After guiding the USWNT to a gold medal with a short run-up to the 2024 Paris Games, Hayes can now really get to work
Winning a major tournament, in the best of circumstances, is hard. Doing so with a short runway? Almost impossible. That's what U.S. women's national team manager Emma Hayes accomplished this summer at 2024 Paris Olympics. That's why people are so excited about the future of this USWNT. It's because Hayes, in almost no time at all, accomplished the impossible.
This past summer was just the beginning. Hayes has signed on for a long-term project, which means that what happened in France was a first step. A golden step, to be clear, but it really was still a bonus and an indication that this team is already further ahead than many believed.
After making the perfect introduction at the Olympics in France, the real work has just begun for Hayes. The Olympics were about scrambling to put together a team that could compete; now, it's about building a program that wins over and over again. Not just instant success, but consistent, sustained success.
That process really begins now. The USWNT's October camp is the first since the Olympics and, more important, the first of a new cycle. After turning the Americans into champions in just a matter of weeks, Hayes now has three years to build on the Olympic win. She now has that window to really put her vision into place.
"Nothing changes in terms of it's another opportunity for us to create new history and new heights and an identity that is built on in an already outstanding program," Hayes said. "For me, it's just about evolving. The Olympics form a great basis and they're a great foundation for us, but it's not a future predictor for success."
Getty ImagesA hot start
When Hayes signed with U.S. Soccer, it was clear she'd finish the season at Chelsea before heading stateside. The USWNT knew they’d need to act fast once she arrived.
Hayes, though, wasted no time.
She took over on June 1 for a series of four pre-Olympic friendlies, which resulted in three wins and a draw. Then, once the Olympics rolled around, Hayes and the USWNT zoomed through the competition, ending the tournament with a Gold Medal Game win over Brazil to reclaim a spot among the elite.
“Winning’s in my DNA," Hayes said. "I’m used to being in finals, I’m used to competing for trophies. And so is the U.S. women’s national team."
In just a matter of weeks, Hayes had accomplished more than anyone could have believed. While that's great and all, she wasn't really brought in for the Olympics and she wasn't hired to win one tournament.
That's the work that begins now: the work that Hayes was really hired to do.
Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesThe rebuild really begins
Hayes, at her core, is a builder. She's a winner, too, obviously, but, deep down, she's a coach that appreciated impact just as much, if not more, than results. It's why she stayed at Chelsea for 12 years, turning the Blues into a powerhouse. It's also why she was so drawn by the USWNT job.
So, while the Olympic run was fantastic, a career highlight, there's still so much to look forward to.
This camp, which features two friendlies against Iceland and one against Argentina, offers a glimpse at that. With this being a victory tour, Hayes obviously leaned on her gold medalists, but there's some razzle dazzle mixed in there, too, in the form of newcomers.
In total, 18 members of the Olympic squad are in the team for these friendlies, but there are eight players involved that weren't in France this summer. Some of those eight could be key in a few years time.
Rising stars such as Olivia Moultrie and Alyssa Thompson will look to take the next step, while uncapped players like Eva Gaetino, Emma Sears and Hal Hershfelt push for their chance. Hershfelt, of course, was an alternate this summer, but is among the six uncapped players in camp.
Starting now, the player pool will begin to turn over, adding new faces while phasing out some of the older ones. The current squad has five players over the age of 30, although a few of them could still be involved in a few years.
"I've said this, although I say it privately more than I do publicly: the U.S. could quite easily put two teams out there," Hayes said of the current player pool. "There's always going to be players that are missing and there were players and there are players that are outside of this roster that equally deserves to be in."
The Olympics laid a foundation, but now Hayes gets the chance to really build upon it. The culture is way ahead of schedule, and now Hayes has a group of young stars eager to show that they deserve a place in it.
GettyTactical identity
Given her limited time with the USWNT, Hayes didn't introduce too many wrinkles when she initially took over. She guided her players, who were all supremely talented and empowered them by putting them in a position to succeed. When you're as good as this USWNT team is, that's all you have to do on most nights: give your players a chance to be better than the opposition's players.
Hayes will look to do more, though. Whatever edge she can find, she'll surely take it and, now that she has some time to work with this USWNT group under a bit less pressure, she'll have the ability to get creative.
"Tactically, we will evolve," she said. "That's the reality of it. I think you saw throughout the Olympics that teams started to sit a lot lower, sitting with a lot of bodies, and made it very difficult for us to break teams down. We had to find different ways against different opponents all of the time, much like playing against a team like Brazil that will go man for man all over the park.
"For us, I feel like we've already got a great understanding of our principles. We just need to evolve it to the next step."
GettyYoungsters on the rise
Of the 18 players on the Olympic squad, 10 were at the Vlatko Andonovski's failed World Cup squad the summer prior. Hayes took those players, rebuilt their confidence and turned them back into winners. It was an incredible job.
In the long term, though, the players who will define this team's future are really just getting started. Several of them are in this camp.
We already know what Hayes thinks of Jaedyn Shaw, who looked poised to be a breakout star this summer. After watching her thrive under interim manager Twila Kilgore, Hayes looked ready to turn Shaw into a major part of the attack, only to see injuries limit her at the Olympics. Unfortunate, of course, but the 19-year-old attacker is just getting started. Under Hayes, Shaw should be a staple for years to come.
Youngsters such as Olivia Moultrie and Alyssa Thompson have had their moments, Thompson actually a part of the 2023 World Cup squad, but Hayes will now get the chance to work with them up close and personal and help them live up to their lofty potential. Both are involved in this camp. Despite all of their experience, both are still teenagers.
Gaetino, Hershfelt and Sears are in line for their first caps, and all are under the age of 24. Gisele Thompson, Kennedy Fuller, Croix Bethune, Trinity Byars, Lexi Missimo and perhaps even 17-year-old Lily Yohannes? There are so many young stars itching to break through, and developing those young stars into USWNT contributors will perhaps be the most rewarding part of Hayes' job.
