Emma Hayes sees growth in USWNT since Portugal loss

United States coach Emma Hayes said she was pleased with her team's emotional control in a "scrappy" 2-0 victory over Argentina on Sunday to open the 2026 SheBelieves Cup in Nashville, Tennessee.

"This is what tournament football is," Hayes said after the match, adding there are lessons for her young squad as it prepares for next year's World Cup.

Captain Lindsey Heaps scored in the first half before assisting Jaedyn Shaw's goal in the second half.

Sunday's game ended on a concerning note for the USWNT as forward Trinity Rodman suffered an apparent back injury in stoppage time after Argentina's Milagros Martín challenged the Washington Spirit winger from behind.

Rodman received several minutes of medical attention before standing up and consulting with the trainers on the sideline. She did not return to the field for the final minutes of the game.

Hayes said after the match that she did not have any immediate update on Rodman, who has dealt with back injuries on and off for the past two years.

Martin was cautioned for the challenge, one of two yellow cards handed out on the day by referee Deily Gomez.

The other was shown to Sofía Domínguez for a rough challenge on Shaw in the first half.

"Actually, it's important for us to know we choose if we're getting involved in situations -- we choose to come away from [those] things," Hayes said. "I think Jaedyn and Olivia [Moultrie] handled those things well.

"Provocation's gonna happen. Provocation's gonna happen with different types of opponents. How you handle that, for me, is a testament. Why? Because imagine that is a World Cup and for a split second we lose it; boom, down to 10 players. So, we want these opportunities. If we were seeking perfection, then I might be approaching something differently, but I'm here to develop a whole squad to be ready for these situations."

Hayes said the team "had much better emotional control" than it did in a shocking 2-1 loss to Portugal in October, a game she referenced several times on Sunday. Hayes conceded that Sunday's win over Argentina was imperfect, but "there's growth in that" from the loss to Portugal.

Argentina matched up player for player with the USWNT. Hayes said, "it's the hardest thing to do in football when you are building up against a team that does that."

Heaps scored the opening goal in the 19th minute, curling the ball into the net with her left foot from just outside the box.

United States forward Emma Sears created space near the endline and cut the ball back toward Heaps at the top of the box.

With the goal, Heaps has now scored for the USWNT in every calendar year since 2015. She made her senior debut in 2013.

Shaw scored the Americans' other goal in the 56th minute on a shot that went through the hands of Argentina goalkeeper Solana Pereyra.

The U.S. will play Canada in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, and Colombia on Saturday in Harrison, New Jersey, to conclude the SheBelieves Cup.

Canada defeated Colombia 4-1 in Sunday's earlier match in Nashville.

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