The U.S. women’s national team may currently be without a handful of the stars that were part of their gold medal-winning run at the Olympics, but retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe believes that the group’s current transition period is a perfect follow-up act to last summer’s triumph.

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes will work with just 10 members of the Olympics roster for this month’s friendlies against Brazil, including just one of the “triple espresso” – Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Wilson – who together scored 10 goals at the Paris Games last summer. Rapinoe argued that the Olympics built a solid foundation for Hayes, who can now work on developing the next generation of players with the countdown to the 2027 Women’s World Cup underway.

“We saw what they did last summer, winning the gold medal,” Rapinoe said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy alongside retired basketball legend Sue Bird, her fiancé and podcast co-host. “Emma was in charge for, like, five minutes and wrangled the team. We know what the ’triple espresso’ can do, but seeing so much depth like Lily Yohannes and Ally Sentnor making their debut and doing well is significant. I love that no matter what, we’re getting goals.”

Rapinoe recognized that expanding the player pool is vital to achieving the ultimate goal of winning titles. “In all of my years, it’s the depth that really wins it for you. They’re long tournaments. Not every player is going to play every minute, and when you have that firepower coming off the bench, it’s huge.”

The period of experimentation, which Hayes has fully embraced, will add another level to a team that already boasts a talented group of established starters. Rapinoe expressed confidence in the team’s future strength build-up as they take on Brazil on Saturday at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area before a second game against the same opponent on Tuesday at San Jose’s PayPal Park.