The U.S. Women’s National Team begins its first tournament of 2026, the SheBelieves Cup, presented by Visa, on Sunday, March 1 against Argentina at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn.
It will be the first appearance of the year for many veterans who were not a part of the USWNT’s January training camp and matches, including captain Lindsey Heaps and 2021 Visa SheBelieves Cup MVP and 2025 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year Rose Lavelle. Head coach Emma Hayes also brought back a few younger talents who impressed in the first two matches of the year.
Eight players were named to their first SheBelieves Cup roster, five of whom competed in the January matches. Midfielder Riley Jackson, who earned her first cap last month in the 5-0 win against Chile, emphasized the value in learning from the older players ahead of her first senior team tournament.
“Everyone on the team has been so great and so supportive, especially since I'm new here,” Jackson said. “I have looked up to Lindsey and Rose for a really long time, so it's been really cool to be in camp with them and really see how they train and how they carry themselves day in and day out.”
Jackson might also be sharing the midfield with Sam Coffey, who enters this camp with 42 international caps. The 27-year-old noted how much the younger players bring to this squad, especially those of which have made their debuts under Hayes.
“We have so much young talent, and I think they're showing up in this environment and trusting themselves and contributing in a really special way,” said Coffey. “That's really hard as a young player, but I think that is what this program and specifically, what Emma and her staff have done really well in terms of investing in them.”
The U.S. will face three top-30 ranked opponents in the 2026 SheBelieves Cup in Argentina (30), Colombia (20) and Canada (10), which will also compete with the U.S. in the Concacaf W Championship for World Cup qualifying at the end of the year.
The week-long SheBelieves Cup, which recently announced a rule change where matches will head straight to penalties if tied after regulation, is an opportunity for the less-experienced players to compete in a group-stage style competition ahead of larger-scale tournaments like the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
“Nothing feels like how a tournament feels,” Coffey said. “The turnaround, the (potential) penalties, competing to win a trophy. You can't manufacture those circumstances. The more we can be in environments where we experience that, especially before qualifying and all that's to come, I think those opportunities are really invaluable, especially for our younger girls.”
