Emma Hayes strikes balance of experience and youth for USWNT’s SheBelieves Cup roster | USA women’s football team
Emma Hayes has struck a balance of experience and rising young talent in her squad for the 2026 SheBelieves Cup. The friendly competition will pit the US women against Argentina, Canada and Colombia in early March.
This year marks the first time that teams can select 26 players for their SheBelieves squad, although each coach must determine 23 players who will be available for each game.
“The SheBelieves Cup is a fantastic tournament which gives us the opportunity to replicate the group stage of a FIFA tournament,” Hayes said in the federation’s press release. “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.”
Those who kept up with Hayes’s experimental squads throughout 2025 will recognize the bulk of the roster, which includes eight members of the gold-winning 2024 Olympic squad.
Hayes opted for her three most-utilized goalkeepers following Alyssa Naeher’s international retirement. Phallon Tullis-Joyce, in top form with Manchester United, returns to the USWNT for the first time since October. Claudia Dickey and Mandy McGlynn got vital reps in the November and January camps to curtail the effects of the NWSL offseason.
The defensive corps sees three well-established mainstays – Naomi Girma of Chelsea, Emily Fox of Arsenal and Emily Sonnett of Gotham – complemented by several up-and-comers. Jordyn Bugg (Seattle), Tara Rudd (Washington) and Kennedy Wesley (San Diego) will make their cases to partner Girma at center back. Gisele Thompson projects as Fox’s understudy on the right, while reigning US Young Player of the Year Lilly Reale (Gotham) and Kate Wiesner will vie for starts at left back.
There is similar balance in midfield, with Sam Coffey returning after her move to Manchester City to anchor the midfield. Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, soon Denver) will again captain the team, and Rose Lavelle (Gotham) is fresh off a brilliant 2025 for club and country.
The rest of the engine room features several of Hayes’s trusted young options. Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes) offers great facilitation and progression. Claire Hutton, with her all-around poise in defensive midfield, should reinforce why Bay FC spent big to pry her from Kansas City last week. Jaedyn Shaw will hope to harness momentum from her late-season transfer to Gotham, a move that ended in an NWSL Championship. Riley Jackson (North Carolina) is the least-tested selection, having debuted for the US in January but established herself as a regular starter for her club before turning 20 this offseason.
Midfielder Catarina Macario is not in the US squad. The Chelsea star, who has been linked in recent weeks with a NWSL move, has not played for her club since 10 December. Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor said last week that Macario was out with an injury.
The forward line is a bit more prospective, with Trinity Rodman (Washington) and Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea) somehow the senior figures at ages 23 and 21, respectively. They’ll threaten from the wing, with Emma Sears (Louisville) offering danger to score from her dribble on the right and Maddie Dahlien (Seattle) proving savvy in the overlap with her pace and crossing chops as she alternates between left back and left wing. Ally Sentnor (Kansas City) projects to get her longest runout yet as Hayes’s striker, while Jameese Joseph (Chicago) scored her first USWNT goal in January.
While these games are still nominally friendlies, they are viable tests from stronger opposition than many of the teams the US faced in 2025. World Cup qualifying looms ahead in October.
The Americans open v Argentina on 1 March in Nashville and then travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face Canada on 4 March. They finish against Colombia on 7 March in Harrison, New Jersey.
US roster
Goalkeepers: Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United)
Defenders: Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Naomi Girma (Chelsea), Lilly Reale (Gotham), Tara Rudd (Washington Spirit), Emily Sonnett (Gotham), Gisele Thompson (Angel City), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave), Kate Wiesner (Washington Spirit)
Midfielders: Sam Coffey (Manchester City), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), Claire Hutton (Bay), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage), Rose Lavelle (Gotham), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes)
Forwards: Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Reign), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea)
