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Jeff Carlisle
Multiple Authors
Forward Washington Spirit Trinity Rodman, midfielder OL Lyonnes Lindsey Heaps, and Gotham FC‘s Rose Lavelle are featured in the roster announced by manager Emma Hayes for the 11th edition of the SheBelieves Cup, taking place from March 1 to March 7 in Tennessee, Ohio, and New Jersey.
The 26-player team comprises 19 players from domestic leagues and seven competing abroad. Six of these players, including Heaps, Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, defender Emily Fox from Arsenal, midfielder Lily Yohannes from OL Lyonnes, and the Chelsea duo of defender Naomi Girma and player Alyssa Thompson, are currently participating in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
The USWNT aims to secure their eighth tournament title, with just 13 players returning from last year’s roster.
“The SheBelieves Cup is an excellent tournament that allows us to simulate the group stage of a FIFA tournament,” said Hayes.
“Three high-quality matches in quick succession enable us to replicate conditions that will prepare us for the World Cup qualifying campaign this fall. We are committed to developing our player pool further to improve our performance. As we gain experience, I expect our standards to continue to rise.”
Rodman is eager to build on her strong showing from January’s friendlies against Paraguay and Chile, where she scored twice and even encouraged Hayes to participate in a celebratory dance during the second match.
Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson, part of the successful Triple Espresso forward line from the 2024 Olympics, are still recovering after welcoming babies last year. Both Heaps and Lavelle are set to make their first USWNT appearances of 2026.
“Sophia and I discussed her situation, and she’s just not ready yet,” Hayes said. “The return-to-play protocol hasn’t allowed her enough time to get to her desired level. While I wish she could be part of this squad, Portland has deemed her unready, which is understandable.”
“Regarding Cat Macario, there has been a heel injury, but I know she is making progress daily. However, she isn’t available for selection at Chelsea just yet. I can’t specify when she might return—whether it’s a week, two, or three weeks—but she remains unavailable.”
The SheBelieves Cup features matches against Argentina, Canada, and Colombia, all of which are currently in the top 30 of FIFA’s world rankings.
The USWNT will take on Argentina on March 1 at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee, followed by a match against longtime rivals Canada on March 4 at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus, Ohio. Their final game in the tournament will be on March 7 against Colombia at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
This year’s tournament will introduce a new format: all matches that are tied at the end of regulation will proceed directly to penalty shootouts. Consequently, while the tournament winner will still be determined by total points, teams will earn three points for a win, one point for a draw at the end of regulation, and one point for winning the penalty shootout.
If teams finish the round-robin stage with equal points, the following tiebreakers will be applied in order: overall goal difference, total goals scored, and head-to-head results from regulation time. If the head-to-head match ended in a draw, that result remains, regardless of any penalty shootout outcome. The last tiebreaker, if necessary, will be the Fair Play ranking.
The roster includes a number of young players, with 12 athletes having 10 or fewer caps. The overall average age is 24.4 years, which is slightly higher than the average of 24.1 from the recent January camp.
This roster includes the sisters Gisele and Alyssa Thompson, marking the fourth time they have both been selected, previously appearing together in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup.
The Thompson sisters are the third pair of siblings to play for the USWNT.
The first pair of sisters was twins Lorrie and Ronnie Fair in the late 1990s, while most recently, Samantha and Kristie Mewis were both named to the 2021 Olympic team.
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals)
2026 SheBelieves Cup
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)