Emma Hayes’ era begins at USWNT, veteran players dropped
Emma Hayes still has around six months with Chelsea FC before she bids farewell to club football, and the UK, heading to the USA to become the manager of the USWNT. But her effect is already being felt. Along with the US National team’s interim manager Twila Kilgore, Hayes helped pick out the squad for America’s upcoming fixtures.
Hayes will become the highest-paid female manager in the world, earning a reported $1.6m – the same as the USNMT coach.
The English manager is a global superstar and has a reputation for winning. She’s led the Blues to six WSL titles, and five FA Cups and in her final season in England she’ll be hunting the elusive Champions League title (WCL).
The chosen squad for upcoming US friendlies have already stamped Hayes harsh but fair style.
A disappointing run for the US at this year’s World Cup saw the four-times World Cup winners knocked out in the Round of 16 – the team’s earliest exit.
And Alex Morgan, arguably the face of women’s football in America, has been omitted from the upcoming roaster.
Morgan is amongst several veterans to be left out of the squad for the friendlies against China – a double fixture – on 02/12 and 06/12.
Eleven players with 10 caps or fewer have been named to the roster as the US enters its new era. Six of its players from the World Cup have been left off the team sheet.
Sofia Huerta, Alyssa Naeher, Ashley Sanchez, Becky Sauerbrunn, Crystal Dunn, Andi Sullivan and Morgan all featured in the team’s friendlies last month but have been left out of the squad, with US Soccer looking to evaluate a new generation of players before next year’s Olympics.
Thirteen of the players named in Monday’s squad were not involved at the World Cup.
This 26-player squad was put together by US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, with interim manager Twila Kilgore and soon-to-be manager Emma Hayes being consulates on the formulation of the squad.
“As we move forward with the next steps, we need more opportunities to see players from our pool in our unique national team environment, in both training and games, so we can evaluate if and how they might contribute moving forward to the Olympics,” said Kilgore.
Impact of Hayes
Emma Hayes has a mountain to climb to return the USWNT to glory. Firstly, the US team of the past has long gone. Key players have retired and fresh legs are needed.
The USWNT has historically enjoyed women’s football domination but this World Cup saw the highly decorated team crash out earlier than anyone could have predicted. Hayes will inherit a team at a crossroads, having to come to grips with the fact that the gap between the USNWT and the rest of the world has not only closed, but European teams are beginning to dominate women’s football.
But if anyone knows anything about developing a team and leading them to glory, it’s Emma Hayes.
She’ll only have a few months after wrapping up at Chelsea before moving to the US and leading the US to the Olympics in Paris.
US Soccer has already spoken of their hopes Hayes will join them during the international break, and her involvement in choosing the December teams speaks volumes of the work she’s already putting in – even if it’s met with disappointment from Chelsea fans, who will be hoping Hayes leads them to the treble this season.
It is unlikely Hayes has checked out of her role with Chelsea, but news of her involvement in December’s roster speaks volumes to just how ready she is to move on, and how she plans to rebuild the USWNT.
With little turnaround following the end of the WSL season, you could expect the Olympics will be more of a training ground for what will likely be a young squad.
But US Soccer will be happy for Hayes to focus her new team on World Cup 2027. Everything both Hayes and US Soccer have said so far shows the US and football community that her tenure is focused on the long-term goals as the priority.
Hayes is known for her ability to pluck talent that has gone unnoticed. She bought Mia Fishel to the WSL, signed Lauren James on a long contract with the Blues and of course can brag about the development of Sam Kerr, one of the best players in the world. Hayes is no stranger to changing up formation. She takes risks, and risks are what the USWNT will need after their lacklustre World Cup in their predictable 4-3-3 formation.
Many of Hayes’ Chelsea players have spoken of their fondness for her, as both a coach and person. She will need to help this new US team find their chemistry and develop a long-term plan.
Hayes has reportedly signed a long-term contract with US Soccer and is said to be making plans for 5-10 years. So following the Olympics, the US team will likely be recruiting newer players with a plan to centre them as the next generation.
Particularly after the Olympics, it would be great to see some big training camps with many new, or newer, names.
The biggest challenge Hayes will face will be the culture in the dressing room. One article asked why an established coach like Hayes would even consider the US position. In US soccer, the coach is always the one to take the blame. The Guardian summed it up, saying:
It is never the faulty development pipeline – which, in the US, is a serious problem that has been exacerbated by the financial demands of current national team players (women and men) at the expense of any future players. It is always the coach.
After all, national teams have more leeway to replace the coach than they do to replace the players, who are bound to their countries by birth or citizenship. The US national team’s players, thanks to decades of media adulation, have greater leverage than their counterparts elsewhere. Players can offer a firm stamp of approval, as they did when Vlatko Andonovski was hired in 2019. But if a coach rocks the boat, the players may pull out the knives and make a coach walk the plank.
The Guardian
Under Hayes, the USNWT will have to toughen up.
“It is in the dressing room where Hayes’s immediate targets and her strictest standards will be made clear,” says the Independent. She once told a young Jess Carter: “Get better or I’ll get someone else” and that will likely be her message to her new squad.
US fans should count themselves lucky. Hayes will usher in a new era, a reset that will give US Soccer a much-needed cultural makeover. The question is no longer about whether the world has caught up to the US, instead, it’s asking can the US keep up with world football. With Hayes, they may be able to reclaim their throne.
