Sound the alarms because the “triple espresso” attacking line for the U.S. women’s national team is back together again. Head coach Emma Hayes named a 26-player roster for a pair of June friendlies against Brazil set to take place in South America on June 6 and conclude on June 9.
It’s the first time in nearly two years that the attacking trio of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson, and Mallory Swanson are on the same roster since winning the gold medal at the 2024 Olympics.
“It’s fantastic for our team, both on and off the field, to have Trinity and our two soccer moms back on the same roster. However, we recognize the importance of preparing for World Cup qualifying and the need for the group to come together in that process. We need to build connections between players, and with limited time before qualifying, every minute counts,” Hayes said.
“This trip offers amazing opportunities for these players to experience Brazil, its culture, stadiums, and passionate fans, and especially playing the World Cup hosts. Few challenges in women’s international soccer compare to facing Brazil in Brazil, so we’re excited for the valuable lessons this experience will bring.”
The USWNT announced the friendlies against Brazil just last month. The two-game series serves as a crucial buildup to World Cup qualifiers set to begin in November 2026. The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be a month-long summer tournament hosted by Brazil. The long time rivalry between the U.S. national team and Brazil is in a new era, with the United States recently defeating Brazil in the 2024 Olympic gold medal final.
The two sides have faced each other 43 times, and just six of the games have been in Brazil in 1996, 1997, and 2014. The six previous meetings in Brazil are split evenly (2W-2L-2D) between both teams.
Hayes has been vocal about utilizing the timeline to next years World Cup as a path to build cohesion and chemistry. While the period of player pool expansion is now on pause, that doesn’t mean the window of opportunity remains shut for players.
There are players who were part of the 2024 Olympic gold medal team not available due to injury, most notably Naomi Girma and Sam Coffey. Forward Catarina Macario, a 2025 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year finalist, is also unavailable for roster selection. All players are recovering from leg injuries.
That opens the door to players who did not feature during the April international window against Japan. Midfielders Croix Bethune and Riley Jackson are back with the squad, and defender Tara Rudd. Goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn returns to the roster after recovering from a hand injury and an impressive run with the first-place club, Utah Royals.
While Rodman and Wilson have been in national team camps this year, following Rodman’s injury absence and Wilson’s maternity leave, it is Swanson’s first camp since October 2024. Swanson and her husband, Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, welcomed the birth of their daughter in November 2025.
The front line trio led the squad with ten goals and five assists during the 2024 Olympics, and Swanson scored the game-winning goal against Brazil in the gold medal final.
USWNT roster for June friendlies
Listed by position (club; caps/goals)
Goalkeepers (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 10), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 5), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 7)
Defenders (8): Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC; 69/3), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 76/1), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 12/1), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 9/0), Tara Rudd (Washington Spirit; 12/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 116/2), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 10/0), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave FC; 6/1)
Midfielders (7): Croix Bethune (Kansas City Current; 7/1), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 176/40), Claire Hutton (Bay FC; 18/1), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage; 1/0), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 120/29), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 17/5), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 36/10), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 18/1)
Forwards (7): Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 12/1), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 55/13), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 19/6), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 21/7), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Stars; 103/38), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 31/4), Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns FC; 61/24)
Swanson returns from maternity leave
Hayes and the group have managed 2025 and the first half of 2026 without Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson, who were away on maternity leave. Wilson returned in April for the three-game series against Japan, and now Swanson returns following the birth of her daughter in November.
The Chicago Stars FC forward is fresh off two appearances with her NWSL club, roughly 65 minutes played, and scored a goal in just her second game back.
The USWNT manager has had to balance different circumstances for Wilson and Swanson, and told the media that players returning from pregnancy, “we have to give them time, because it does take that,” and sometimes it’s a combination of time and players feeling ready to return.
‘I think with Mal, definitely in the conversations we’ve had over the last two weeks, she really feels that she’s in a good place. She’s been ready to play, ready to contribute to her team. She really feels she’s in a good rhythm now with Josie, and it’s all the things that sometimes we don’t really realize,” Hayes explained.
“Like sleeping patterns, feeding patterns, you have to get all of those things right, and she knows that she’s got my full support, whatever she needs to do that. As much as I wanted to bring her in this camp, I fully respected that if she wasn’t ready for that, then we wouldn’t have done that either. But she was really ready, and she’s really excited about it, and I think to score the other night again, lifted another pressure, and when you’ve been absent from your teammates, some of them are best friends, who she’s grown up with for that long. This is why it’s so important.”
With the Concacaf W Champions Cup, the region’s World Cup qualifiers, set to kick off in November, and the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer, there are fewer windows of time to prepare. Hayes and the staff want to get players into camps and reintegrated into as many processes as possible.
“I can’t wait until October to put her back in the environment when the following camp we have to qualify. If she’s fit and healthy, she has to go in now to rebuild those connections. Plus, how do I figure these things out on an international stage as a player and a mum, and that’s where, for us, it’s easy to deal with them. They’re brilliant people, but they also have been really clear what they’ve needed and what they’ve not needed, and we’re blessed that we do have an environment that supports pre and post-natal pregnant players.”
A crucial test away from home
The national team will head to South America to face Brazil in Sao Paulo and Fortaleza. It’ll be the first time the national team plays in Brazil since 2014 and the first away trip for the squad with Emma Hayes since 2024. It’ll be an important experience for the group in the build up to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil next summer.
‘I think the first thing to be said is 90 plus games played by USA is in the US, so being travel ready is something we don’t get a lot of opportunity to do. In my tenure beyond the Olympics, we went to England and the Netherlands, but this is another moment where we get to see how we cope with all of the environmental conditions that come with going to Brazil. Whether that’s adapting to different cultures, different training facilities, different hotels, different experiences, fan experience, feeling like the away team, but with the pressure cooker of a top opponent. All of these things really, really matter,” Hayes said.
“I think I’ve been really clear throughout this; it’s about qualifying first, but we’re going to Brazil. And this gives us an opportunity to really pick up some valuable lessons. When I was putting the roster together, it was that in mind. We’ve got this camp and October. They’re the last two camps before qualification, and I’m honing in on making sure that the vast majority of players that will be in contention for that November roster are in this camp.”
