We have finally reached the end of the United States Women’s National Team’s interim period. Emma Hayes’ reign is in sight.
Interim head coach Twila Kilgore has had the unenviable task of leading the team from a heartbreaking World Cup exit to a place of rebuilding, wielding the authority of a head coach while understanding that it was his role to withdraw graciously at the scheduled time. , to once again assume the role of assistant upon Hayes’ arrival at the end of May.
But with the end of an era, we realize that there is no longer any chance of being wrong, not really. Hayes will have to embark with the United States on the two training camps she will have before the Olympics, one in early June and one in July that will also serve as a farewell tour before the tournament. His arrival appears to be a relief for a team that wants some stability after a period of post-World Cup upheaval, players say.
“I think now we see a lot of uncertainty,” defender Tierna Davidson said in Columbus before the SheBelieves Cup final victory over Canada. “We have a lot of fantastic new players coming in and making their mark. I think, as I said before, with a new coach you never know exactly what he’s going to want or what he sees and what he likes. So I think there’s just a little question mark.
This is a team that has lost some of its core leadership with the departure of Julie Ertz after one last hurray in 2023, the retirement of Megan Rapinoe and, frankly, the continued absence of Becky Sauerbrunn even though she is still an active player. However, the team seems to have managed to find a direction, even if it is through a zigzag path. Aside from the rainy match against Canada last month, the unanimous opinion of players coming out of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup was that it was a resounding success. This gave them real stakes against competitive opponents who simulated the pace of the Olympics, allowing the team to experience a pressure cooker scenario as they still tried to find their footing after the World Cup.
With the addition of both SheBelieves games to help develop tactics, expand the player pool, and reintroduce Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario to the environment, the team appears to be as prepared as they will ever be for the takeover by Hayes.
However, there are competing advantages and disadvantages. Both new and returning players have received valuable playing time, so much so that some of them, notably Jaedyn Shaw, already look like confident additions to the Olympic roster. They also went through some mental struggles, like the 2-0 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup, conceding first in both SheBelieves games and coming up short in both games. But the team still seems a little shaky in terms of identifiable style and consistent performances. There’s plenty of individual genius to be found in this player pool, but can Hayes solidify them in tournament mode?
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Change can’t come soon enough. Although the players collectively showed calm about not having a head coach for eight months, they also recognized that it was not ideal.
“I don’t want to say uncomfortable, but it’s just weird,” forward Trinity Rodman told former USWNT midfielder Sam Mewis. The women’s match podcast last month. “There is very, very limited communication and it is communication from Twila to us. So it’s like you’re being watched all the time, almost.
Simplifying the communication chain to go through Kilgore makes sense. This avoids mixing messages and reinforces that there is only one head coach at a time, instead of players being overwhelmed by having two people telling them what to do, but it also keeps Hayes away from these players. This reduces the time it will take for him to integrate into the locker room, gain the trust of the team and, in turn, learn how to best deal with so many different personalities.
Midfielder Sam Coffey is one of those new players trying to land an Olympic berth, and she good-naturedly acknowledged “the chaos around us.”
“I think there are a lot of changes happening right now,” she said in Columbus. “There is a lot of uncertainty, many factors beyond our control.
“For me personally, the more I focus on just playing and being my best and loving the highest version of myself every day, that’s what I can control…. We can focus on what we have here.
The United States demonstrated its ability to exert all-out pressure against Japan; If the team has an identity right now, it’s that high pressure, controlling the play out of defense and using it to win the ball back and create scoring opportunities. They were able to progress the ball both out of midfield and through the wings, particularly on the left side with Jenna Nighswonger pushed high, Swanson dropping into the pocket and Lindsey Horan supporting them both.
“I think it’s the epitome of the U.S. women’s national team to be so forward, so hungry, so deadly in our defensive shape to ultimately lead to our offense,” Coffey said. “I think our press is just deadly. It’s so difficult to play against. And I think, again, we don’t have the mentality of like oh, we’re pressuring to get the ball. We are pushing to score goals.
It was a different story against Canada as the United States deployed a more conservative midfield with Coffey, Emily Sonnett and Horan, as opposed to Coffey, Horan and Shaw. They also moved Shaw to the left in a 4-2-3-1. Most importantly, Canada pressed early against the United States in a five-back formation, trying to engage their wingers and exploit the space at the back. It was a completely different pace than the first game; Japan also pressed early, but was then overwhelmed by the U.S.’s downward response, while Canada and the U.S. held out and traded blows for longer.
This resulted in a much closer match in which the United States didn’t look as fluid as against Japan until they adjusted in the second half with a few substitutes that allowed them to bring Shaw back into midfield. But once they adapted, they added further proof that this team is best when its young attackers are allowed to pursue their goals hungrily. The second goal against Canada, with Shaw picking his weighted pass into the path of Rodman, who beat his defender then distributed it to Smith who was also rushing past his defender in the box, was a perfect example of this team at his best.
A BEAUTY IN CONSTRUCTION AND WE ARE FORWARD! #USWNT X @vw pic.twitter.com/zeBj6HkEuM
– United States Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) April 10, 2024
Canada coach Bev Priestman named Smith, Swanson and Rodman in particular as players who stretched them vertically and moved Canada forward and backward in transition, changing the dynamics of the game.
“I just think the breakneck pace and the overloads in the flank areas, that’s where we kind of got trapped,” she said. “And we’re really pushing and pressing, and then they’ll drop a ball up the middle (on second base) and that pace is unstoppable.….
“It’s a dynamic team. You look at the bench and it’s not a bad bench to be on.
American captain Alex Morgan also pointed out that the team’s adjusted positioning and second-half substitutions were a game-changer.
“I think our transition, our quick rotation in the pocket and our play behind their back line was really what broke the game,” she said.
After the final game of the interim era, Kilgore praised the players for facing uncertainty while trying to build an Olympic roster, win competitions, integrate new players, say goodbye to players long time and recovering from the World Cup. The transition from the World Cup to the Olympics is always tight, and players don’t really get a break before being pushed back. They played their first home matches just 46 days after being eliminated from the World Cup, and never really stopped evolving after that between the international windows, the Gold Cup and SheBelieves. Despite this, the team feels a little mentally refreshed, with the last vestiges of the World Cup finally returned.
“I think Twila did a really good job of balancing a difficult position by helping us come out of the World Cup, learn the lessons we needed, but at the same time open a new chapter and start fresh ” Smith said in Columbus. . “I think we’re doing a really good job building on that.”
Under Kilgore, we saw the development of Shaw and Olivia Moultrie, as well as some breadcrumbs laid for the future development of Lily Yohannes and Gisele Thompson. Mia Fishel also earned her first caps under Kilgore and was in contention among the forwards until her ACL injury in February.
Overall, the USWNT got a lot out of their final matches before Hayes’ arrival, chief among them being a plan of attack that they know can pay dividends when used executed with the right energy. But they also played different scenarios – coming back from a goal down against two different teams, holding a narrow lead and sitting back more, finishing penalties and playing different combinations of players in the same formations. Coupled with their Gold Cup experience, everything suggests that Hayes will be able to embark on something achievable before the Olympics despite his limited time.
(Top photo: Robin Alam/Getty Images)