Trinity Rodman scored twice as the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) beat Wales 2-0 on Sunday in its final warmup game before the Women’s World Cup.
Rodman, the daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman, came on as a second half substitute before scoring a brace late in the game.
If her first goal was a simple tap-in, her second was anything but with the 21-year-old whipping in a brilliant finish from the edge of the box.
In addition to her two goals, the Washington Spirit forward injected some much needed energy into the game and made a strong case for her starting in this month’s World Cup campaign – the tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, starts on July 20.
“[Trinity] was one of the players that went in that had a task to fulfill to raise the pace and tempo of the game and we saw the tempo changed dramatically,” USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski told reporters.
“The second goal, I think that’s a world class goal.”
The USWNT’s first match of the tournament is against Vietnam on July 22 before it faces the Netherlands and Portugal in its other group games.
Reuters reported that 18,000 people watched Sunday’s match against Wales in San Jose, California, with fans giving their players a send off in a ceremony after the game.
Exciting prospect
Rodman is one of the many young stars being introduced to the squad which is bidding for its third consecutive title on the world stage.
It comes as many older players are coming to the end of their careers. Megan Rapinoe, for example, confirmed she would retire from the sport at the end of the season.
In 2021, Rodman made history after becoming the youngest woman ever selected in the NWSL draft. The then 18-year-old was drafted to Washington Spirit as the No. 2 pick.
She was named NWSL Rookie of the Year later that year as she helped her team lift the NWSL title.
Rodman made her highly-anticipated debut for the national team in 2022 and is part of a new generation of players looking to cement the USWNT’s legacy as the greatest team in women’s soccer.