For the first time since the 2024 Summer Olympics, U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes will have the “Triple Espresso” back at her disposal ahead of a stingy pair of road friendlies in South America.
Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman were all named together in Hayes’ 26-player roster for the USWNT’s upcoming friendlies at Brazil, making the first time they’ve trained together in close to two years. Coincidentally, the attacking trio were last on the field together when the USWNT used a Swanson-winning goal to defeat Brazil 1-0 in the Gold Medal Game in Paris, France
Fast forward to 2026 and Rodman voiced her excitement to have her talented pair of teammates back with her again.
“I’m very excited to have them back, especially off the field,” Rodman said in a conference call Wednesday. “Their personalities are amazing to have in camp and just, like, having my sisters back is amazing. And then on the field I just feel like our connection is so good.”
A lot has happened for all three players since the last time they featured together. Rodman has battled injuries in each of the last two years, limiting her to only nine USWNT caps since the start of 2025.
Wilson and Swanson were both on maternity leave throughout parts of last year and later gave birth to their respective kids in the months of September and November. The 25-year-old Wilson has scored five goals for the Portland Thorns in 2026 while the 28-year-old Swanson has one goal to her name in three appearances this spring.
Both Swanson and Wilson will be without their children for the two-week trip to Brazil, putting the veteran duo in an unfamiliar position as new mothers.
“Mal and I have spent every waking moment over the last six and nine months with our babies, so it’s definitely hard to be away from them,” Wilson said. “I feel like it’s the hours that you’re not busy that it gets tough, but their dads are getting very good quality time with them, and they are loved and well taken care of, and that’s what we just have to keep telling ourselves.”
The USWNT are using June’s pair of matches as key preparation for CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying later this fall. Mansfield and Houston, Texas will play host to the tournament from November 27-December 5, with the Americans already earning a spot in the quarterfinal round date with El Salvador due to being one of the top-eight ranked national teams in the federation.
Hayes has relied on many other players over the past two years during the spells of Rodman, Wilson, and Swanson’s absences, but is focused on getting the trio’s chemistry back to where it once was.
“We have been able to develop the depth, but those three players, they’ve developed credit in the bank,” Hayes said earlier this week. “We won a gold medal with these players. They are top, top players. Together, we have to start re-creating their connections again and I am very excited for that.”
No. 6-ranked Brazil will be no easy test for the USWNT despite the Americans winning eight of the last nine head-to-head contests. Brazil overturned an early road deficit to win 2-1 in the last meeting back in April 2025, using a 95th minute-winning goal to pull the upset.
Heading on the road will provide a new experience for this group of players, but Rodman believes a fast start will dictate the tempo against the experienced hosts.
“Brazil’s always a really hard opponent,” Rodman said. “For us, I think the biggest thing is controlling the game. They are really good on the mind side. They’re good at getting set pieces and throw-ins and getting the ball out of bounds, so I think being able to take the control and have it in play and kind of dictate things will be important.
“They’re a talented team, they’re really aggressive, and they always start out really fast, so I think it will be important the way that we come out against them,” she added.