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At times during her first two weeks as coach of the U.S. women’s national team, Emma Hayes felt like “a heart surgeon in the middle of emergency surgery.”
“Not because there is something drastically wrong” with the team, he clarified; but her first training camp overloaded her and the players with her, well, a lot. There were individual meetings and intense classroom sessions. There were “tired brains” and tax practices. Hayes, a week after landing in the United States, jumped into the USWNT cauldron and tried, all at once, to build relationships and trust, teach “methodology” and “principles”, set expectations and, by the way, win a couple of matches soccer.
“It’s very, very difficult for me to be in the wards or in the clinics, teaching everyone, and operate at the same time,” Hayes said, expanding the metaphor.
Now, however, after a second straight victory over South Korea on Tuesday night, he will have time to breathe and reflect on his first major decision.
Before his second camp in early July, he will have to choose a team for the Paris Olympics.
And unlike a 23-woman World Cup squad, where marginal decisions rarely matter, Olympic squads are capped at 18 players.
So Hayes, with only nine days of in-person testing, will have to balance a somewhat unbalanced USWNT team.
They have a wealth of talented attackers but a shortage of centre-backs. Will Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, Jaedyn Shaw, Trinity Rodman, Alex Morgan, Catarina Macario and Rose Lavelle take all seven? Or, to strengthen defensive depth, will he leave one of those stars at home?
At least two players who started Saturday or Tuesday against Korea will have to be released.
Here’s where the USWNT player pool stands with the July 3 roster deadline approaching.
USWNT Olympic roster crashes, bubble players
Hayes will take two goalkeepers and 16 outfield players to France. The contenders for the 16 seem to be:
Locks (10): Naomi Girma, Tierna Davidson, Emily Fox, Jenna Nighswonger, Sam Coffey, Lindsey Horan, Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, Jaedyn Shaw, Trinity Rodman
Probable (6): Emily Sonnett, Crystal Dunn, Korbin Albert, Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan
Bubble (3): Casey Krueger, Sam Staab, Abby Dahlkemper
Long Shots (3): Lily Yohannes, Olivia Moultrie, Lynn Williams
If Hayes simply picked his top 16 players, those top two categories would likely be his list. And given his versatility, it’s entirely possible they are.
Those 16, however, would leave the USWNT’s Olympic depth chart with four or five safeties at all four offensive positions and only two safeties, if at all, at some defensive positions.
USWNT’s Possible Olympic Depth Chart
With the 16 players mentioned above, here’s what the USWNT’s depth chart would look like, roughly:
Left side: Nighswonger, Dunn, Sonnett
Central defenses (2): Girma, Davidson, Sonnett
Back: Fox, Dunn, Sonnett
Defensive midfield: Coffey, Sonnett, Albert
Central midfield: Horan, Albert, Dunn
Offensive midfield: Shaw, Lavelle, Macario, Horan, Dunn
Ends (2): Swanson, Rodman, Shaw, Smith, Dunn
Striker: Smith, Morgan, Macario
The roster can include four substitutes, essentially players on standby as potential replacements in case of injury.
The reserves, one of whom would almost certainly be a central defender, alleviate concerns about defensive depth somewhat, but not entirely. With up to six games in a span of 17 days, in potentially grueling summer weather, with red card suspensions always a possibility, depth within the 16-man outfield squad is necessary. And the USWNT’s defensive depth, as explained above, would depend entirely on two players: Dunn and Sonnett.
That, in a nutshell, is the case with Staab, a left-footed center back who has excelled in the National Women’s Soccer League and could suddenly become the USWNT’s fourth center back; or Krueger, or Dahlkemper.
Olympic roster bubble
Sam Staab (D) — A month ago, at age 27, she hadn’t even been invited to a USWNT camp. But with Hayes looking for additional defensive options, Staab received her first call; then her first appearance on Saturday from the bench; then her first start on Tuesday night. Has he surpassed Dahlkemper?
Abby Dahlkemper (D) – The other option, if Hayes feels the need for another central defender. Dahlkemper, a 2019 World Cup winner who has recovered from a long-term injury, actually started three games for the USWNT earlier this year. In April, he appeared to be the third center back, behind Girma and Davidson. But she was completely left off the roster last training camp.
Casey Krueger (D) – Krueger has been reliable and on the sidelines for the USWNT for a while now. She is a very solid 1v1 defender, can play in any full-back position and could substitute as a central defender on the right or left side in a back three if necessary, as she did on Tuesday, when the USA . acquired possession. in a sort of 3-5-2/3-4-3 shape.
Krueger would add value to an Olympic roster. But the question, as with Staab or Dahlkemper, is: How to make room for him?
Will Hayes make a surprising Olympic cut?
Alex Morgan (F) —Morgan was outside looking in. 23 players rosters last winter, and apparently on the way out of the USWNT picture. Then Mia Fishel tore her ACL, the coaches called up Morgan as a late replacement, and Morgan proved her persistent worth. His targets have been depleted, but his skill set (such as a classic number 9, a target who can bond with his teammates, and a grinder who can lead a press) is unique in the group of players. Surely Hayes sees that and wants it as an option this summer.
Catarina Macario (H/F) – Macario has yet to play more than 60 minutes in a game for the USWNT since April 2022. He is still recovering from a multi-year injury layoff. But Hayes, who recruited Macario to Chelsea while he was injured, clearly likes him whether as a centre-forward or as a number 10. “I know how he operates in the pockets,” Hayes said after starting Macario in an attacking midfield role. Saturday. “She can attract players, she can escape pressure, she is a fairly pressure-resistant player. She bonds very well.”
Rosa Lavelle (M) — Lavelle, like Morgan, only fits into one position. But in that position, when she’s healthy and fit, she’s the USWNT’s most inventive player. She hasn’t been very good for the national team over the past year and she has lost her once-guaranteed starting spot, but she could be a big spark off the bench in France.
Korbin Albert (M) — Albert plays a much shallower position than the three players mentioned above. But beyond a brief apology on Instagram, he has yet to publicly address his transphobic social media activity, which came to light in March and sparked many “conversations” within a team that has always supported and defended the community. LGBTQ+. In purely football terms, he almost certainly belongs on the Olympic squad; but the controversy adds a degree of uncertainty.
Crystal Dunn (D/M/F) – The ultimate utility player seems perfect for an Olympic roster. He could fill the role of left back, right back, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, left winger or right winger. Hayes, upon his arrival, moved Dunn forward because “I know what he can do at left back,” and Dunn quickly scored on Tuesday in his first start in the position since 2017. The only scenario in which is it omitted? If Hayes prefers Krueger as a defender and concludes that Dunn is an unnecessary surplus up front.
The wild card
Lily Yohannes is 16 years old and, with 20 minutes left in the USWNT’s final game before the roster deadline, she had never seen the field. But, when she showed up, she looked remarkably comfortable and clean on the ball. Then, she scored.
He still has a good chance of reaching the Olympic Games. He has only played a handful of games at the highest level so far, and 20 minutes on the bench against South Korea in a friendly doesn’t change that fact. But his aerial game is unlike that of any other American midfielder. She belongs on the national team, in the long and short term future, and maybe even now.
Goalkeepers
The goalkeeper’s position, meanwhile, is quite simple.
Alyssa Naeher is currently recovering from a thigh injury. “If she wasn’t hurt, she would surely be at this camp,” Hayes said.
If Naeher recovers from her injury in time for the Olympics, she will be the starter and Casey Murphy or Jane Campbell will be the backup.
If he doesn’t, both Murphy and Campbell will likely fight for the starting job.