British-born Jill Ellis, unbeaten in two stints as interim coach of the US women's national football squad, was named Friday as the team's new full-time coach by US Soccer president Sunil Gulati.

The 47-year-old American served as an assistant on the 2008 and 2012 US Olympic women's gold medal-winning teams and will guide the host US team, ranked number one in the world, into October's North American (CONCACAF) qualifying tournament for the 2015 Women's World Cup.

"We are confident she is the best person to find the right combinations on the field to make us successful in World Cup qualifying and beyond," Gulati said. "She has experienced first-hand the growth of women's soccer worldwide and is uniquely positioned to lead our team to an even higher level."

Ellis, who has six wins and three draws as a temporary replacement following the past two US coaching changes, will drop her duties as director of US women's development to lead the talent she has helped discover and mold.

"Jill has been on the bench for more senior and youth women's national team matches than perhaps any coach in US history," Gulati said. "She has worked at this for many years and has tremendous knowledge of our player pool and the qualities of multiple generations of players."

Ellis, who replaces former Australian national women's team coach Tom Sermanni, will make her US debut as the full-time coach when the Americans play host to fourth-ranked France on June 14 at Tampa, Florida, and June 19 in East Hartford, Connecticut.

"It's a huge honor," Ellis said. "I'm humbled and proud to lead the current generation of players toward the ultimate goal, a FIFA World Cup championship."

The first major challenge for Ellis will come when the Americans host the eight-team continental qualifier in October. Three teams will qualify for next year's global showdown in Canada and a fourth will have a playoff with a South American team for another spot.

Ellis, who was born in England, coached the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) for 12 years and also guided Illinois, going 229-45 with 14 drawn in college matches.

Ellis spent two years living in Singapore while her father John, himself a former US women's team assistant coach, helped develop a national program in that country.