Fresh off a dominant 6-0 win over Paraguay to open up the new year, the U.S. women’s national team close out their January camp with a friendly against Chile that will once again showcase the rising talents in the team’s player pool.
Head coach Emma Hayes is working with an inexperienced version of the USWNT for this month’s matches, in large part because Europe-based players are unavailable to play outside of a FIFA window and Gotham FC’s national team contingent are in London for the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup. Trinity Rodman, now the highest-paid player in the history of women’s soccer after signing a new deal with the Washington Spirit, headlined the group as the most capped player on the roster, wearing the captain’s armband and scoring in Saturday’s win over Paraguay.
Rodman, though, will not start on Tuesday as Hayes both manages players’ loads during their preseason and as she continues to embrace a spirit of experimentation that has largely defined her year-plus in charge so far. Three players – Reilyn Turner, Maddie Dahlien and Sally Menti – each earned their first cap on Saturday, with Turner also scoring the team’s opening goal against Paraguay, while three uncapped players still remain on the squad and will contend to earn their debuts against Chile.
Here’s what you need to know before tuning in.
How to watch USWNT vs. Chile
- Date: Tuesday, Jan. 24 | Time: 10 p.m. ET
- Location: Harder Stadium — Santa Barbara, Calif.
- TV: TBS | Live stream: HBO Max
Hayes teases ‘a whole new lineup’
Hayes has not been shy about her intent to rotate heavily over the course of the two January friendlies and confirmed as much on Monday in her pre-match remarks, noting that onlookers should expect some disjointedness along the way.
“There’ll be changes to the team, as I mentioned at the beginning, so I’m putting together a whole new lineup, which itself will bring another set of challenges, whether that will be first class, whether that will be inexperience collectively playing together,” Hayes said. “One thing I have almost agreed to do, knowing where the players are at this stage of the season with their NWSL clubs, is to not start a player for two games in a row. … We’ve earmarked some tactical things regardless of the game so it’ll be about implementing those things that they’ve been working on all week.”
Many of the players who have become regulars under Hayes like Rodman, Olivia Moultrie and Claire Hutton earned the start on Saturday against Paraguay, so the fully-rotated version of the USWNT that will play on Tuesday will feature a batch of fresh faces. This camp offers valuable exposure to the demands of the national team environment for those players, many of whom Hayes has identified as prospects for the cycle after the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games.
The circumstances mean Tuesday’s game could mirror Saturday’s. Though the USWNT won 6-0 thanks to a second half blitz in which they scored five goals, the first half was defined by missed connections and a slowed-down tempo after a bright start. It took the team — who clearly lacked chemistry — a little while to get going, though they managed to take full advantage of their opportunities after the halftime break.
For Hayes, though, her priority for the year ahead is locking in her team’s tactical identity ahead of November’s Concacaf W Championship, which serves as the World Cup qualification tournament. For the handful of players who feel like contenders to crack that roster and later on, the 2027 World Cup team, this month offers another important opportunity to make their case.
