Hayes says Rodman´s USWNT captaincy debut a ´weight off her shoulders´

Emma Hayes believes Trinity Rodman’s first game as the United States’ captain will be a weight off her shoulders, after she marked the occasion with a goal in Saturday’s 6-0 thumping of Paraguay.

The USA earned a comprehensive friendly victory in Los Angeles, with five of their goals coming after half-time.

One of those strikes came from Rodman, who raced onto Tara Rudd’s over-the-top through-ball, took a touch, then slotted home.

Rodman was wearing the captain’s armband for her country for the first time, with regular skipper Lindsey Heaps among the Europe-based players to be omitted from the squad.

Rodman’s goal came at the end of an eventful week, which saw her put an end to speculation surrounding her future by penning a new three-year contract with the Washington Spirit, becoming the world’s highest-paid female player in the process.

It was also her first goal for her country since April 2025, when she netted the USA’s opener in a 2-0 victory over Brazil.

“She’s ready to move forward, and I think today symbolises that,” Hayes said of Rodman.

“Like, it’s a fresh year, it’s a fresh start for her. She’s settled. She’s happy. I think knowing her future is a big weight off of her shoulders.”

Rodman celebrated her goal by dancing in front of the USA bench, but Hayes was not inclined to join in, saying: “She did it, and I couldn’t quite see, then she came over to me.

“She asked me to mirror it, and I said, ‘I’m 49 years of age. There’s no chance I’m doing that!'”

And to all a good night pic.twitter.com/NiW8jStlfg

— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 25, 2026

The USA dominated from start to finish, firing off 19 shots to Paraguay’s two and putting up 3.61 expected goals to 0.02.

They stepped up their finishing in the second half, though, hitting the target five times from nine shots after only doing so three times from 10 first-half attempts.

Asked about her goal by TNT Sports, Rodman said: “The whole game, I was telling Tara, ‘Please, just play one over the top. Come on. We got this’.

“She played a perfect little ball, I cut it back, and then, when it went in, I was, like, ‘Alright, it’s my time to shine’.

“In the first half, there were definitely nerves. We were rushing a lot. I think there was almost too much space and, as a result, we were overthinking things.”