The United States Women’s National Team started its 2026 SheBelieves Cup campaign against Argentina. The ladies pulled off a 2-0 win behind goals from captain Lindsey Heaps and Gotham FC star Jaedyn Shaw. The win came at the expense of Trinity Rodman, who could be heard screaming in pain in stoppage time. No doubt the debate until the next match will be why she came on in the first place.
The U.S. starting XI consisted of: Claudia Dickey, Tara Rudd, Lily Yohannes, Jaedyn Shaw, Lindsey Heaps (c), Kennedy Wesley, Olivia Moultrie, Emma Sears, Gisele Thompson, Maddie Dahlien, and Jameese Joseph.
The USWNT broke the deadlock in the 19th minute behind a goal from Lindsey Heaps. As the U.S. was penetrating the defensive third of Argentina, Emma Sears had possession and ran towards the end line. Drawing Argentina goalkeeper Solana Pereyra out of position, she passed the ball to the top of the box to an unmarked Lindsey Heaps. In loads of space, she took a touch to line up the ball to her liking, then sent a curling effort to the top left corner.
The first half was extremely physical. The ladies were dropping left and right, with many offenses going unchecked by the officials. The physicality picked up noticeably after a foul on Lily Yohannes. Not long after that, Lindsey Heaps took a knock to the knee. Things picked up radically after Argentine striker Sofía Domínguez pulled Jaedyn Shaw’s hair from behind, dragging her to the ground. Frustrated by the offense, Shaw kicked her leg out and tripped up Domínguez while she was within reach. After a yellow card was issued, tensions started to settle.
The U.S. increased its lead to 2-0 behind Jaedyn Shaw. After receiving a pass at the top left corner of the box, she took possession and dribbled right. Once she squared her boots, she took a chance from distance. The shot didn’t get much height, since Pereyra was able to get a touch on it, but the shot bounced behind her into the net. The 56th-minute goal gave the Americans some cushion to experiment with players and tactics, and head coach Emma Hayes took advantage of both.
Not long after the second goal, Hayes sent on Trinity Rodman, Ally Sentnor, and Emily Fox. The U.S. had already seen an influx of youth after subbing on Lilly Reale and Claire Hutton.
Argentina saw one weakness in the U.S. defense, and that was its backline. On two separate occasions in the second half, forwards timed their runs perfectly, and long balls went from being an offensive option to a certified weapon.
The hard fouls continued towards the end of the second half and culminated in injury stoppage for Trinity Rodman, who appeared to take a shot in her lower back. The star forward has a history of back issues, and the hard foul was serious enough for play to be halted for four minutes. She returned to the pitch, but the foul served as a wake-up call for Emma Hayes. There’s never a truly “right” time to bring on a player who’s returning from a serious injury, but today’s mishap will surely have her second-guessing the next time around.
The USWNT has an exciting matchup ahead of them, facing Canada on Wednesday in Columbus, OH. The Canadians took the pitch before the U.S. and routed Colombia 4-1. The rivalry heats up on March 4 at 6:45 PM/ET on TNT, HBO Max, truTV, and Peacock.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Richard Randolph