With Sophia Wilson's return from maternity leave, two-thirds of the attacking trio that led the U.S. to Olympic gold in 2024 are back in the fold – but they will be joined by younger players who are competing for playing time
By Pardeep Cattry Apr 9, 2026 at 4:15 pm ET • 5 min read 
Getty Images Sophia Wilson's return from maternity leave means the U.S. women's national team are inching closer to the reunion of triple espresso, completed by Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson. The trio have not played together in nearly two years and have only been in the same room once – at NWSL Media Day in Los Angeles in January – since winning gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024, but as Swanson continues with light training with the Chicago Stars after welcoming her first child, the much-awaited reunion feels like the storyline of the year for Emma Hayes' side.
Reminders are rarely necessary but as triple espresso's likely return inches closer, the group's historical depth feels top of mind. The USWNT has essentially been a vessel for top-class attacking talent for decades, so much so that the team's training environments have been considered some of the most competitive in the sport. The team triple espresso left behind, though, is not the one they will rejoin and as the U.S. prepare for a three-game swing against Japan this month, a series of tough questions are starting to form for Hayes as the road to next year's Women's World Cup continues.
The USWNT has spent the majority of the post-Olympics period without any of the triple espresso available to them, Rodman getting the most game time of the trio but registering just 308 minutes after spending much of 2025 on the sidelines with different injuries. The team's attackers have held their own in triple espresso's absence, several emerging as genuine contenders for the World Cup roster – and immediate starters rather than skilled understudies to Rodman, Swanson and Wilson.
USWNT's April schedule against Japan
All times U.S./Eastern
- April 11 at 5:30 p.m. at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
- April 14 at 10 p.m. at Lumen Field in Seattle
- April 17 at 9 p.m. at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
The players who held down the fort
While the gold medal-winning run in Paris allowed that trio to live up to their well-documented potential, someone else has picked up that mantle in the months since – Catarina Macario. The 26-year-old was a late scratch from the Olympics roster with an injury but has slotted in expertly since, demonstrating a flexibility that matches her impact. She has frequently deputized as a No. 9, where Swanson started during the Olympics and where Wilson can also play, notching eight goals and three assists along the way. Macario has still had to deal with sporadic, short-term injury issues in the post-Olympics period so she has been limited to 696 minutes in 10 games but she has averaged a goal contribution every 63 minutes along the way. She did not make the cut for this month's friendlies as she deals with a heel injury but at long last, the much-hyped Macario feels like an option for the immediate term.
The USWNT's most consistently available – and effective – attacker during this stretch is actually Ally Sentnor, who has been one of the greatest benefactors of Hayes' choice to expand the player pool and offer young players as many minutes as possible. The 22-year-old has seven goals and 10 assists since making her debut in a 0-0 draw against England in Nov. 2024, averaging a goal contribution a game along the way. She's much more effective the closer she is to goal, something Hayes seemed to notice during last month's SheBelieves Cup triumph and has demonstrated a nose for goal that has made her an easy inclusion in the lineup.
Rodman seems to still have a hold on her role on the right flank but Alyssa Thompson is challenging for a starting position on the left flank, where Wilson played at the Olympics. The 21-year-old has gotten off to a flying start in her first season with Chelsea with nine goals and three assists in all competitions, all while playing a sizable role with the national team. She has four goals and three assists in the post-Olympics period and like Macario and Sentnor, has made a case to be a starter immediately. With seven games to go until November's Concacaf W Championship, which serves as North America's World Cup qualification tournament, Hayes has exceeded expectations in some ways with her player pool expansion – she could field an entire attacking unit with these players alone, each of them worthy of starting at a World Cup for a team competing to win one.
Embarrassment of riches in the player pool
Even if Macario, Sears and Thompson are the standouts, Hayes has a remarkable number of players to count on. Emma Sears has earned a notable number of minutes, often in the right wing position that Rodman usually occupies, since making her debut in Oct. 2024, notching six goals and three assists. Hayes said in March that she currently visualizes the 25-year-old as the first option off the bench in a World Cup, Sears seemingly internalizing that message. She rarely wastes a minute on the pitch, fervently dashing towards goal in a way few players do, perhaps in full recognition of the fact that a trip to Brazil next year is no guarantee for a wide variety of talented players.
The USWNT also have several attack-minded players who are starting to carve out roles where they act more as creators than goalscorers all while boasting versatility in a number of attacking roles. Chief among them are Jaedyn Shaw and Michelle Cooper, the former registering three goals and three assists since the Olympics. While Shaw was one of the rising talents who benefitted from the experimentation period that followed the USWNT's disappointing round of 16 exit at the 2023 World Cup, Cooper seems poised to break out on the national team sooner rather than later. The 23-year-old has one goal and three assists after making her debut during the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, but injuries impacted her ability to play for the national team in the back half of the year.
Somehow, there are still more options to speak of. Jameese Joseph cracked this month's squad as Hayes continues her development of players in the No. 9 position, something she was eager to do during the SheBelieves Cup. Joseph's stock has grown in recent months after four consecutive inclusions on USWNT rosters, though she currently seems behind a host of others in the position.
The good news for Hayes – and her impressive collection of attacking talent – is that there will be plenty of opportunities to earn minutes in the short term. The U.S. will play Japan three times in the span of a week, affording just about every player on the roster a chance to earn meaningful minutes. Perhaps more importantly, it comes with the opportunity for the coaching staff to collect as much data as possible before making a handful of hard choices for November's World Cup qualifiers and eventually next year's World Cup. The triple espresso will keep the competition as tight as possible, each of them definitely still in the mix to regain the starting roles that they seemed destined for in Paris. Guarantees, though, will be no sure thing, setting up for an incredibly competitive race to a starting role in Brazil in a year's time.
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