The U.S. women's national team opened their 2026 SheBelieves Cup campaign on Sunday night with a 2-0 victory over Argentina with an unexpected experimental lineup, and everyone ended the game wondering about the status of forward Trinity Rodman after she appeared to take a hard challenge and grabbed her back.
Lindsey Heaps and Jaedyn Shaw provided the goal scoring at GEODIS Park in Nashville with a performance that was both composed and a bit disjointed. The win sets up the team for a key clash against Concacaf rivals Canada on Wednesday, after the Canadians defeated Colombia 4-1, with the winner taking control of first place in the competition.
Argentina opened the game unafraid to match the USWNT and their three back, effectively counterpressing and disrupting passing lanes, but it all ended in the 19th minute. Team captain Heaps delivered the breakthrough after a ball-winning effort by Jameese Joseph and an assist by Emma Sears.
"We talked about our primary system's decision-making in the final period. The cutback cross, I don't know if it was actually meant for me, but it falls to me. But I think we're looking for a better option, not just taking a shot with a bad angle," Heaps said about her goal after the game.
"I think that's that's the most important thing. And then when you get opportunities like that, how can you capitalize on them?"
Despite the narrow lead, Argentina stole some momentum back in the lead-up to halftime, making things difficult for the USWNT to build on their opening goal. But the Stars and Stripes were able to regain some control early in the second half.
Heaps added an assist to her game when she connected with Shaw for the team's second goal. Shaw extended the lead, showcasing her attacking threats with a right footed curler from the left corner of the box. The Gotham FC player is coming off an impressive end to her 2025 season, highlighted by a surging playoff run and the 2025 NWSL Championship. The two-goal lead was enough for the USWNT to get their first win of the tournament.
"These type of games are really hard. You know, you have an aggressive team like Argentina, that makes it very, very difficult. You know, you're back to back to goal, or they're coming in hard, man for man, the amount of pressure they put on us, like they made it very, very difficult, where we had trouble finding solutions. And I think in a game like that, it's speeding up the tempo," said Heaps.
"When a foul happens, the ball goes out of place, you get the ball, get it back into play quickly, and try to catch them off. Because when we're trying to build, and we're trying to create, it's a little bit more difficult, and it's hard to find a solution."
The victory over Argentina now sets up a marquee match between two Concacaf rivals. The USWNT will face Canada on Wednesday night in Columbus. The two teams are level on three points, but after Canada's lopsided 4-1 win over Colombia, they are in first place on the SheBelieves Cup table, while the U.S. sit in second on goal differential.
"I think when you look towards Canada, you want to kind of scrap this kind of game. Because we know in a tournament, it's about winning. We just got the two to zero win. Maybe it's not the prettiest, but now we get to go face Canada, and it's a different kind of game that we have to solve," said Heaps.
The game also ended with a level of concern for Rodman, who took a hard challenge and immediately reached for her back in pain. There is no immediate update, as head coach Emma Hayes mentioned in her post-game press conference that the players were being debriefed and she had not yet met with them.
"Haven't seen her. She's in the locker room. I don't generally see the team till they've had their own debrief about an hour and a half after the game. So I can't give you one [update], don't know," Hayes said.
The USWNT keeps the early lead in the second half! Jaedyn Shaw extends the lead with a curler from the top corner of the box. Heaps delivers the assist after getting the opening goal in the first half. The United States won their SheBelieves Cup opener, though there's plenty of concern over Trinity Rodman's exit in stoppage time after aggravating her back.
No significant update on Rodman's status by Emma Hayes following the 2-0 win over Argentina. The coach sat with the media for a post-game press conference and was asked if she spoke with the player and if there was an update:
"Haven't seen her. She's in the locker room. I don't generally see the team till they've had their own debrief about an hour and a half after the game. So I can't give you one [update], don't know," Hayes said.
That's it for game one of the SheBelieves Cup. The USWNT wins thanks to goals by Lindsey Heaps and Jaedyn Shaw. There will be plenty of concern for Trinity Rodman, who took a challenge in stoppage time and immediately grabbed her back. She was eventually helped off the pitch by trainers, and stayed on the sidelines doing light stretches through the remainder of the final minutes.
Now appears that Rodman is back on the sideline after getting looked at by trainers. Thought it might be it for her as the game is in stoppage time.
A terrible ending to to the game? In stoppage time, Trinity Rodman takes a foul to her back. Her struggles with the injury have been well documented, and she's now getting treated on the pitch in stoppage time.
76' Emma Sears exits the match with an assist on the opening goal. Alyssa Thompson returns to the USWNT in 2026 after a blazing start with her new club team, Chelsea FC. Sears has been active in the last few camps she's featured in. Definitely playing like her spot is on the line, and who can blame her? The timeline to the World Cup qualifiers is just getting shorter and shorter.
66' Ally Sentnor is off on a sprint after getting on the end of a long ball. Her efforts are applauded, but the sideline official was pretty quick with that call.
62' Unfortunately, Lilly Reale's day is done early. She came on at halftime, played through a tough tackle, and was evaluated before a triple substitution at the hour mark. She's out of the match now, along with Jaedyn Shaw and Lily Yohannes. Ally Sentnor, Emily Fox, and Trinity Rodman are now in the game.
55' It takes little to no time for the USWNT to get the go-ahead goal. Jaedyn Shaw dances with the back at the corner of the box, and she connects with the far right corner of the goal.
That'll be it today for Maggie Dahlien and Jameese Joseph. Dahlien utilized in a wingback role today, and Joseph won the ball back on Heaps opening goal. Lily Reale and Claire Hutton are on for the second half.
It's Argentina with the momentum shift to close out the first half. Holzheier lets one rip from distance, but Dickey covers it. The lead is narrow but it belongs to the USWNT for now.
As halftime approaches, Argentina is back to how they started the game. Shutting down space, getting closer to the ball, and looking to make the USWNT uncomfortable. They're doing a good job, as the USWNT has yet to get a shot off in the last five or six minutes.
39' Dominguez is issued a yellow card for a foul on Shaw. USWNT teammates are immediately in Shaw's defense as it appears Domínguez got a hair pull while grabbing some jersey. Heaps is chatting with the official and understandingably looking for more, but it's just the yellow caution and a free kick.
Just past the half-hour mark, and where Argentina was once willing to try and press or counter-press against the United States, it looks like there are fewer of those attempts after the goal. Joseph's offside may have been a bit of a warning as well, and now there's some more caution on their part. Plenty of off-ball interactions, with Joseph and Heaps getting some extra attention from Argentina.
21' Jamesse Joseph puts on the moves inside the box and drags the backline with her as she connects on goal, far post. The official rules her offside (she didn't appear to be on replay), still, 1-0 USA.
19' The USWNT strikes first! It's Lindsey Heaps from distance on an assist from Sears after Joseph wins the ball back in a tight space.
15' A weakness that's been on tape for years, Argentina's dangerous corner kick is ruled offside. Sears concedes a corner the opposite way, following a shot block. The service creates a little chaos, and Dickey is forced to stop, but Pereya is caught offside.
13' A good breakaway chance, but it fizzles out due to good defending from Argentina. Lindsey Heaps springs Emma Sears and she carries the ball 20 yards into the box with Joseph across the way as an extra option, but her shot attempt is a step too short as defender Sophie Brunn catches up to her with the block.
The opening five minutes see some interesting gaps in the midfield for the USWNT to expose. Looks like the USWNT is operating in a 3-5-2 formation with Dahlien and Sears functioning as wingbacks. Lily Yohannes opperating in pockets of space in the middle.
Here's who we're keeping an eye on during this match. Who are you looking for?
Olivia Moultire: Five goals in her last six USWNT games, and two assists in her last 13 USWNT games.
Jameese Joseph: Earned a start last camp and scored. Hayes specifically mentioned developing more nines
Lily Yohannes: The 18-year-old midfielder is back with the USWNT after some impressive games with OL Lyonnes. She last scored on Jan. 14 with the squad and is looking ahead to the UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinals.
The game is just about five minutes away, so let's have some fun with a prediction. The first game in any tournament is often the most difficult. You add in some unfamiliarity between players, and it might take some time for cohesion to set in. Still, there's enough talent on the field to pull off a win. Pick: USA 2, Argentina 1
The USWNT head coach took time to be a guest host at the Grand Ole Opry during the USWNT's time in Nashville. She briefly joined the broadcast desk to pass out some western wear.
There are four players in tonight's lineup playing in their first SheBelieves Cup. Jameese Joseph, Maddie Dahlien, Claudia Dickey, and Kennedy Wesley are each making their tournament debut. Dahlien earns her first start for the USWNT in her second camp and third cap. She made her debut against Paraguay in January during a 6-0 win.
Additionally, Avery Patterson, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Riley Jackson and Lilly Reale are training at their first SheBelieves Cup, for a total of eight debutantes on the roster. Emma Hayes has given 32 players their first caps in her first 32 matches.
Here's how Argentina is looking tonight:
1-PEREYRA, 4-MORCILLO, 16-DOMÍNGUEZ, 13-BRAUN, 6-COMETTI (C), 3-STÁBILE, 10-PEREYRA, 5-PREININGER, 8-FALFÁN, 15-BONSEGUNDO, 19-HOLZHEIER
Lindsey Heaps is back with the team and the captain leads the group with the most caps (171). Following Heaps its Shaw (32), Sears (15), Moultrie (14), Yohannes (14), Rudd (11), Dickey (8), G. Thompson (6), Wesley (4), Joseph (3), and Dahlien (3).
Tonight's lineup averages 24.5 caps. While Heaps leads the group, the rest of the lineup has a combined 99 caps.
The SheBelieves Cup tournament is celebrating its eleventh year, and it's the second one for Emma Hayes. She had yet to arrive on the sidelines ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games and named her first SheBelieves Cup roster in 2025. There are plenty of players on the 2026 roster who are familiar with this moment, including Emily Sonnett, who has been on every SheBelieves Cup roster since 2016.
Here's what Hayes had to say about the competition after naming her 26-player roster:
"The SheBelieves Cup is a fantastic tournament which gives us the opportunity to replicate the group stage of a FIFA tournament," said Hayes. "Three quality games in quick succession also allow us to replicate conditions that will prepare us for the World Cup qualifying campaign this fall. As always, we want to keep developing our player pool to be more and more prepared. As we gain more experience, I expect our standards to keep improving."
A quick reminder on how to watch USWNT vs. Argentina:
Date: Sunday, March 1 | Time: 5 p.m. ET
Place: Geodis Park -- Nashville, Tenn.
TV: TNT (English), truTV (English), Universo (Spanish)
Stream: HBO Max (English)
With World Cup qualifiers eight months away and plenty of returning starters in the roster for the SheBelieves Cup, folks are likely looking for less experimentation from Hayes and the staff.
I'd counter-argue that game one of Argentina was the game most likely to be used for any experimentation. With three games against Japan in the next window and whichever opponent comes next, it feels like Argentina in a tournament setting could be the "final" chance to evaluate some players.
Jameese Joseph gets the nod for this lineup, and she will likely feature as a nine. Hayes mentioned the need to develop more leading strikers during her roster press conference, and refeenced Jospeh specifically.
"If Cat Macario and Sophia Wilson were available for selection, they would've been selected as the [No.] 9s," Hayes said before reinforcing her longstanding project to expand the player pool. "We have to develop more nines and [Joseph] said, 'That's where I want to be.'"
Here's the USWNT starting lineup against Argentina tonight:
USWNT: 1-Claudia Dickey, 5-Tara Rudd, 7-Lily Yohannes, 8-Jaedyn Shaw, 10-Lindsey Heaps, 11-Kennedy Wesley, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 19-Emma Sears, 20-Gisele Thompson, 25-Maddie Dahlien, 26-Jameese Joseph
Available Subs: 2-Trinity Rodman, 4-Naomi Girma, 9-Ally Sentnor, 12-Lilly Reale, 14-Emily Sonnett, 15-Claire Hutton, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Sam Coffey, 21-Alyssa Thompson, 22-Riley Jackson, 23-Emily Fox, 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce
Not dressing: Mandy McGlynn, Avery Patterson, Emily Sams
Hello and welcome to our 2026 SheBelieves Cup live blog. I'm Sandra Herrera, and I'll be with you, giving live updates and analysis of today's matches between the United States and Argentina.
The USWNT will open up the 11th edition of the tournament, and with 11 players returning to the roster following January camps, it feels like there are fewer and fewer opportunities for players on the bubble to leave an impact. Let's keep an eye out for rosters.
