Rodman’s USWNT return, win vs. Brazil proves her importance to this team

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Trinity Rodman waited 238 days to play for the United States women’s national team again after winning an Olympic gold medal, and she needed exactly five minutes on Saturday to remind the world why she is the USWNT’s new superstar. That is when she darted behind Brazil‘s defense and deftly finished her shot with the outside of her right foot to put the Americans ahead early.

“Trin, she’s world-class,” USWNT head coach Emma Hayes said after her team’s 2-0 victory over Brazil at SoFi Stadium.

Rodman’s return to the USWNT gave the Olympic champions a shot of energy on and off the field. She is the team’s new star, one emerging in the wake of the recent retirements of some of best players and biggest personalities to ever wear the U.S. crest. The crowd of over 32,000 fans confirmed as much before the match with booming cheers for Rodman and fellow hometown forward Alyssa Thompson, who provided the through ball for the opening goal.

On the field, Rodman is increasingly a focal point of a United States team navigating that generational transition with waves of new, less experienced players. Even at 22 years old, Rodman is one of the most established players in the squad.

“She brings a huge energy on and off the field, and it’s incredible to just feed off of that,” said USWNT teammate Ally Sentnor, who started in the No. 10 role on Saturday. “Every tackle she goes into, every run that she makes, it really just adds to the game and makes you want to bring that high energy, too.”

Many of the new players tested by Hayes have held their own, but with so many veterans missing — from injured defenders Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson, to the other two-thirds of the self-proclaimed “Triple Espresso” of Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson, who are on leave — Rodman also provides the USWNT a sense of stability. She stretches lines and leaves defenders spinning in circles, as Brazil did throughout the opening minutes of Saturday’s match.

If all else fails for the USWNT, Rodman will still do something special, whether it is scoring as she did on Saturday or getting out of pressure with her famous “Trin Spin” move.

Saturday was Rodman’s 47th cap. She is already an Olympic gold medalist and scored three goals at last year’s Games, and she has a World Cup under her belt as well. While she isn’t yet the vocal leader of the team, she is a game changer who unequivocally makes the USWNT better.

“My leadership comes from the way that I play and how aggressive that I [am], but also just the energy that I provide,” Rodman said on Saturday. “I think I try to embed in this team that you lock in at the right moments, but you can also kind of have fun and be a human at different moments.”

Rodman displayed that humanity during her goal celebration on Saturday when she briefly faked a back injury, which sent an unsuspecting Hayes into brief panic, the coach said after the match. Rodman laughed it off as a funny celebration, and Hayes said she was happy to see her star forward back in camp and “smiling from ear to ear.”

Rodman played for only 60 minutes on Saturday as she’s still managing her back pain, and there were signs of that throughout the match as she subtly held her right hip or took a few extra seconds to get back on her feet after a hard challenge from a Brazilian defender. Overall, Rodman didn’t look like an injured player returning to a team; she did exactly what she is known to do. Yes, she scored, and was a constant source of industry up and down the right flank, attacking Brazil’s sometimes disjointed three-back defense while also tracking back to help clear the ball defensively whenever the USWNT’s opponents turned up the pressure.

“The goal itself, yeah, obviously it’s big-time,” said USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps, who scored the team’s other goal from the penalty spot midway through the second half. “But I think [Rodman’s] presence and just having her on the field — it’s a calming factor.”

Hayes reiterated this week that she is still experimenting with individual players to give them opportunities and see how they perform against top competition. The process will come with some growing pains, like February’s loss to Japan at the SheBelieves Cup. There have been plenty of positives along the way — including the return of Catarina Macario from her own injury and the resurgence of the 20-year-old Thompson to her best form yet. Thompson was electric in the first half on Saturday as she cut inside from the left wing to beat Brazilian defenders on the dribble.

The key to everything, Hayes has said, is balance. She is integrating new and young players into the team alongside veterans while trying to make sure she doesn’t set anyone up to fail. Hayes got the formula right again on Saturday as the USWNT jumped on Brazil early. Over the 90 minutes, the Americans produced 2.72 expected goals from their efforts to Brazil’s 1.41, per U.S. Soccer, a measurement of the quality of chances they created.

“I think you’re seeing that this less experienced team are growing up,” Hayes said after Saturday’s victory, and Rodman is part of that maturation process. Saturday served as further confirmation that she is the next big thing for the USWNT.