When Will Things Get Serious for the USWNT in 2026?

The USWNT’s January camp is always a strange affair, but manager Emma Hayes says that over a year of experimentation might be about to come to an end.

USWNT’s 19-year-old midfielder Claire Hutton was one of the young standouts for the U.S. women's national team in 2025. | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

It is almost time for the U.S. women’s national team to get serious, but not quite yet. 

Addressing the media in January, after naming her roster for the latest training camp, manager Emma Hayes was honest about the group she had selected. 

“I've learned in this job that you can only pick the players that are available,” Hayes said. “I think it is pretty fair to say that, you know, going into the SheBelieves [Cup] that will be whittled down. Without question, I will pick the strongest possible rosters, going from February onwards.”

Of course, evaluating a roster, trying out younger or less-experienced players, and getting any group of elite international players is still serious business. Even if there is an understanding this is not the final group or the best set of players. 

So, if the USWNT’s January international window isn’t the “strongest possible,” then what can we be expected to learn from this training camp and friendlies? 

Why is the USWNT meeting outside of a FIFA window? 

Something to keep in mind when breaking down the USWNT’s January camp is that it does not fall in a FIFA window. 

Due to the United States, and many nations in the Americas, having seasons that last from spring to fall, January is viewed as an extra opportunity to get players together at the start of the domestic preseason. This is something nations in Europe, or even top nations like Brazil, do not do because their players are actively playing club soccer. 

Thus, the USWNT’s January camp comes with the caveat that the USWNT will be without players who do not play domestically in the National Women’s Soccer League. That means no Naomi Girma, Emily Fox, Alyssa Thompson, Catarina Macario, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Sam Coffey, Lily Yohannes or Lindsey Heaps. That’s eight potential starters right there. 

Furthermore, due to the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup taking place between Jan. 28 and Feb. 1, there will be no NJ/NY Gotham FC players, which has created an even more experimental roster for Hayes. 

The January camp offers the USWNT an upper hand to get together when other elite nations do not. But at the same time, the window really serves its purpose as a platform for players lower down the roster to get added exposure and playing time. 

Who are the USWNT’s opponents in the January window? 

Again, due to scheduling constraints, South or Central American opposition are often better placed to make the trip to the United States in this unusual window. 

The USWNT will take on Paraguay at Dignity Health Sports Park, outside Los Angeles, on Saturday, Jan. 24, before then traveling up to the coast to Santa Barbara, Calif., to take on Chile at Harder Stadium on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Paraguay and Chile are ranked 46 and 47, respectively, in the FIFA world rankings, and will also only have players available that compete in American leagues.

Since 2020, the opponents for the friendlies in the home January window have been Haiti, Panama and Colombia. In January 2023, summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the USWNT went to New Zealand as part of its preparation for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

In 2024, there were no games in the January window due to the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup taking place in February. In 2025, the USWNT opted to hold an identification camp that brought the USWNT closer together with the USWNT under-23 age group. 

What comes next after this January window? 

Last year was one of experimentation for the USWNT. There were 16 debuts handed out in 2025, which brought the total number of debutants under Hayes to 27 since she became manager in May 2024. 

Happy to be back ☺️ pic.twitter.com/zRCiRHVwSg

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 20, 2026

Hayes has brought in another five first-time senior call-ups for this January window: Sally Menti, Maddie Dahlien, Riley Jackson, Reilyn Turner and Ayo Oke. The 26-player January camp roster averages 6.3 caps per player. Inexperience is the name of the game.

After Avery Patterson—a 2025 debutant that has made a big impression over the last year—pulled out with an illness, Oke was a late addition to the January camp. 

As Hayes has made abundantly clear, she can only pick who is available. And this January camp has extremely limited availability. With high-profile superstars like Mal Swanson and Sophia Wilson also expected to return from maternity leave in 2026, there is a good chance that this year sees one of the fiercest competitions for roster spots in many years. 

What is certainly clear is that we will have a much better idea of who is leading the charge to be in the USWNT squad for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup once we see the roster for the SheBelieves Cup. 

The 2026 SheBelieves Cup is set to take place between March 1 and March 7, with Argentina, Canada and Colombia set as the trio of opponents. Those friendlies will take place in Nashville, Columbus, Ohio, and Harrison, N.J. 

After that, the squad will be refined until qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup get underway in November. And so, by the end of 2026 it will get serious for the USWNT. Very serious indeed. 

---