Home Sports What to look for as the USWNT caps off a strong year with high-profile friendlies in England and the Netherlands

What to look for as the USWNT caps off a strong year with high-profile friendlies in England and the Netherlands

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What to look for as the USWNT caps off a strong year with high-profile friendlies in England and the Netherlands

The U.S. Women’s National Team will cap off a year of accomplishments as it transitions into Europe, a prime location for building the future. Their end-of-year friendlies against England on Saturday and the Netherlands on Tuesday will be the toughest fixtures on the calendar since winning Olympic gold in August, although the group that made the trip doesn’t exactly resemble the group that did this summer in Paris. . Hayes left some, like Olympic stars Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, at home to give some emerging talents a chance and try out new ideas. In total, ten players have ten or fewer caps, while two and several others are less than thirty games into their international careers, allowing Hayes to use these high-profile friendlies as another opportunity to develop younger players.

“Of course we come this weekend to win, but it is not my overarching goal. I want to win the World Cup,” Hayes said at a press conference in her native London on Monday. “I’m not going to create a completely experimental team. There have to be connections and relationships, but I also want to give opportunities, so finding that balance in these two games is crucial because there comes a time. I want a player who or two caps to experience what it’s like to play in front of 80,000 people and it feels a bit hostile and a bit cold.”

Here’s what to watch for ahead of the USWNT’s final matches of the year.

Continuous expansion of the player pool

Although the Olympics were Hayes’ primary focus when she finally took charge of her first practice in late May, she was really hired with the goal of refreshing the program in an increasingly competitive women’s soccer landscape. Hayes has wasted little time in embarking on that mission, rewarding seven players with their debuts last month. All of these players are back this time, while two others could also earn their first caps before the year is out. The selections offer Hayes the opportunity to address a long-standing problem she has identified with USWNT player development.

“The difficult thing at international level is that in such limited games you have to stick with the same group because they have to develop the playing style,” Hayes said. “I know that, but you don’t develop opportunities and what I realized when I took this job is that we had a lot of players who had less than 25 caps… We need to develop a broader pool, so if you develop strategies to win, you can’t just always zoom in.”

Among the group of rising talent is 17-year-old Lily Yohannes, who officially opted to play for the USWNT earlier this month despite interest from the Netherlands, where she has lived since the age of 10. Yohannes was in the process of obtaining a Dutch diploma. passport, but already made her debut – and scored her first goal – for the USWNT in June, with Hayes giving her space to make her own decision.

“You have to play a long game with those things and no one wants anyone to push them,” Hayes said. “I think maybe our success at the Olympics helped with that decision, plus the camp she was in. I think she really enjoyed that, but the real work for that really starts now as the expectations of such a young talent start to grow. She is young and there are still many areas where she can grow and develop physically, so we have to nurture her without the expectation that we always have.”

Options on the attack

While most of the starters are on the roster during the USWNT’s gold medal-winning run, Hayes’ choice to leave the ‘triple espresso’ of Rodman, Smith and Swanson at home means the head coach has minutes to go on offense , which makes for fascinating competition. in the coming months.

Lynn Williams is the only veteran among the forwards, with 20-year-old Jaedyn Shaw the next most experienced player with 19 caps. Experimentation therefore seems as good as guaranteed. Emma Sears and Yazmeen Ryan have a chance to build on strong first games from a month ago, especially after Sears scored a goal and an assist on her debut. Alyssa Thompson, meanwhile, also has a chance after scoring on her return to the USWNT in October, while NWSL Rookie of the Year candidate Ally Sentnor is among those who could earn their first cap.

The newness of the group could also provide a fresh look at Hayes’ new tactical ideas, as she has only had a short time to experiment on her work so far. Until now, Hayes has relied on a three-person front line, a system also favored by her predecessor Vlatko Andonovski and which matched the ‘triple espresso’ at the Olympics. A pragmatist through and through, Hayes likely won’t want her team to be one-dimensional in the long run, so expect her to unleash some new formations sooner or later, especially with different personnel in the mix.

Alyssa Naeher’s farewell

While much of the focus will be on the future of the USWNT, the final games of the year will also serve as a farewell to goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who announced on Monday that she will retire from the national team after the match against the Netherlands.

The American first goal-choice will likely play a big role in the USWNT’s final games of the year before the battle for her role officially begins in time for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. It will be a fitting tribute for Naeher, who was the last member of the 2015 World Cup-winning team still in the USWNT player pool and is one of only seven players from that roster not to retire. Although she was Hope Solo’s backup nine years ago, she quickly became the first choice and quietly became one of the team’s most consistent players for the better part of a decade. She was one of a handful of players who took part in the USWNT’s victory at the 2019 World Cup and their gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer, playing a key role in both competitions.

It’s currently unclear who Naeher’s successor could be, though Hayes is making sure she hasn’t limited her options. NWSL goalkeepers Casey Murphy, Jane Campbell and Aubrey Kingsbury – who all have years of experience in national team camps – were left at home for the final international break of the year, with Utah Royals’ Mandy Haught and Manchester United’s Phallon Tullis. Joyce makes the trip instead. Haught earned her first cap last month, while Tullis-Joyce is one of two players who could make her debut next week, giving Hayes plenty to think about as she begins to figure out who will be the USWNT’s next starting goalkeeper .

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