Emma Hayes, says who will play in the coming Games with Japan

By Anonymous (not verified), April 1, 2026

HAYES NAMES 26-PLAYER USWNT TRAINING CAMP ROSTER FOR APRIL MATCHES AGAINST JAPAN 

Olympic Gold Medalists Sophia Wilson and Tierna Davidson Return to Roster;
Claire Hutton and Claudia Dickey Will Have the Chance to Play in Clubs’ Home Stadiums;
Naomi Girma Will Have the Chance to Play in Her Hometown of San Jose, Calif.;
U.S. Captain, Denver Native Lindsey Heaps Will Have the Chance to Play a Match in Home State for the First Time Since Signing with Denver Summit FC 

ATLANTA (April 1, 2026) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Emma Hayes has named a 26-player training camp roster for the three April matches against 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup champions Japan. Tickets for all three matches are available via ussoccer.com. 

The roster marks the return of two players who add a tremendous amount of experience to the U.S. roster as both have played in World Cups and the Olympics. Forward Sophia Wilson, a member of the “Triple Espresso” front line who helped lead the USA to the 2024 Olympic gold medal, makes her first USWNT roster in 17 months following her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter in early September of 2025. The 25-year-old Wilson has 58 caps for the USWNT along with 24 goals, three of which were scored at the 2024 Olympics, to go with her two assists in that tournament.   

Defender Tierna Davidson, 27, has made a complete recovery from an ACL injury suffered in NWSL play at the beginning of the 2025 season. She returns to the USWNT after a 13-month absence. Coincidentally, Davidson’s most recent international match was against Japan on Feb. 26, 2025, in the SheBelieves Cup finale. Davidson has 67 caps and three goals. 

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals) 
2026 April Matches vs. Japan
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash, 10), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 8), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 6)
DEFENDERS (9): Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC; 67/3), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 74/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG; 52/2), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 10/1), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 7/0), Emily Sams (Angel City FC: 9/1), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 115/2), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 7/0), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave FC; 4/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Sam Coffey (Manchester City, ENG; 44/5), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 173/39), Claire Hutton (Bay FC; 15/1), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 118/27), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 15/5),Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 34/10), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 16/1)
FORWARDS (7): Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 10/1), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars FC; 4/1), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 52/13), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 17/6), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 18/7), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 29/4), Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns FC; 58/24) 

The U.S. roster features 23 field players and three goalkeepers, including the return of veteran Jane Campbell, who has the most caps of the three ‘keepers on the roster with 10. U.S. head coach Emma Hayes will suit up 23 players for each of the three matches. Twenty-three-year-old forward Michelle Cooper, having recovered from injuries, also returns to the roster for the first time in 2026. 

“As our team continues to evolve, it will be great to welcome back Sophia and Tierna, who are not only great players but also contribute positively to our team environment,” said Hayes. “Japan is undoubtedly one of the top teams in the world, and they are performing at a very high level coming off their Asian Cup title, which was impressive to watch. Playing the same country three times in a row, and especially a team that is as dedicated to their style as Japan, will be a massive test for our team and I’m looking forward to seeing how our team handles the numerous challenges these games will present.” 

Japan is fresh off a triumphant run at the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia where the Nadeshiko outscored its opposition 29-1 (the only goal allowed was to South Korea in a 4-1 semifinal victory) and impressively beat the Matildas, 1-0, in the title game in front of 74,397 fans at Stadium Australia. 

The USWNT will begin its three-game series against Japan in San Jose, Calif. at PayPal Park, home of Bay FC and the San Jose Earthquakes, on April 11 (2:30 p.m. PT / 5:30 p.m. TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English and Universo and Peacock in Spanish). This match is being presented by The Home Depot. 

The USA will then play Japan for a second time on Tuesday, April 14, at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash., home of Seattle Reign FC and Seattle Sounders FC (7 p.m. PT on TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish). This match is being presented by Allstate. 

The last match of the series will be played on Friday, April 17, at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. (7 p.m. MT on TNT, truTV and HBOMax in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish), home of the Colorado Rapids and the venue at which the Denver Summit will play a few matches this season.  

All three matches will also be available in English on the radio on Westwood One.  

Additional Notes: 

  • For the second camp in a row, the USWNT roster has zero uncapped players on it, marking the only two rosters of Emma Hayes’ tenure without uncapped players. 

  • Ten different players have scored for the U.S. thus far in 2026 and eight of them are on this roster, led by Ally Sentnor with three goals. Emma Sears and Trinity Rodman each have two goals after five matches so far this year. 

  • These will be the first matches that Sophia Wilson, formerly Sophia Smith, plays under her married name. Wilson’s most recent international goal came on Oct. 24, 2024, in Austin, Texas during a 3-1 win over Iceland.   

  • Should Wilson see action in any of the three matches, she will be the 18th mother to play for the USWNT. Should Wilson score a goal, she will be the ninth player to score for the U.S. as a mom. 

  • Wilson has connections to all three geographical areas for the upcoming April matches. She was a star at Stanford University and helped the Cardinal win the 2019 NCAA title; she currently plays her professional club soccer for Portland Thorns FC in the Pacific Northwest; and she hails from Windsor in the state of Colorado.  

  • Three players on the roster have more than 100 caps, led by Lindsey Heaps (172) and followed by Rose Lavelle (118) and Emily Sonnett (115). 

  • Five players have between 50-100 caps: Emily Fox (74), Tierna Davidson (67), Sophia Wilson (58), Naomi Girma (52) and Trinity Rodman (52). Sam Coffey is six caps from hitting 50. 

  • Ten players have 10 or fewer caps. 

  • Of the 23 field players on the roster, 20 have scored in an international match, led by Heaps with 39 international goals. Lavelle has 27 goals and Wilson has 24. The only other players with double figures are Rodman with 13 and Jaedyn Shaw, who scored her 10th career goal on March 1 against Argentina at the SheBelieves Cup. 

  • The only field players on the roster who haven’t scored in an international match are defenders Gisele Thompson (seven caps), Lilly Reale (seven caps) and Kennedy Wesley (four caps). 

  • The roster features 19 NWSL players (five from Gotham FC) and seven who are currently playing for clubs in Europe. Six of the seven are currently competing in the latter stages of the UEFA Women’s Champions League: Lindsey Heaps and Lily Yohannes with OL Lyonnes, Emily Fox with Arsenal FC, Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson with Chelsea FC and Phallon Tullis-Joyce with Manchester United. 

  • Sam Coffey’s Manchester City is close to securing the England Women’s Super League title and a berth in next year’s Champions League. 

  • The average age of this 26-player training camp roster 25.2, a bit higher than the SheBelieves Cup roster (24.4), which was slightly higher than the 24.1 average age of the USA’s January 2026 camp roster.  

  • The average caps per player heading into the first match against Japan is 37.4, quite a bit higher than recent rosters. That increase reflects the return of Wilson and Davidson but also indicates that the U.S. team is slowly becoming more experienced. 

  • The average caps on this roster heading into the first SheBelieves Cup match was 30.4, quite a difference from the 6.6 average caps heading into the Paraguay match that opened 2026.  

  • The roster for the matches against Italy to end 2025 averaged 27.5 caps heading into the first match. The roster for the October 2025 matches averaged 27.3 caps. 

  • The roster for the June/July 2025 window was one of the most inexperienced, caps-wise, in the modern history of the USWNT, and it averaged 10 caps more than the January 2026 camp roster. The average number of caps per player at the beginning of that June/July window was 18.  

  • This roster features quite a few connections to the three venues that will host the April matches. Four players on the roster played their college soccer in the Bay Area at Stanford University in Wilson, Davidson, Girma and Jane Campbell. Davidson hails from Menlo Park, Calif. and Girma grew up in San Jose, Calif. Claudia Dickey is the starting goalkeeper for Seattle Reign FC, Wilson and Olivia Moultrie play in the Northwest for Portland Thorns FC and the roster features two Colorado natives in Wilson and Heaps, the latter of whom signed with the Denver Summit in early January and will join the NWSL expansion club in July after finishing her final season in France. Claire Hutton from Bay FC will also get the chance to play in her club’s home venue. 

  • The roster once again features the sister duo of Alyssa and Gisele Thompson. The Thompson sisters are the third pair of sisters to represent the USA. The first instance of USWNT sisters occurred in the late 1990s when twins Lorrie and Ronnie Fair were called up together. More recently, Samantha and Kristie Mewis were on the 2021 Olympic Team together. 

  • Hayes gave 32 players first caps in her first 32 matches at the helm. On Dec. 1, 2025, Kate Wiesner became the 50th different player to start a match under Emma Hayes in her then 32 matches as USWNT head coach.  

  • Hayes has now given caps to 60 different players. Of those 60 players, 56 have started a match.  

  • No other full-time manager named more than 36 different starters in their first 30 games in charge. 

  • In 2025 alone, Hayes gave 44 different players caps, the most of any coach in the 40 years of the USWNT program.  

  • The three goalkeepers in camp have a total of 24 career caps. Campbell of the Houston Dash has 10 but has not earned a cap since Feb. 26, 2025, which was a USA loss to Japan in the most recent meeting between the teams. Dickey has eight caps and Tullis-Joyce has six. 

  • There is just one teenager on the roster in Lily Yohannes, who turns 19 in June. 

  • Sonnett (32) is the oldest player on the roster while Yohannes is the youngest. Yohannes was eight years old and still living in the United States (two years before her family’s move to the Netherlands) when Sonnett earned her first cap in 2015. 

  • There are 21 players on the roster in their 20s and just four in their 30s: Heaps, Lavelle, Sonnett and Campbell. 

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