U.S. women’s national team manager Emma Hayes announced her 26-player roster on Wednesday for the team’s upcoming friendlies against Italy.
The USWNT will face Italy twice, first at Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando on Nov. 28, and then at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 1.
These are the USWNT’s final matches of 2025. The USWNT has a 10-3-0 record this year and a 23-3-2 record since Hayes took over the team in June 2024.
“It’s been an exciting and important year for our group, and we’ve accomplished a lot of goals, expanded the player pool and made strides in our game model, so this camp will be an extension of that, but it will also set the groundwork for 2026, which will be our World Cup qualifying year,” Hayes said.
“Games against top European teams are so valuable as they give us an honest assessment of where we are in our growth as a team, so I know our players will embrace that challenge.”
USWNT roster: November/December friendlies
Position (Club; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 4), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 4), Jordan Silkowitz (Bay FC; 0)
DEFENDERS (10): Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC; 4/0), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 69/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG: 48/2), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 8/1), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 4/0), Izzy Rodriguez (Kansas City Current; 1/1), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 6/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 112/2), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave; 1/0), Kate Wiesner (Washington Spirit; 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit; 4/0), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 41/5), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 167/38), Jaelin Howell (Gotham FC; 5/1), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; 9/1), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 115/26), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 11/1)
FORWARDS (6): Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars; 0/0),Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 27/13), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 10/4), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville; 11/4), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 29/8), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 24/3)
Naomi Girma returns
The good news for Hayes and the USWNT is that Naomi Girma has returned. The center back is widely regarded as the best player on the roster and also serves as the team’s vice captain behind Lindsey Heaps.
Due to a string of calf injuries, Naomi Girma has struggled to build up consistent minutes in 2025. In the 11 months since her move to Chelsea for $1.1 million, the 25-year-old has made just six Women’s Super League and three UEFA Women’s Champions League appearances for the Blues.
Girma has made just four appearances for the USWNT in 2025, with her last outing coming in the 3–0 win over Canada in July. Hayes has been experimenting with different defensive partnerships in Girma’s absence, but now can get a closer look at her first-choice pairings.
Fresh faces
Once again, Hayes has called up players who have never been on a USWNT squad. In this group, Bay FC goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz and Chicago Stars forward Jameese Joseph are the two fresh faces.
Washington Spirit defender Kate Wiesner is also uncapped, but this will be her second time in a USWNT camp. The 24-year-old was a training player in Hayes’s inaugural USWNT camp in June 2024.
Hayes has put youth, experimentation and broadening the talent pool at the forefront of her plans for the USWNT in 2025, and featuring more young players isn’t too much of a surprise. Joseph, Silkowitz and Wiesner all have experience on the U23 U.S. youth women’s national team and have just completed career-best seasons in the NWSL.
Hayes has given 25 players their first cap, and it looks like more could be added to that list in these upcoming games.
The most recent debutant was defender Kennedy Wesley, who made her debut in the previous international window, when the USWNT recorded one loss and one win against Portugal before thrashing New Zealand.
Missing stars
Part of what has opened up opportunities for young players, like Joseph, Silkowitz and Wiesner, is the increased number of injuries to USWNT stars.
Trinity Rodman is once again absent from the roster as she nurses a knee sprain picked up in October. Rodman has not played for the USWNT since April but was on the October roster before sustaining her most recent injury.
Rodman played a handful of minutes in the Washington Spirit’s NWSL semifinal win over the Portland Thorns, and is active for Saturday’s NWSL Championship final, but is not considered to be at full fitness.
Adding to Hayes’s high-profile absentees is starting goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. The Manchester United shot-stopper has a fracture in her eye socket, so Claudia Dickey or Mandy McGlynn will likely step into the starting role.
Jaelin Howell, back after three years
One more name to watch is Jaelin Howell. The NJ/NY Gotham FC midfielder is back on the USWNT roster for the first time under Hayes, having been away since 2022 for a total of 37 months.
Former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski gave Howell her first cap in November 2020. She earned five caps and scored one goal before losing her place at the end of ’22.
Howell has had a brilliant 2025 season with Gotham, breaking up play in the midfield, providing defensive cover and crashing the box as a physical threat. Hayes clearly sees a place for Howell to audition her hawkish style in her midfield against Italy.
More Soccer on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as USWNT Roster Takeaways: Naomi Girma Returns, While Trinity Rodman Is Out.
