It's been almost a year now Trinity Rodman I can barely say it out loud yet.
“We lost the World Cup,” she says. “I hate saying those words.”
For the U.S. Women's National Team, the L word has always been something of a taboo, if not an entirely foreign concept. A powerhouse comparable to Brazil's men's counterpart, the U.S. Women's National Team has won consecutive championships and dominated women's soccer to a degree rarely seen in other sports. The U.S. has won gold medals in four of seven Olympic Games and four of nine Women's World Cups. Over the past decade, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan She led the U.S. Women's National Team to an Olympic gold medal in 2012 and back-to-back World Cup victories in 2015 and 2019.
But last year's Australia-New Zealand World Cup marked a humiliating end to that dynastic era. Vlatko Andonovski The team was an awkward mix of familiar mainstays and World Cup rookies like Rodman, and lacked the offensive intensity that American fans have come to expect. “Coming into the World Cup, I was a bit confused and it took me a lot of time to adjust,” Rodman added. “I feel like I was a little unsure where I stood.”
Through four matches in the tournament, the U.S. Women's National Team scored just four goals, three of which came against low-ranked Vietnam, before being eliminated by Sweden in the round of 16, the worst result ever for the U.S., who had never finished lower than third in a World Cup. “It was my coach's first World Cup, it was half my team's first World Cup, so I think there was a lot of uncertainty and unknowns,” she added.
Andonovski resigned immediately after the World Cup and was replaced by an English coach. Emma Hayes Hayes officially took over as head coach of the U.S. women's national team last month after a decorated 12-year stint with Chelsea FC in the Women's Super League. “She's great with the players,” Rodman said of Hayes. “Her honesty with the players, I think, will really improve their confidence and how they approach the game.”
The changes have been felt from the touchline to the pitch, with Rapinoe and Julie Eltz and Kelli O'Hara He announced his retirement within the past year.
Ten months on from the disappointment in Australia, Rodman believes there is more clarity in the national team, and a notable youth boost; the average age of the players Hayes selected for the two friendlies against South Korea this month was 26, a clear sign of the generational change in the squad. “We're a lot more open and clear about our roles and what the new coach wants us to do,” Rodman said of the current set-up.
“We feel like we're a more cohesive team, and we work for each other,” she says. “It used to be like that, but I think it's more of a team effort these days, rather than relying on one person's skill or one magic moment.”
As Rodman and her teammates forge a new identity, they are beginning to look more like the U.S. women's national team of old. After a shocking loss to Mexico in February, the team has won seven straight games and is gaining vital momentum heading into next month's Olympics in Paris. Coach Hayes has yet to announce the roster for the tournament, but Rodman is almost certain to play, barring injury.
She showed her mettle against South Korea, playing brilliantly alongside other young players as the U.S. Women's National Team won both games by a combined score of 7-0. In the second friendly, Rodman displayed the relentless energy and skill that has made her one of the team's most complete attacking players, racing down the right wing to torment the South Korean defense and assisting on both of her team's goals. Sophia Smith Before helping the 17-year-old genius Lily Johannes The other one.
The 22-year-old Rodman is the spearhead of the U.S. women's national team's youth development and the star frontline to lead the team into a new era. She has world-class athleticism in her bloodline, and her father was a Dennis Rodman, One of the greatest and most eccentric players in NBA history. He wasn't an active participant in her development. Her mother Michelle Moyer He raised both Trinity and her brother. But the resentment never fades. “I have nothing but good things to say about my dad,” Trinity Rodman said of his father. “I modeled my game after him a lot, and I think you can tell that.”
