Emma Hayes, the head coach of the US women’s national team, observed improvements in her squad’s final third decision-making during Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Mexico at Red Bull Arena, but she still believes there is room for improvement. Hayes’s third game as head coach of the United States was the team’s penultimate pre-Olympic game and its first with the lineup that will travel to France the following week to try and win the program’s first Olympic gold medal since 2012.
“If we use [the Concacaf Gold Cup] as a reference point, I think it’s fair to say this game was much more measured, much more controlled,” Hayes told the press. “[We] limited them to very little, so [it’s] a step in the right direction.”
Less than five months have passed since Mexico’s historic 2-0 triumph over the USWNT in the Concacaf W Gold Cup group stage—the Americans’ first defeat by Mexico on home soil. In a more controlled contest on Saturday, the USWNT held 70% of the ball and prevented Mexico from generating the counterattack opportunities that had allowed the visitors to win the Gold Cup.
According to Hayes, “small details” make the difference between Saturday’s 1-0 outcome and a greater victory margin. She called attention to little things like positioning oneself to see where the goalkeeper is before shooting. “You only have to see from just an xG perspective at the end of the game: It’s two-point-something and should be much bigger because for the chances we’ve created, we’re not hitting the frame enough,” Hayes stated.
“I still think that’s something to add, but I think the difference in momentum from first half to second half was even bigger for us. Much more controlled.”
With fewer than two weeks to prepare for the Olympics, Hayes & Co. want to avoid becoming the first team in program history to lose both a major tournament cycle and a World Cup. In a penalty shootout versus Sweden in the round of 16, the USWNT was ousted from the World Cup the previous year.
Already, the Americans have had to adjust: this past Friday, Hayes and U.S. Soccer declared that striker Lynn Williams had taken the place of midfielder Catarina Macario, who had been part of the initial 18-player Olympic roster. Macario, who underwent an ACL tear in 2022, is currently experiencing “knee irritation” after returning to action.
