys are the ones, you're in, let's get after it.'"

Team captain Kristine Lilly, 35, was named to her record fifth Women's World Cup Team.

Lilly, who played in her first Women's World Cup in China in 1991, is the only player still active from that U.S. team that won the inaugural Women's World Cup. Lilly has played in all 24 matches the USA has contested in Women's World Cup competition, starting 23 of them.

FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD CUP - ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);

DEFENDERS (5): Tina Ellertson (Vancouver, Wash.), Stephanie Lopez (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);

MIDFIELDERS (6): Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Marci Jobson (St. Charles, Ill.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.);

FORWARDS (4): Kristine Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), Heather O'Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

The U.S. Women's National Team has compiled a 9-0-2 record in 2007 and is riding a 43-game unbeaten streak in regulation time. This will be the fifth Women's World Cup for the U.S. women, who have won the world's biggest women's soccer tournament in 1991 and 1999 and finished third in 1995 and 2003.