4 Takeaways From USA’s SheBelieves Cup Roster

Things are starting to get more interesting for the U.S. women’s national team. On Tuesday, Emma Hayes named a 26-player roster for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup, which will include three matches in seven days across three cities. The USA plays Argentina in Nashville, Tenn., on March 1, Canada in Columbus, Ohio, on March 4, and Colombia in Harrison, N.J., on March 7. This is an important roster for Hayes, who said last month during January camp that this would be the time she starts to form her “core group” that will help the squad qualify for the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics later this year. “The SheBelieves Cup is a fantastic tournament which gives us the opportunity to replicate the group stage of a FIFA tournament,” Hayes said. “Three quality games in quick succession also allow us to replicate conditions that will prepare us for the World Cup qualifying campaign this fall. As always, we want to keep developing our player pool to be more and more prepared. As we gain more experience, I expect our standards to keep improving.” Here are my takeaways from the USA’s SheBelieves Cup roster: 1. It’s not quite time for a Triple Espresso reunion While Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson got together at NWSL media days last month, they’re not quite ready to be back at full strength for the national team. Rodman, who returned to the fold in January, was called up for SheBelieves. Wilson and Swanson are making their way back after recently welcoming baby girls. “Single shot for this camp of coffee, I’m afraid,” Hayes joked when asked about only having one-third of the attacking trio on this roster. “I would love to see the Triple Espresso return, but I can’t do anything about that. I just have to wait patiently.” Wilson started training with the Portland Thorns and has visited with the national team during previous camps, but Hayes said she’s not ready to be part of a USWNT roster. “The return to play protocol has not given her enough time for her to be in the place that she wanted to be in,” Hayes said of Wilson. “So it’s right that she’s not part of this squad however much I want her to be. The reality is, Portland don’t deem her ready, so that takes care of itself.” Swanson is still on maternity leave, and Hayes said last month not to expect her in this camp. “She’ll return when she’s ready and that’s not yet,” Hayes said of Swanson. 2. Catarina Macario is also absent Star forward Catarina Macario is also missing from this roster. Hayes said she is dealing with a heel injury and has not been available for selection with her club Chelsea, either. “I don’t know when that is going to come,” Hayes said of Macario’s pending return. “I don’t know if it’s a week, two weeks, three weeks away. But I know she’s not available for selection.” Unfortunately, Macario is no stranger to injuries. She had multiple knee injuries that have derailed her career. But she had a resurgence in 2025, leading the national team with eight goals, because she managed to stay healthy and fit. Macario will be itching to get back on the pitch as soon as possible in order to play a major role not only in helping the USA qualify for the World Cup, but be part of the squad next summer. Macario has yet to play in a World Cup for the U.S., and next year’s tournament is in Brazil, where Macario was born. 3. Familiar faces are back January camp featured a lot of young and new players. Hayes did not call up any European-based players or Gotham FC players, which meant opportunities to keep growing and expanding the player pool. But after January camp, Hayes promised she’d be whittling down the group and that is certainly the case. “I do think there is a lot more clarity in terms of the squad of players that we are building around for the upcoming year,” Hayes said. That includes veterans like captain Lindsey Heaps, Rose Lavelle and Emily Sonnett, who are back in the squad. They’re actually the only three on this roster who have more than 100 caps and the only three over the age of 30. Other familiar faces include Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, Sam Coffey, Alyssa Thompson, Jaedyn Shaw and Lily Yohannes. Even with these experienced players back in camp, nobody’s spot is safe and there will be battles at every position. And that will keep happening as more players come back from injury or pregnancy throughout this year. “That’s the whole point,” Hayes said. “You got to create competition, you got to give people experiences, and [I’ve] been really clear that you have to go through those things. You can’t sort of expect an evolution to happen without the bumps in the road that come with it. “Everybody understands what it takes to represent the crest and as long as players are competing and performing, then everybody – no matter your age, no matter your experience – are all challenging for the jersey. … I think my job as a coach is to recognize that I have to get a group of players ready. And if I just selected 14 players all the time, I genuinely think I’d be failing at this job.” 4. U-23 pathway showing that it works Hayes has talked at length about the importance of developing the U-23 program ever since she took over as the USWNT’s manager. She’s held camps with both teams training alongside the other, and has called up U-23 players over the last year so they could experience what it’s like to compete in the senior team environment. While the January camp included plenty of inexperienced players – many of whom will play bigger roles in the future rather than right now – some made enough of a statement and are with the team for this tournament. Of course, some of these players are here because others are not – namely Wilson, Swanson, Macario and Tierna Davidson, as well as players like Avery Patterson and Michelle Cooper. But they’ve obviously impressed Hayes. Seven players on this roster were part of the 2025 Futures Camp, including Jordyn Bugg, Gisele Thompson, Lilly Reale, Claire Hutton, Riley Jackson, Maddie Dahlien and Jameese Joseph. Two players – Jackson and Dahlien – earned their first caps last month. “Maddie Dahlien has a really bright future,” Hayes said, using the 21-year-old forward with two caps as an example. “She came through the youth national team and had a really stellar first season with Seattle Reign. I think when it comes to having wide players that could potentially be a combination of both – I think sometimes she could be a high left back, and she could also be a winger – and I think that versatility is something I want to look at more. “I think knowing Michelle Cooper wasn’t available this camp, we felt that this was the right [time] to look at her in what we’re classing as a tournament setting. This is great preparatory work for World Cup qualifiers, so how else am I going to give her this exposure? Let’s say, for example, she is going to be in contention for selection come November. What a great way to do it with this camp.” 4 ½: What’s next? The 11th annual SheBelieves Cup kicks off in just a few short weeks. Here is the full roster (Club; Caps/Goals): GOALKEEPERS (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 7), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 5), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 4) DEFENDERS (9): Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC; 6/0), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 71/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG; 50/2), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 6/0), Tara Rudd (Washington Spirit; 10/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 113/2), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 5/0), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave FC; 3/0), Kate Wiesner (Washington Spirit; 3/0) MIDFIELDERS (8): Sam Coffey (Manchester City, ENG; 42/5), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 170/38), Claire Hutton (Bay FC; 13/1), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage; 1/0), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 116/27), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 13/5), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 31/9), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 13/1) FORWARDS (6): Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Reign FC; 2/0), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars FC; 2/1), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 49/13), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 14/6), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 15/6), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 26/3)