“I very much hope that she will be with us in camp,” Emma Hayes remarked last week, expressing her ultimate desire to see Rose Lavelle in her USWNT squad. The NJ/NY Gotham FC midfielder had been out for over 186 days after having left the Netherlands friendly on December 4 with an ankle injury, until the recent NWSL Matchday 11 finally saw her make an emphatic return to action. While her domestic comeback is somewhat fulfilled, what about the national team?

Well, guess what? Hayes’ wish of seeing the return of one of her favorite midfielders finally came true. With the American ladies set to return to action this week to play their doubleheader clash against the Republic of Ireland on June 26 in greater Denver, Colorado, and June 29 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Allstate Continental Clasico against Canada on July 2 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C, the English tactician released her 25-player team.

In quite a domestic-heavy roster was also the name of Rose Lavelle. And aside from fans, even Hayes couldn’t contain her excitement, addressing the addition of the 30-year-old. “We’re incredibly excited to have her back with us for multiple reasons,” began Hayes while speaking to the press.

“First of all her personality, and character in the locker room has been sorely missed in the past six months. She’s primarily gifted as a football player and playing between sort of eight to ten positions… she’s someone who is maturing like a top football player is.”

This praise echoes the recent claim that Hayes had made about Lavelle, praising the veteran’s experience that she brings to her versatile squad. That was something that Lavelle was able to prove in the 2024 Paris Olympics, playing a crucial role in helping the former Chelsea boss secure the gold medal for the team.

Even after the post-Summer Games friendlies, Rose kept her composure in the team, something that Emma was able to fulfill. “I think where our game has been going in the last 12 months, she started to add new dimensions between the lines,” added the 48-year-old tactician.

Further expressing her delight to see the former Seattle Reign midfielder back on the team, Hayes claimed that similar is the feeling for Lavelle to be playing the second fixture in her hometown, Cincinnati, where she attended Mount Notre Dame High School. “I know she’s completely excited for that,” Hayes concluded.

We bet indeed. Clearly, the USWNT boss is quite ecstatic to have Lavelle back in the mix. Both will be looking to collaborate more effectively and further build on the case for their 2027 World Cup preparations—something that Hayes specifically eyes to do.

Rose Lavelle offers exactly what Emma Hayes needs

After releasing the roster, Emma Hayes insisted that improving on the understanding of widening the player pool is one of the key goals for this three-game international window. So despite having young names like Claire Hutton, Olivia Moultrie, and Sam Meza, the former WSL coach also cared enough to add an experienced name like Rose Lavelle.

Similar is the case in the other positions, aside from veteran Lynn Biyendolo, the likes of Michelle Cooper, Yazmeen Ryan, Emma Sears, Ally Sentnor, and Alyssa Thompson have made the cut. As for defense, Emily Sonnett and Naomi Girma spearheads in terms of experience and will hope to guide more of Tara McKeown, Kerry Abello, Avery Patterson, Emily Sams, Gisele Thompson, with Jordyn Bugg, Lilly Reale, and Izzy Rodriguez earning first international call-up

As for the goalie spot, even Angelina Anderson and Claudia Dickey earned their first call-ups as well with Mandy McGlynn boasting three appearances. This kind of mix that contains more domestic players and only one European player is exactly what will help Hayes achieve her goals.

“On this roster, we have players with a varied amount of experience, and my priority is to deepen the exposures required for international soccer. These are three challenging matches and as always, we want to win, but also to make sure we are ready for the next steps,” said Emma Hayes.

Be that as it may, it is quite a solid team, let’s see how things unfold for them in all of the three games.