Emma Hayes is putting her USWNT players in the frying pan. Who can handle the heat?
Compared to the bright, breezy environment of SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for game one, the United States women's national team's (USWNT) swift rematch with Brazil at San Jose's PayPal Park carried an inverted energy, atmospherically and competitively.
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The latter ended in a 2-1 defeat for the U.S. before a packed house of 18,000 in California's Bay Area on Tuesday night, the booming, sold-out crowd competing with the periodic sound of planes touching down at the nearby airport. The first, in the sunshine of Saturday afternoon, brought 32,303 people to a venue that holds 70,000 to see what turned out to be a secure 2-0 win for the hosts.
Match two also embodied the classic traits of a return fixture against the same opponent, with noticeable changes to the previous lineup. But as U.S. head coach Emma Hayes has reiterated throughout this window, experimentation was going to be the prevailing theme of these two fixtures. She is working toward identifying a core group of players by the end of June who will eventually compete in the 2027 World Cup finals.
'I wanna put players in the frying pan and I want you to feel the heat,' Hayes said in her post-game news conference late Tuesday night. 'This camp was always about expanding and experimenting (with) that player pool. I really feel like that is becoming so clear to me on which players I think are really ready for us right now, which ones are not.'
With that mandate, this could, arguably, have been a period better enjoyed behind closed doors for the team.
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Of the 22 players (including alternates) selected for the 2024 Olympics, headlined by Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman as the Triple Espresso forward line, only 10 made the most recent roster. The starting 11 on Tuesday averaged just 17 caps and formed the youngest USWNT roster in 24 years. It was bound to look as challenging as it felt — especially when that group, unlike Saturday's squad, was tasked with handling 2023 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) MVP Kerolin for 90-plus minutes.
When caterpillars retreat to their cocoons, part of the process of transformation can be aesthetically unbecoming and grotesque. For the USWNT, though, that metamorphosis is happening in real-time and out in public view. The revolution is being televised, and Hayes is unconcerned with how it might look to an untrained eye.
'We could play 11 relatively experienced players now and build those connections, there's no problem,' Hayes had told reporters on Friday. 'But if we get to a World Cup in two years and all of a sudden, an Ally Sentnor or Lily Yohannes are completely underprepared, then you're going to say, 'Well, why didn't we give them the opportunities in that period?'.'
Hayes shared that Sentnor, a 21-year-old striker and No. 1 NWSL draft pick of the Utah Royals in 2024 who is known for scoring long-range bangers, had told her that the SheBelieves Cup finale in February that saw the USWNT fall to Japan 2-1 had been the most difficult game she'd played in her career. The manager also pointed out Yohannes, whose skill and promise as a midfielder became popular knowledge following her Champions League debut at 16 (she is now 17) for Dutch club Ajax, had not been involved in the U.S. youth national team system very long and thus has limited experience with international competition outside of Europe.
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'It's a completely different situation that we have to expose them to,' Hayes continued, 'and if I put on the field (a lot of) 17, 18, 19, 20-year-olds, I'm setting them up to fail, in my honest opinion, so we have to drip-feed it in, whether it's some of them in one game, some of them in another game, (or) some of them from the bench.'
This week's collective four halves of soccer against Brazil provided that.
Saturday's game kicked off with the five most-capped players on the roster — Lindsey Heaps, Crystal Dunn, Emily Sonnett, Emily Fox and Rodman — in the starting 11. The second half, however, saw the entries of Yohannes and 20-year-old Jaedyn Shaw, plus a national-team debut for Houston Dash defender Avery Patterson, 22. Last night, by contrast, 31-year-old Sonnett was the most-capped player at kick-off with 106. Next in line? Midfielder Korbin Albert with 25 at age 21.
Claire Hutton watched the first match from the bench as an unused substitute, then started the second to double her number of international caps. The 19-year-old, who plays for the Kansas City Current, roamed about central midfield Tuesday night with Albert and distinguished herself with her stuck-in defending and positioning, according to Hayes.
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'We've done a lot of film with her this week, a lot of detailing,' said Hayes, adding that the Americans' goal, scored by Catarina Macario in the first minute of the game, came as a result of Hutton stepping up further away from the back line, which allowed her to intercept the ball and initiate the decisive counter-attack — something she and the coaching staff have been working on with her.
Hutton, for her part, spoke with Sentnor, one of her best friends and did play in that first match, on the team's flight up to the Bay Area from LA. She knew what she experienced Tuesday night would be 'a whole different beast' compared to Saturday.
'It's international football. You're gonna get clobbered if you take too many touches on the ball,' Hutton said. 'So it's just a learning moment and a moment to move forward on.'
It's no secret that the state of the USWNT's midfield has for years been shrouded in concern, but the teenager's aggression toward an opposing team that relishes one-versus-one duels demonstrated for Hayes that she is suited for this level.
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'Listen, for a 19-year-old to play like that against Brazil is a superb performance from her. One in which I know she is ready to progress with us,' Hayes said.
And while the second half of Tuesday's game saw the return of more veteran players — Heaps, Sam Coffey, Dunn and Alana Cook, and even Shaw, subbed on for her 25th cap — Hayes found the group's performance flat, which they never quite recovered from. The USWNT's expected goals figure for the second half was zero, and Hayes said only one player broke into the top 10 for pass completion.
Patterson's determined performance as a left-back crackled with possibility, but concerns remain in the middle defensively — both in terms of the ongoing audition to be Naomi Girma's co-conspirator, and the ability of both goalkeepers who played in this window, Phallon Tullis-Joyce and Mandy McGlynn, to distribute the ball with precision.
'I think both her (McGlynn) and Phallon have had the opportunity to play against a top opponent, just like Jane (Campbell) had the opportunity to play against a top opponent with Japan, and I think it's fair to say I'm a lot clearer,' Hayes said Tuesday night.
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It's hard to imagine these players returning to their clubs after these two games without stacks of notes and feedback from Hayes and, for the younger set, the veteran teammates around them.
'Every time I go into camp, it's definitely a learning experience and developing as a player,' 19-year-old defender Gisele Thompson told reporters in the mixed zone. 'I think I can learn so much from all of these players, especially Crystal, (and) Emily Fox. They've helped me so much along the way. Just being in these camps helps me as a player, even (at) club.'
Gisele Thompson and Hutton both spoke of confidence in their reflections on camp, how the experience and what they learned from it bolstered their toolbox as players, imbuing them with excitement about how they'll integrate their notes.
'That was a battle. I've never played a game like that before,' Hutton said of last night's game, the beginnings of a laugh escaping from her response in the mixed zone. 'So knowing that I had that, I can do anything now.'
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Soccer, NWSL, Women's World Cup
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