INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- United States women's national team coach Emma Hayes said she feels confident in her team's defensive personnel ahead of an Olympic gold medal-game rematch against Brazil, despite the "extremely unfortunate" injury to center-back Tierna Davidson.
Davidson tore her ACL last week and will miss the remainder of 2025. The USWNT was already without fellow starting center-back Naomi Girma, who is dealing with a calf injury, heading into Saturday's game at SoFi Stadium.
"Without Naomi Girma, without Tierna Davidson, this is the right time to develop individuals first," Hayes said at a news conference Friday. "I've been really clear that this camp, the next two camps, there is going to be experimentation, and that means that the connections on the field might not be as strong, but we get a chance to see where the individual development is in that."
Defenders Crystal Dunn and Emily Sonnett are the most senior defenders on the current roster. They are joined by some young and less experienced players like center-back Tara McKeown, who earned her first caps in February, and fullback Avery Patterson, who is in her first camp with the USWNT.
Hayes said on Friday that she would "drip-feed" young players into games alongside veterans to make sure that less experienced players are set up for success.
"What I have noticed in this camp is the gap closing across the board within the team, and that's our first starting point," Hayes said.
The USWNT will also play Brazil on Tuesday in San Jose, California. The Americans won the 2024 Olympic final 1-0 in August to capture a fifth Olympic gold medal for the program.
The USWNT is without nearly half their starters from that game. Forward Sophia Wilson (nee Smith) is on maternity leave, forward Mallory Swanson is on personal leave, and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher recently retired from international duty. In addition to injuries to Girma and Davidson, Rose Lavelle -- a longtime mainstay in midfield -- is also sidelined.
Forward Trinity Rodman has returned to the squad, however, for the first time since the Olympics after dealing with chronic back problems. The 22-year-old said recently that she might not ever be 100% healthy.
"I think the back's very difficult because you can't avoid using it at every moment in a game, every moment of your day-to-day life," Rodman said on Friday. "For me, it is about management and training my back to be in certain positions so I'm not overworking other muscles to overcompensate for it.
"It's been an interesting and hard journey, but it's been good getting back."
Hayes said she will manage Rodman to make sure she doesn't push her too hard too soon. Rodman made her first start of the NWSL season for the Washington Spirit last weekend.
Forward Catarina Macario is expected to play a significant role for the USWNT over the next two games against Brazil, which is her birth country. Macario was born in Brazil and moved to the U.S. with her family in 2012. She acquired U.S. citizenship in 2020 and received her first call-up to the USWNT on the same day.
"I haven't thought about it too much," she said Friday about playing Brazil. "But will obviously be very special -- kind of like a full-circle moment."
Hayes expects Brazil to bring high pressure defensively, which will force her team to make quick decisions. On Friday, she cited the famous Mike Tyson quote about how everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
"Let's see what we're like when we've been punched in the game," Hayes said. "That's something that I think we're set up to do in the work that we're doing both on the pitch and in the classroom."