The last time U.S. Women’s National Team fans saw forwards Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson share the field, they were winning a gold medal after defeating Brazil in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
More than 600 days later, the trio has the opportunity to reunite on the pitch against the same opponent as soon as next week.
Swanson, who scored the game-winning goal in the Olympic Final, was called up to the USWNT for the first time since October of 2024 and for the first time since the birth of her daughter in mid-November of last year. She will join the squad for two friendlies in Brazil against the nine-time South American champions on June 6 and June 9.
Also on the 26-player roster is Rodman and Wilson, the latter of whom made her long-awaited return to the team in April following the birth of her daughter last fall. The self-monikered “Triple Espresso” captivated the world after combining for 10 goals and five assists during that Olympic run, but both Wilson’s and Swanson’s pregnancies as well as injuries to Rodman have prevented the front line from competing together since the Olympic gold medal game on Aug. 10, 2024.
Head coach Emma Hayes stressed the importance of getting those three dynamic forwards back on the field ahead of the Concacaf W Championship later this year.
“We have been able to develop the depth, but those three players, they've developed credit in the bank,” Hayes said. “We won a gold medal with these players. They are top, top players. We have to start recreating their connections again, and I am very excited for that.”
Swanson made her return to NWSL side the Chicago Stars on May 16, and in her second appearance off the bench last weekend, she netted the game-winner against Bay FC. If Swanson plays on June 6, it will mark 604 days between USWNT appearances for the forward.
"[Mal] really feels that she's in a good place," Hayes said. "She's been ready to play, ready to contribute to her team. 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.”
The same could be said for the other “Triple Espresso” members. Wilson, who Hayes said was disappointed to have not scored in the Japan series, has since found her stride with the Portland Thorns and scored four goals in her last seven games. Rodman also has three goals and three assists for the Washington Spirit this season.
Other players on the roster who have been shining for their club teams are midfielders Croix Bethune and Riley Jackson, defender Tara Rudd and goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn – all of whom were not on the USA squad in April but competed either in January or in the 2026 SheBelieves Cup in March.
A few roster spots opened up as notable names like midfielder Sam Coffey and defender Naomi Girma were unavailable due to injury. Midfielder Rose Lavelle is among the 26 but will likely play limited minutes as she works back from a hamstring injury.
“I don't think there will ever be a time you will have your top players available all the time, which is why the development of everybody else [matters],” Hayes said.
At 20 years old, Jackson is the least-capped player on the roster with just one international appearance, but she recently captained the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team for three matches in Spain, and Hayes called her a well-rounded player with a high soccer IQ. For Bethune, who scored her first international goal on Jan. 27 against Chile in just her seventh cap, her distribution and chances created inside the box in her recent performances for Kansas City Current are standout qualities Hayes said made her deserving of a spot on this roster.
This camp marks just over a year out from the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted in Brazil. Hayes and assistant coach Denise Reddy explained that they wanted to include as many players as possible on this trip who they think could be on that World Cup roster should they qualify later this year.
In the two years since this staff took over the team, they have played just two friendlies outside of the United States – one in England and one in the Netherlands – both in late 2024. Hayes said enduring the challenges of traveling internationally while facing a high-quality opponent is essential in developing the team for the future.
“Being travel ready is something we don't get a lot of opportunities to do,” Hayes said. “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 fan experience — feeling like the away team but with the pressure cooker of a top opponent. All of these things really, really matter. This gives us an opportunity to really pick up some valuable lessons, and when I was putting the roster together, it was that in mind.”
