Uswnt’s Trinity Rodman Is So Back (literally). Plus, Evaluating Phallon Tullis-joyce’s Debut

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Geno Auriemma was definitely crying this time when UConn won its 12th national championship — welcome to Full Time!

USWNT’s L.A. Moment

Trin’s back ???? and Trin’s back ????

It took five minutes on Saturday for Trinity Rodman to remind us of last summer’s gold medal run, the last time she wore the U.S. crest. The 22-year-old scored in the opening minutes of the USWNT’s 2-0 win over Brazil in front of 32,303 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Her fluorescent pick braids streamed behind her like cotton candy, as they did last summer, when she ran in behind Brazil’s defense. Angel City forward and Los Angeles native Alyssa Thompson provided the assist, deking past her defender and slotting the ball to Rodman as she darted in from the right wing.

Despite Brazil building into the match and maintaining control, the U.S. was able to hold them off thanks in part to goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce — who earned her first cap for the U.S. that night at age 28 — and a penalty kick from Lindsey Heaps. It was quite the way to usher in the venue’s first women’s sports event since it opened in 2020.

Something else missing from the U.S. in Rodman’s absence? Her iconic celebrations, which she continued over the weekend to the chagrin of the USWNT’s medical staff. First, the background:

Rodman has had multiple back issues that have sidelined her, including from the national team.

She told reporters last week that she doesn’t think her back will ever be 100% again.

You can understand why those on the sideline weren’t immediately laughing at her ouch-my-back-just-kidding celebration:

TRINITY RODMAN SCORES ON HER RETURN TO THE USWNT ????

Catch the game on TNT and Max or watch the AltCast, hosted by Sam Mewis and Roger Bennett, on truTV & Max ???? pic.twitter.com/afuziRcd3w

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 5, 2025

Head coach Emma Hayes has made it clear that she wants “Trin to be Trin,” but she looked amused when she said she’d “have a word” with Rodman after the game.

Rodman’s response: “I should have told them beforehand for sure. But you know, you gotta keep people on their toes.”

???? Tamerra Griffin was at SoFi and joined Jillian Sakovits to talk about the key moments. Listen to today’s “Full Time Review” for more.

Thompson is having a moment

Thompson burst onto the scene for Angel City FC and the USWNT in 2023. The first pick in that year’s NWSL draft, she skipped college to go professional — a move that helped her become the youngest player on the USWNT’s World Cup roster.

The year started high but ended with the low of limited playing time at the World Cup, and the USWNT’s round of 16 exit. Thompson spent the next year rebuilding herself with ACFC, waiting patiently for her USWNT return, but ultimately watched the Paris Olympics from home.

Hayes brought the 20-year-old back into the mix last October, and she quickly shined with her first goal for the team against Iceland that month.

On Saturday, it was Thompson who helped create the most dangerous chances. As Tamerra writes, being at home in L.A. for the first time with the national team unlocked another level for the rising talent.

Part 2 on Tuesday 

The U.S. and Brazil face off again tomorrow at 10:30 p.m. ET on TBS, TruTV and Universo. Tamerra will be at PayPal Park in San Jose.

*Putting my best local news impression on* “Over to you, Tamerra”:

Meg’s Corner: Tullis-Joyce steps into the spotlight

The U.S. has always had a clear goalkeeping succession plan — until now. Jeff Rueter wrote about Hayes’ search for a new No. 1 after Alyssa Naeher’s retirement announcement last year.

On Saturday, we saw the first glimpse of Manchester United goalkeeper Tullis-Joyce, who made a case for that starting spot in the 2-0 win over Brazil.

We don’t usually see debuts come against top teams, but Tullis-Joyce got hers against Brazil and kept the team in the game at a few different points. There were shaky moments, too, like her passing out of the back, especially early. That was a little heart-stopping, and was one of the things that Hayes talked about after the match.

Hayes said Manchester United doesn’t really play the same way that she would like to see Tullis-Joyce develop in terms of building out of the back, so it will be a challenge for her in terms of adding dimensions to her game.

However, one clear thing has changed in Tullis-Joyce. I had seen her in mixed zones before when she was in NWSL and was quieter, but in L.A., she was loose and conversational. Maybe getting her debut helped unlock that.

In the News

U.S. to host 2031 World Cup

The U.S. will (most likely) host the 2031 World Cup, and the UK will (most likely) host in 2035. We have to include the disclaimer because technically there’s a process to follow, even if FIFA president Gianni Infantino doesn’t go by the book.

Last Thursday at a UEFA Congress in Serbia, Infantino said that the U.S. and the UK were the sole respective bidders for the Women’s World Cups that follow Brazil’s hosting duties in 2027.

Should the countries submit compliant bids by the end of 2025, they will follow due process all the way to the vote at the FIFA Congress in 2026. This will (would) be the United States’ first time hosting since 2023 and the first time ever for the UK.

U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Soccer Federation withdrew their joint bid for the 2027 World Cup to focus on 2031 last year. Infantino did not mention Mexico on Thursday but said “potentially some other Concacaf members” could be involved.

The lack of dry ink hasn’t stopped key members in American soccer from weighing in on the growth potential from hosting not just a World Cup, but a proposed expanded 48-team tournament in the country.

???? U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson, who mentioned the federation is a “passionate” supporter of expanding the format, said: “Your ability to use the World Cup as a catalyst is before, not after.”

???? NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman, who has left the door open for the possibility of a domestic league with as many teams as the NFL, said: “I’m very confident that our expansion will continue between now and then, so this will certainly give us even more reason to be bullish on our expansion plan.”

???? Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang, who has basically become a patron saint of the women’s game and who recently invested $25 million more in U.S. Soccer, said: “I’m trying to convince our area that the World Cup is coming and Washington, D.C. could be the center of women’s football, not just government and political power.”

???? English U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes called the potential “dreamland.”

Are U o K?

For England, the good news came with some bad. Within days of (potentially) being awarded the 2035 World Cup with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the current pack of Lionesses got hit with an injury bug that meant three crucial goal scorers exited camp early.

First, Chloe Kelly withdrew with a foot injury ahead of England’s 5-0 Nations League victory over Belgium and headed back to Arsenal.

Then, Chelsea forward Lauren James left camp. The 23-year-old was taken off at halftime of Friday’s match with what was described as a hamstring problem.

And now, Kelly’s Arsenal teammate Alessia Russo has headed home for further assessment on an injury picked up during camp.

It wasn’t a great window for England in terms of injuries, but they still sit top of the Nations League League A Group 3 ahead of tomorrow’s rematch with Belgium away. However, manager Sarina Wiegman is going to have to do something she seldom does: change things up.

Full Time First Looks

Staying put: Four NWSL-based Zambia players did not travel with their country this break due to “additional travel measures introduced by the new administration” in the United States. The Football Association of Zambia announced the changes, which affected Orlando Pride goal scorer Barbra Banda, Bay FC’s record-breaking transfer Racheal Kundananji, Prisca Chilufya and Grace Chanda, last week.

Laughter with the pain: U.S. defender Tierna Davidson pulled out of national team camp last week after scans confirmed the 26-year-old tore her ACL during Gotham’s match against Houston. Davidson was able to find humor in the pain, posting on Instagram, “In: Matching scars / Out: my left ACL,” before getting more serious in her caption.

Pour a cup: Bayern Munich currently sits at the top of the Frauen Bundesliga, six points clear of Eintracht Frankfurt. However, off the pitch, something else is brewing. Bayern striker Jovana Damnjanović has turned a caffeine passion into a café in Munich. The full story is unique and sentimental.

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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