logo
Emma Hayes' ‘astronomical' year as USWNT head coach – but this is only the first step

Emma Hayes' ‘astronomical' year as USWNT head coach – but this is only the first step

Yahoo03-07-2025
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — On June 1, 2024, as the U.S. women's national team prepared to take the field against South Korea in Colorado, head coach Emma Hayes stared down a stadium tunnel swirling with sound.
Staff were banging on the walls to hype up the players, and fans roared with similar anticipation. The heat and humidity, combined with the mile-high altitude, were brutal — especially for an Englishwoman who hadn't known how to properly hydrate for those conditions.
Advertisement
It was Hayes' first game since accepting the position in November 2023, and she was nervous. She'd spent 12 years managing Chelsea and had no idea how an American crowd would respond to someone 'from the outside,' as she described it. Still healing from the disappointment of their earliest World Cup exit in USWNT history, her new side were also less than two months out from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Hayes felt 'desperate to do well for the team.'
They beat South Korea 4-0, with two goals each from forward Mallory Swanson and defender Tierna Davidson. Seventy days later on August 10, the USWNT became Olympic gold medalists with a 1-0 victory over Brazil. And in the year since her nerve-wracking debut, Hayes has uprooted and overhauled the women's program in ways that feel revolutionary, inviting more new players to national team camp than any coach before her and revamping the U-23s to create a sustainable and cohesive pipeline of talent.
Now, with two more years to go until the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, Hayes remains a champion of development and deliberation, choosing process over perfection as she continues to build.
Thursday night offered a poetic checkpoint for what has changed and what has remained the same. Hayes and the USWNT were back at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, and the final score was again 4-0, this time against a depleted Republic of Ireland. Swanson is pregnant and Davidson is out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury; this match instead featured goals from defender Avery Patterson, midfielders Sam Coffey and Rose Lavelle, and forward Alyssa Thompson.
Advertisement
Coffey and Lavelle, who just returned to USWNT camp after an ankle injury kept her away since December, are two of just four players on Hayes' first roster as head coach who also played against Ireland. It's a testament to Hayes' dedication to experimenting and implementing a new standard for who receives an invitation to camp.
Though Coffey earned her first USWNT call up in September 2022 under former head coach Vlatko Andonovski, she did not make the 2023 World Cup roster. Since Hayes stepped in, she has been a consistent fixture for the national team at No. 6. Thursday's match against Ireland was her 36th cap and she scored her third goal for the United States.
'She's had such a profound impact on me as a person and a player,' Coffey said of Hayes after Thursday's match. 'I think she, in many ways, has just given me such confidence and belief in myself to know what I can do and to help the team in any way possible. I think the amount that she's done in a year is astronomical.'
Coffey added that she and her teammates 'still have so much that we want to do in so many ways.'
Advertisement
'We want to grow and every camp, every game we have is just another step that we get to take together,' she added, 'and so we're loving her.'
Thompson's journey with the national team has been similarly nonlinear, even under Hayes. While she made Andonovski's World Cup roster, she seldom played, and was not chosen by Hayes to compete for an Olympic medal in Paris. Her standout club performances since with Angel City in the NWSL earned her another invitation, and she has since solidified her spot on the USWNT.
'I feel like I've grown so much as a player,' Thompson said after the game Thursday night of Hayes' impact. 'I'm just understanding the game more. In the beginning, there was a lot of information that I wanted to take in, and now I'm really understanding it. I feel like it comes a little bit second nature. Just being able to keep implementing things and working on my game really helped and it came from Emma coming in and just helping our team in that way.'
Hayes was similarly effusive in her post-match press conference.
Advertisement
'I know you're probably bored of me, but I just love them all,' she said. 'I said to them today, I don't want them to think that I take for granted the trust that they place in me to coach them. I'm so grateful for how vulnerable they are to let me do that and, yeah, I just love them.'
One year into the job, Hayes has called up 27 players to the senior team — which, of course, required tough decisions and frank conversations with those who lost their spots. Hayes' first major decision came when she announced her 18-player roster for the Olympics, which did not include USWNT legend Alex Morgan. Her omission marked the first time since 2008 that Morgan would not compete with the U.S. in a major tournament.
It was a ripping off of a band-aid that sent shockwaves through the world of women's soccer and made clear the extent to which Hayes was willing to endure discomfort in order to manifest her vision. Morgan announced her second pregnancy and retirement last September, having played no part in the U.S.'s gold medal run.
And Hayes kept tinkering. Sometimes it was out of necessity as a result of injuries or pregnancies, but largely to ensure players were in the best environments for their growth. The Olympic group has not all played together since leaving France, and two of those gold medalists, Korbin Albert and Jaedyn Shaw, have recently been moved to the U-23s to continue learning.
Advertisement
'It's a reminder that you have to develop a playing pool that's capable, and when you're facing top opponents across the world that have Champions League experience, they have Nations League experience, they have cap accumulation (with the) under-20s, under-17s, we have a lot of catching up to do and to close that gap,' Hayes said. 'Our program has been really clear, especially with the introduction of our under-23 program.'
Hayes would have been justified in coasting after last summer's accomplishment, at least for a little while; winning medals in major international tournaments affords you that. But if anything, she's become more dogmatic about the changes she wants to implement, the gaps she seeks to close between starters and bench players on the senior year, and also between the senior team and U-23s.
'I feel like we're back on track, but I will urge caution with it — and I say that because I'm so respectful of what England and Spain and Germany and Brazil in particular are doing in the global game. There is no gap between one, two, three, four, five in the world,' Hayes said Wednesday.
'We have to make every moment count for us to put ourselves in the best place possible to compete.'
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, NWSL, Women's Soccer
2025 The Athletic Media Company
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Lions health updates August 3: Campbell presser, game follow-ups, & practice news
Lions health updates August 3: Campbell presser, game follow-ups, & practice news

Yahoo

time19 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Lions health updates August 3: Campbell presser, game follow-ups, & practice news

Dan Campbell provided some health updates today in his press conference. Relevant quotes are included below. There were no surprises coming out of the preseason game on July 31 which is always a good thing. I've also included some follow-ups from the preseason game as well as issues from the past week. From today's Dan Campbell press conference.... Dan Skipper - left ankle sprain, July 31 "He'll probably be down for about a week. Got his ankle a little bit." This injury occurred on the first play of the 2nd quarter. Video of the injury was obscured both on the live feed and the all-22 angle. All indications are that this is not a severe ankle sprain, and he'll be fine soon. Taylor Decker - shoulder cleanup surgery, June or July "He will be out there individual group. Don't see him doing any team right now." Decker was expected to return to practice after the first preseason game, and he has stayed true to that schedule. He should be ready for the season. Terrion Arnold - hamstring, July 29 "It's not a major hamstring. This is a low-grade. We're hoping to have him back by the middle of the week." A one-week absence for a hamstring means it's very minor. He had an even more minor calf issue on July 24 for which he returned to practice the next day. Kenny Yeboah - right knee hyperflexion, July 31 Campbell stated that Yeboah avoided any significant injury during the game. This was expected but still welcome news. ____________________________________________ Following up on others from the game.... Hendon Hooker - head trauma, July 31 Hooker had his head violently whiplashed to the ground which was highly concerning for a concussion. Now three days later, it appears he has very fortunately escaped a concussion diagnosis. Campbell stated that Hooker will start the next preseason game. Ennis Rakestraw - chest contusion, July 20 Jeff Risdon reviewed the film and observed that Rakestraw's chest injury is clearly still bothering him. This injury was reported as a contusion which can be very painful and cause a mass effect from an underlying hematoma (pooling of blood related to a bruise). A contusion isn't a long-term concern, so hopefully his symptoms resolve soon which should result in better performance. A forceful blunt trauma to the chest can also cause a rib sprain, rib fracture, or a rib cartilage injury which could all take longer to recover from than a contusion. Craig Reynolds - chest, July 31 Reynolds was down briefly after appearing to land on the ball. There have been no follow-up reports of an injury. Isaac TeSlaa - left knee TeSlaa has been wearing a left knee sleeve during training camp for unknown reasons. Whatever might be going on didn't slow him down whatsoever during the preseason game as he flashed scary, big-play potential. ____________________________________ From Dan Campbell's press conference a few days ago... Kerby Joseph - knee (presumed left) "Not major….just a little bit of a knee irritation. Hoping to get him back Saturday [yesterday]." Joseph posted an Instagram pic showing a left knee sleeve. He is back at practice today so there is nothing major going on. Josh Paschal - unspecified "cleanup" surgery, on NFI "He's on schedule to be ready for early September to start practicing." The NFI (non-football injury) designation as opposed to PUP (physically unable to perform) continues to be interesting here. It could imply (among other things) that he was injured doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing or that the injury is non-orthopedic related. By placing him on NFI as opposed to PUP, the Lions are not obligated to pay his base salary which could become relevant if he's not ready for the start of the season. __________________________________ From practice today... Ennis Rakestraw - left shoulder Dan Jackson - leg This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions health updates for August 3: Game follow-ups and practice news

Dez Bryant, Roc Nation take issue with Jerry Jones
Dez Bryant, Roc Nation take issue with Jerry Jones

Yahoo

time19 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Dez Bryant, Roc Nation take issue with Jerry Jones

The recent Jerry Jones word potato salad regarding his direct negotiations with linebacker Micah Parsons included a gratuitous slap at former Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and his agent, Jay-Z. Via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jones had this to say about Bryant and Jay-Z: '[W]hen we have a problem with the player, the agent is nowhere to be found. Jay-Z said that Dez would make all meetings. Jay-Z and I negotiated the contract, spent hours. He said, 'Anybody in my organization is on time.' He said, 'My office used to be on the street corner, and I've always been early. So, they will be on time.' And what did I say? I said, 'I'm going to call you [when I have a problem].' He quit taking my call.' Bryant responded on Twitter, with an all-caps warning for Jerry. (We've edited it, so that we're not screaming at your eyeballs.) "Jerry Jones," Bryant said, "I don't think it's smart to mention my name. I kept quiet about a lot of unfair shit. On some G shit. We can have story time if that's what we are doing." Jay-Z's sports agency, Roc Nation, issued a separate statement that takes issue with the claim that Jay-Z stopped taking Jerry's calls. (Again, we've edited it from the all-caps tweet.) "In 2015, at the 21 Club, on a napkin, Jerry Jones, Juan Perez, Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter, and Stephen Jones negotiated a five-year, $70 million deal, which included a $45 million guarantee and a $20 million signing bonus for Dez Bryant. At the time, it was the second-largest contract for a wide receiver in NFL history. "The claim that Mr. Carter or Roc Nation representatives did not return a call from Jerry Jones is not only a false statement, but it's also a comical one." Setting aside the question of how Jay-Z was directly negotiating NFL contracts without being licensed by the NFLPA to do so, the currently salient point is this. Jerry Jones, in trying to put out the fire arising from Parsons requesting a trade, may have accidentally turned the hose on a couple of hornets' nests. We'll sit back and wait to see if he gets stung.

Patriots will unveil Tom Brady statue on Friday, August 8
Patriots will unveil Tom Brady statue on Friday, August 8

Yahoo

time19 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Patriots will unveil Tom Brady statue on Friday, August 8

Yes, Tom Brady is getting a statue. Via Mike Reiss of the bronze Brady will be unveiled on Friday, August 8, before the team's preseason opener against the Commanders. Reiss notes that, initially, the plan was to reveal the statue during the 2024 season, when Brady was at Gillette Stadium for a game. They targeted Week 5, against the Dolphins. A Week 2 concussion suffered by Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa prompted Fox to pull the plug on sending its No. 1 broadcast team to New England for the game. Brady and owner Robert Kraft are expected to speak at the ceremony in the hours preceding kickoff. Despite spending two decades in New England, Brady is now a minority owner of the Raiders. And the Patriots will open the season with a visit from Brady's Raiders. That would have been the best time to unveil the statue. Unfortunately, however, Brady isn't permitted to call Raiders games.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store