Sophia Wilson, Tierna Davidson return to USWNT roster for Japan friendlies

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The Portland Thorns’ Sophia Wilson will make her return to the U.S. women’s national team roster for the first time since giving birth to her daughter.

Wilson, who last featured in October 2024 before going on maternity leave, joins Trinity Rodman to form two-thirds of ‘Triple Espresso’ as the USWNT prepares for three critical matches against Japan, who were crowned Asian Cup champions last month and are ranked fifth in the world, according to FIFA. The last time the two sides met was at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, which Japan won after beating the U.S. 2-1.

Center back Tierna Davidson has also earned her first national team call up since sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury last March. Davidson, who plays for reigning National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) champions Gotham FC, returned to the field on March 21.

Winger Michelle Cooper of the Kansas City Current is also back in the lineup for the first time this year after missing previous camps due to injury.

The USWNT will play Japan three times in as many venues: PayPal Park in San Jose on April 11, Lumen Field in Seattle on April 14, and Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. on April 17.

USWNT April roster in full
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Goalkeepers (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash, 10), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 8), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 6)

Defenders (9): Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC; 67/3), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 74/1), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC, ENG; 52/2), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 10/1), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 7/0), Emily Sams (Angel City FC: 9/1), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 115/2), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; 7/0), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave FC; 4/0)

Midfielders (7): Sam Coffey (Manchester City, ENG; 44/5), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 173/39), Claire Hutton (Bay FC; 15/1), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 118/27), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 15/5), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 34/10), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 16/1)

Forwards (7): Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 10/1), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars FC; 4/1), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 52/13), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 17/6), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 18/7), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 29/4), Sophia Wilson (Portland Thorns FC; 58/24)

Wilson’s club form, Davidson’s recovery afford them USWNT invitations​

Though she’s yet to score a goal or play a full 90 minutes with the Thorns this season, Wilson has provided plenty of evidence in the space of four games of what she is capable of. With roughly 15 minutes in her first regular-season match since her maternity leave (which happened to be against another “espresso shot” in Rodman and the Washington Spirit), followed by 30, 45, and 68, Wilson’s hold-up play, incisive defending, and nose for goal haven’t waned during her time away from the pitch.

It’s possible she sees her first 90 minutes since her return with the USWNT in one of the Japan games, but no matter how much she plays, it’s an important time to get back in the national team fold as the team prepares for World Cup qualifiers later this year. Wilson needs time to adjust to head coach Emma Hayes’ tactics and system (which her teammates have spent the better part of last year doing), as well as building or rebuilding partnerships with players like Alyssa Thompson, Michelle Cooper, and Emma Sears, who have been called up more regularly in her absence.

Davidson hasn’t played quite as many minutes on her own return to the pitch. Nonetheless, her inclusion in this squad reveals where Hayes’ head could be regarding her proximity to the core group of players bound for Brazil — especially considering it likely meant leaving Tara Rudd of the Washington Spirit off the roster.

Consistency solidifying in the midfield​

With the exception of 20-year-old Riley Jackson of the North Carolina Courage, the seven midfielders called up to this camp are the same who featured at the SheBelieves Cup last month. That includes Gotham FC’s Jaedyn Shaw, who has missed her last two club games due to a hamstring injury.

As the USWNT backline and attacking front remain in flux, the consistency in call ups between the last international window and this one hints at Hayes’ core forming literally at the center of the pitch. She’s experimented with different line-ups among these seven players as well, demonstrating their malleability according to the needs of the game. It also helps that many of these players — Coffey, Hutton, and Moultrie in particular — have put on strong performances with their club teams lately.

Japan has exceptionally talented midfielders who are sure to pose the toughest test the USWNT has faced all year. Now that this emerging midfield core has played a tournament together, they will be asked to put what they’ve learned to use, not just once but three times.

Campbell, Sams inclusions prove club form matters​

Fittingly, Campbell’s last appearance on the USWNT was on Feb. 26, 2025 against Japan in the SheBelieves Cup finale. Should the 31-year-old earn another cap during this window, she could have an opportunity to display the form she’s had recently with the Dash, who are 2-1 and occupy the fifth spot in the NWSL table with a game in hand.

Campbell has made 12 saves so far this season, kept two clean sheets, and has saved 85.7 percent of shots on goal, according to Fbref. Since Campbell’s last call-up, Hayes had opted for younger goalkeepers like Bay FC’s Jordan Silkowitz as a replacement to an injured core player. That Hayes has opted for Campbell this time around feels a reflection of her club performances.

Sams has been called up more consistently than Campbell but does not always play significant minutes. Unlike Rudd, Sams missed out on the SheBelieves Cup but has since settled in nicely at Angel City. She’s started all three of their games and played next to veteran Sarah Gorden or Savy King in center-back pairings that have helped the Los Angeles side to their best start in club history at 3-0 and a clean sheet.

With the national team, Sams has been positioned as a full-back, though with Davidson presumably on limited minutes and the defensive flanks secured by Fox, Thompson, Reale, and Patterson, Sams could find her way back to the center of the pitch against Japan.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

US Women's national team, NWSL, Women's Soccer

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