Emma Hayes hasn’t had the ideal preparation for her first major tournament in charge of the U.S. women’s national team, but the new head coach believes she’s as ready as she can be.
Hayes was named as Vlatko Andonovski’s successor in November, but finished out the season at Chelsea before taking over. Hayes’ final Chelsea game was over the weekend, as the Blues clinched a fifth straight WSL title.
Following that match, Hayes named her first roster as USWNT head coach, selecting 23 players for the team’s two friendlies against South Korea next month.
The coach has a tight timeline as she prepares to take charge of the USWNT for the first time. Following the South Korea matches, she’ll have to name an 18-player Olympic squad sometime before two send-off friendlies in July.
On July 25, after just two months in charge, Hayes will lead the USWNT into its Olympics opener against Zambia.
On Thursday, Hayes gave her first interview as USWNT head coach, telling The Today Show that Twila Kilgore — who served as interim head coach before returning to her previous role as an assistant — has been vital in helping make a seamless transition.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Hayes said. “It starts with going into camp for next week and we have two get-togethers prior to the Olympics. Twila Kilgore, the interim head coach prior to me coming onboard, has been implementing a lot of things, so we’re as ready as we can be at this moment.”
After a historic failure at the 2023 World Cup, Hayes was asked how she can turn the USWNT program around.
Leading the former undisputed top side in the world back to the summit, and doing so in a condensed timeline, is a pressure-packed task. But Hayes has adopted a mantra that’s been used by many USWNT players in the past: pressure is a privilege.
“Embrace it, enjoy it,” Hayes said of the pressure she’s facing. “I want to focus on the process. I want to focus on the performance. I want to get to know the players. I want to make sure that in the limited time together we make the most of it, and for me pressure is a huge privilege.
“We get the opportunity to go to the Olympics and my focus is making sure that everybody is as prepared as they can possibly be.”
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