Over the past few months, U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes has made it clear that, with hard work and determination, anyone can make the senior women’s national team. Well – maybe not anyone, but Hayes’ wide net-casting for 2025’s international tournaments and friendlies has allowed 27 players to receive first-time call-ups and 22 players to earn their first caps. Three of those players — goalkeeper Claudia Dickey and defenders Lilly Reale and Jordyn Bugg — made their first senior appearances in Thursday night’s 4-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
Naturally, though, Hayes’ roster pool had to shrink down at some point. Hayes told ESPN that after this window, she expects to have narrowed down the core of players she will lean on at World Cup qualifying next year and at the 2027 Women’s World Cup. And as the summer gets underway, some of her experiments and choices are starting to find permanence. One choice Hayes made for Thursday night’s friendly was to put some faith in forward Alyssa Thompson, and it paid off.
Thompson’s goal in the 63rd minute was the fourth of the night; given that Ireland didn’t find the back of the net once, that goal was not a game-changer. But it was impossible to look away as Thompson received a pass from Reale, broke away into space on the left side — a change from the USWNT’s heavy right-side preference throughout the night — and scored her second-ever international goal at lightning speed.
At that point, the United States’ victory was nearly secured, but the moment was a massive vote of confidence for the 20-year-old Thompson, whose journey with the national team has ebbed and flowed. She first appeared for the senior national team in 2022, when she was only 17, and made headlines when she chose to forego a college career and signed with Angel City FC, her hometown club, in 2023.
Like many others who have received astonishingly early call-ups, she’s moved up and down since. She was named to the USWNT’s 2023 FIFA World Cup roster, which was knocked out in the quarterfinals. The next year, Thompson was not a part of the team’s 2024 Paris Olympics run, which saw the USWNT bring home the gold in what felt like a redemption tour for the team. She’s dealt with injuries, mostly related to her back, and at times has prompted questions about whether she was called up too early.
But Thursday night’s goal showed viewers — and Hayes — that her speed and tenacity are traits one wants on the front line, especially while normal starters Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith are on pregnancy leave and Trinity Rodman is recovering from an injury.
“Alyssa Thompson is improving every game for us, and I was pleased for her to score such a quality goal,” Hayes said in the postgame press conference. “She had a lot of space, a lot of time, she created opportunities.”
Though Thompson’s runaway goal was assisted by Reale, a fellow young player hoping to become a mainstay on the senior national team, Hayes acknowledged that Thompson is most skilled in making space and opportunities for herself.
“I want to keep developing her understanding with other players,” Hayes continued, “so she can keep creating for others, too.”
As Hayes’s window narrows, Thompson was not the only young player to make a case for her longevity. Reale’s strong debut proved her intelligence on defense, as well as her endurance — the Gotham FC defender not only started but played the full game. Houston Dash fullback Avery Patterson also started and scored her first international goal, garnering praise from Hayes, who called her a “threat from deep spaces,” as well as a “great learner and great listener.” Impressive debuts from two Seattle Reign players, 25-year-old goalkeeper Claudia Dickey, who kept a clean sheet, and 18-year-old defender Jordyn Bugg, also sent home the message that the USWNT has a bright future.
A game filled with memorable performances from the young stars was both an exciting and reassuring reminder that the USWNT is in good hands under Hayes. But the older guard still got their flowers. Midfielder Sam Coffey controlled the center of the field with ease, stepping up to fill the gaps left by Lindsay Heaps (nee Horan), who was left off the roster so she could rest and go on her honeymoon, but, of course, couldn’t stay away from the game in her home state.
Perhaps no goal of the night was more thrilling to fans than Rose Lavelle’s — her first international goal since December. Lavelle has struggled with injuries over the past few years and may never play as big of a role again on the team as she did between 2019-23. And as young players start to show their mettle, minutes for the veterans will naturally wane. But, Thursday night proved that the old guard won’t be easy to replace, too. As Hayes said after the game, “there is only one Rose Lavelle.”
