Rising soccer star Trinity Rodman made her much-anticipated U.S. women's national team senior debut on Feb. 17 in a friendly against the Czech Republic, as the highly touted teen logged her first 30 minutes in a USWNT jersey.
The 19-year-old could not help spark a U.S. attack that failed to find the back of the net against the No. 24-ranked Czech Republic as a young USWNT squad opened its SheBelieves Cup participation with a disappointing 0-0 draw.
Rodman had one of the best looks at goal in the 73rd minute when her wide-open header from the center of the penalty area bounced into the hands of Czech goalkeeper Barbora Votikova, who was the star of the match with eight saves on the night to earn the shutout in a historic result for the Czech side.
The Washington Spirit winger and reigning National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) rookie of the year came on in the 60th minute, taking the place of left winger Mal Pugh. She maintained that left wing position, converging centrally when the opportunity presented itself.
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Rodman showed a glimpse of her talent just eight minutes after entering the match, using exquisite ball control to collect a pass near the top of the box and firing a shot that was stopped by the onrushing Czech goalkeeper. But play was whistled dead for offside, though replays showed Rodman did well to beat the trap.
"Obviously, we all know Trinity is a good player. I thought she was dangerous when she came in and got in a couple of opportunities and was threatening the backline of the Czech Republic," U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said postgame. "It was exciting to see her there, the players were excited to see her there. This is the first of many for her. She needs more minutes, more caps, more games, and I have no doubt she's going to perform even better."
"She's a special player — anyone's eyeballs can see that," said veteran U.S. defender Becky Sauerbrunn, who made her 200th appearance for the team on the occasion of Rodman's debut. "I think that what she did on the field [vs. Czech Republic] was a small little snapshot of what we're going to see in her future because her ability to take players on and her ability in the air to create chances is truly a gift. So I'm really excited for her and I think she's got a long, bright career in front of her for many, many, many years."
Rodman projects to be a key part of a new-look U.S. attack, joining the likes of Pugh (23 years old) and Sophia Smith (21) who partnered with Catarina Macario (22) at forward against the Czech Republic. The group looks to challenge veteran U.S. forwards Alex Morgan (32), Tobin Heath (33) and Megan Rapinoe (36) for playing time after the retirement of Carli Lloyd.
The next major international tournaments on the horizon are the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The USA will have to earn a spot in those tournament via this summer's regional qualifying tournament called the CONCACAF W Championship.
Trinity Rodman makes USWNT debut
Rodman's debut came three months after she declined a chance to join the U.S. squad in November 2021 for a pair of friendlies in Australia, which came just days after she won the NWSL title with her club team Washington Spirit.
She joined her first senior U.S. camp for a 10-day January training camp held in Austin ahead of the roster announcement for February's SheBelieves Cup international soccer tournament. While she wasn't originally named to final roster, Rodman was eventually added on Feb. 7 as an injury replacement, paving the way for her debut.
Rodman will look to add to her appearance total in upcoming SheBelieves Cup matches against New Zealand (Feb. 20) and Iceland (Feb. 23) which will close out the tournament.
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"She was one of the most exciting players in the league this past season, and she proved that she can be impactful at the professional level in NWSL. And now with that, she earned a call-up for the national team," Andonovski said when he called up Rodman for the first time for the January training camp.
The U.S. coach used that call-up to make clear his intentions about bringing her into the international squad slowly despite her taking the NWSL by storm in her first season, earning a record contract in the offseason.
"We don't want to rush anything," Andonovski said. "We obviously have to be patient. She's still young player, but we do want to expose her to the environment where she can get her feet wet a little bit, and get used to the environment, get used to my coaching and the players that she's around. And hopefully she can continue growing and show that what she was able to do in the league, she can do that at the international level."
Who is Trinity Rodman?
Rodman's rise in the women's professional game has been nothing short of meteoric.
She was committed to play college soccer with Washington State, but decided to forgo her college eligibility and was drafted by the Washington Spirit second overall in 2021, becoming the youngest-ever player to be drafted by the league.
Rodman set the league alight in her first season, leading the club to the NWSL title as she scored seven goals and notched a league-leading seven assists.
On the back of those game-breaking performances, she was named NWSL Rookie of the Year, and U.S. Soccer tabbed her as Young Female Player of the Year, quite the feat for a player without a single senior cap to her name.
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After that stellar debut season, Rodman became the highest-paid player in the league's history, recently signing a contract extension with Washington for four years and worth up to a reported $1.1 million. NWSL clubs can use what the league terms allocation money to pay Rodman above the league salary maximum.
Rodman previously featured for U.S. youth national teams. Across just seven matches with the United States Under-20 side, she has nine goals, fueling the excitement ahead of her debut with the senior side.
And if her last name sounds familiar, she also happens to be Dennis Rodman's daughter. Yes, that Dennis Rodman, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons, winning five NBA titles.