Hayes takes experimental approach with squad: 'If I was preparing a group for a World Cup today, I wouldn't take the risks I'm taking'
When explaining some of her choices for the U.S. women's national team's latest roster, coach Emma Hayes had an interesting insight: studies have shown, she said, that it takes a player six full camps to truly acclimate to a national team. Not coincidentally, this is Hayes' sixth camp in charge of the USWNT.
For the U.S. boss, the learning process continues to evolve, a fact she made that clear with her roster selections for the SheBelieves Cup. Hayes said Tuesday that this U.S. women's national team group is in "Block Three" of the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup buildup. That process will run from the SheBelieves Cup later this month through the end of June.
The purpose of this block? To figure out just exactly what she has in this current player pool. What better way to do that than give some younger players meaningful opportunities? The SheBelieves Cup presents Hayes and the USWNT with that chance to experiment.
They'll face Colombia, Australia and Japan – three good teams – over a six-day span. It'll be a mental and physical test, particularly for the NWSL players in preseason. These tournaments are never easy, but they're not supposed to be, are they?
Having led this team to the Olympic gold medal in just her 10th match in charge, Hayes knows what she has at the top of the roster – and many of those stars are in this camp. Crystal Dunn, Lynn Biyendolo, Tierna Davidson, Emily Fox, Emily Sonnett and Lindsey Heaps combine for hundreds of career caps. Hayes knows their games. She also knows plenty about several rising stars, players such as Alyssa Thompson, Jaedyn Shaw, Lily Yohannes and Jenna Nighswonger – all with prior USWNT experience pushing for bigger roles.
Some known entities are not on this roster. Triple Espresso – Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman are all out, again, as are Naomi Girma and Rose Lavelle. If this were a different point in the cycle, those names would be included. Given where the USWNT is now, Hayes is relishing the chance to see a version of the USWNT without them.
"We're certainly going to have a much bigger and better understanding at the end of Block Three to know where we stand in some key areas that we have to get experience in," Hayes said. "Whenever we can get the opportunity to play our best team together, we will definitely look at that, but we're not. We do not have a World Cup today, and my job is to prepare a team to compete come that period. I have to provide these players that opportunity to do it. If I was preparing a group for a World Cup today, I wouldn't take the risks I'm taking right now – but that's something I want to do."
It's an interesting roster, one filled with players with plenty to prove. GOAL takes a look at the five big takeaways from Hayes' squad selection.
Getty ImagesFamiliar faces, new names
Several key USWNT stars are back in the team, but they aren't back in the way you remember them. If you've been out of the loop, you'll probably be a bit confused by some of the names included in the USWNT squad. There are plenty of caps listed next to their name, but these aren't names we've seen on USWNT kits before. It's a case of same player, new name, and it applies to several key figures in this team.
Thanks to offseason marriages, Lindsey Horan is now Lindsey Heaps. Lynn Williams? She's Lynn Biyendolo. Sophia Smith is now Sophia Wilson. Don't be too surprised to see these names in this squad and in plenty of future squads in the years to come.
Names on the back of the jersey notwithstanding, Heaps and Biyendolo remain two key veterans for this group. Wilson, when she's back, will remain the star up top. That much has not changed.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesPlayers in line for first cap
While the roster is loaded with those familiar faces, there are several uncapped stars who will be looking to enjoy their first USWNT moment.
Hayes' squad features four uncapped players, including 19-year-old midfielder Claire Hutton and 22-year-old forward Michelle Cooper, teammates with the KC Current who impressed during the January Futures Camp. Tara McKeown is in the team as a centerback option, having played well for the Washington Spirit. Gisele Thompson, meanwhile, has long been in the spotlight with Angel City. Her call-up alongside older sister Alyssa makes the Thompsons the third set of siblings to be named to the same USWNT squad.
"They're two seperate people," Hayes said of the two Thompsons. "Of course, they're siblings, but I treat them like I would anyone else. I think Allyss – we have been working hard on her development, partciularly her understanding of the way we want to play. It'll take half a dozen experiences with Alyssa and us to really get her into a place where we'll start to see the next steps from her.
"With Gisele, it's like having Savannah King on the roster as a training player. We need to develop more fullbacks. Emily Fox is an experienced right back for us, but we need to prepare a deeper pool of players as we progress towards qualifying for the World Cup."
That's Hayes' ultimate goal for this year – expand the player pool. There a strong collection of high-end quality in this USWNT group, but Hayes is looking for depth. Injuries can strike at any time, and Hayes says there are several places on the field where she'd be concerned should those injuries pop up in a tournament setting.
To address that, she has to introduce new faces and give them experience. That's the plan for the coming weeks and the coming months, too, with Hayes saying, "We need to develop certain players in certain positions, and what better way to put them into competitions like the SheBelieves Cup?"
Getty ImagesMacario returns
It's been three years since Catarina Macario ran this tournament. It could be argued that her MVP performance in 2022 was her best individual moment in a USWNT shirt. We've seen so little of her since, as injuries have robbed her of so many opportunities. Macario is finally heading into a USWNT camp fit and ready.
Macario made her USWNT return in this tournament last year, but she was nowhere near the peak of her powers. An injury then knocked her out of Olympic contention. The Macario that is returning to this team, though, is very different than the one we saw last year. She's been built up at Chelsea and now has games under her belt. More importantly, she has goals on her resume. She's played 13 games with five starts, scoring five goals while providing two assists so far at Chelsea.
She's listed as a forward in the USWNT squad, and Hayes says she intends to use her that way – at least in this camp.
"I think if I sat here with Cat, she would tell all of us that her best position is a No. 10," Hayes said. "I'd say Jaedyn Shaw would say the same. But, without Sophia, there's a shortage of players coming through in the nine position. One thing's for sure -Cat can play in that position. She's a different type of nine to Soph in the way she stretches, but she has the ability to link, to hold up. She's intelligent around the box."
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Getty ImagesLacking Espresso – and Girma, too
We haven't seen any members of Triple Espresso since October. We haven't seen them as a unit since their Olympic triumph. We won't see them again this camp, as Wilson, Swanson and Rodman are out of the squad once again. Instead, the goalscoring duties will fall to a different group. That's frustrating, in some ways, but, as Hayes points out, intriguing in others.
"I would love those players to be with us, but they're not," Hayes said, "so what an opportunity this is for everyone else to develop as a result of that."
It is, in general, a young group. Biyendolo is the only player up front with more than 20 caps. The other six forwards alongside her combine for a mere 41, while Biyendolo alone has 75. That makes it all very clear – this group has something to prove. Biyendolo, as the veteran, is looking to show that she should stick around even as a young generation pushes through. Thompson, Cooper, Yazmeen Ryan, Emma Sears and Ally Sentnor headline that younger generation.
Macario, meanwhile, is just looking to prove that she can stay healthy and, if she can, her talent can't be questioned. The forward pool isn't the only group missing stars, though, as the central defense will face questions, too. The absence of Girma, who is recovering from a calf injury, leaves the USWNT without arguably the world's best central defender. That makes this a big test for both the veterans and the youngsters that will compete for that position in this tournament.
Overall, this is a weakened USWNT group, no doubt. Hayes won't mind, though, as she can learn significantly more about the newer faces than the ones that helped carry this team to a gold medal last summer.