The USWNT kicks off in France as a team in transition – and one that’s looking to make a point

Paris (CNN) — As the US Women’s National Team made attack after attack last week in Washington, DC, the final pass was just a little bit off the mark or the decisive shot was just fired a few inches wide.

The USWNT’s scoreless draw against Costa Rica in their final game before heading to France for the 2024 Summer Games was as frustrating as the nation’s capital was hot that night with the thermometer reading 97 degrees at kickoff. But it also made for a neat encapsulation of the task ahead of head coach Emma Hayes and her squad during these Paris Games.

The old reliable stars of the team’s golden generation are largely gone. And this will be the competition where new ones will have to be made – or a streak of disappointing major tournaments will go on for another frustrating few years.

“We want to make this environment comfortable, but also know, you know, what the standard is – you’re here for a reason,” said Lindsey Horan, the midfielder who serves as the team’s captain. “Any new player coming in, that means you’re one of the best in the country and you have every right to be here. So, the nerves and all those things, they’re normal. That means this means something and you’re playing on one of the best teams in the world. And we want to get back to being the best in the world.”

“So, we need those players. And like I said before, we have a lot of new players and new players that make up you know, the starting spots on this roster so we’re gonna need them to be great, be confident, and you know, everyone that’s come in so far – new players, young players, too – the confidence is outstanding.”

For young stars like Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman entering their first Olympics, and four other players playing in their first major tournament for the US national team, it’s the first major test in what they hope will be a long career in the red, white and blue. Other veterans like Rose Lavelle and Alyssa Naeher will be looking to redeem themselves from disappointing showings in Tokyo and Australia and New Zealand, where the US suffered its earliest-ever defeat in the World Cup.

The USWNT defeated Zambia 3-0 in their first game Thursday in Nice, France.

A new era

When she set the roster, Hayes acknowledged the surprising decision to not bring Alex Morgan to France, picking players who she felt adapt to her style and could play in the tight turnarounds that Olympic competition requires.

It was arguably Hayes’ first tough decision as the manager of the women’s team after coming on board in late 2023 following a successful decade-plus at Chelsea FC in London. She told reporters after the Costa Rica game that at that point she’d only had about a half-dozen training sessions with her team, leaving her not much time to build the kind of relationships that major competition victories are built on.

Even still, she is finding it easier than anticipated to get her team to come together.

“I’ve only had a half a dozen sessions and four games. No problem, like, I’ll make the most of those” she said. “And in the sessions we have leading into the Olympics will add another layer to prepare us for the opening game in Zambia, when we have to be patient. There’s a lot of young, inexperienced players that are still learning at this level. And yes, it’s a new era. Yes, we want to win. But we have to understand the steps to take to do that.”

For first-time Olympians like defender Sam Coffey, that patience is key.

While Coffey says she intends to enjoy her Olympic experience and live in the moment as much as possible, the 25-year-old added she and other players stepping onto this stage for the first time are going to be doing a lot of learning.

While that learning is part of the path to success, it can be a difficult position to be in when so much is expected quickly of the US women’s national team.

“This is a new group, there’s a new energy, there’s a new philosophy, culture, I think we’re learning a lot as we go. And in some ways, we need to have patience with ourselves as we do that. It’s not going to be linear,” she said, adding, “But I again, I think – I hope it’s evident in the way that we’re playing and the difference in the style of play.”

While the team has been gelling – Hayes and multiple players described good vibes being prominent in the locker room as the trip to France will likely be an intense period of bonding for the veterans and younger players.

“We’re in our little bubble so traveling to new places is difficult because you don’t have that much free time,” forward Trinity Rodman said when asked what she was looking forward to at her first Olympics. “So, I would just say, having family members and friends there to support us through everything. being far away from home. I think the togetherness is great.”

Tuning out the ‘keyboard warriors’

That group mentality is key to Hayes’ preparation for the rigors of tournament play.

“We do a lot internally in terms of, you know, getting them to focus on the things that happen in our environment,” Hayes said.

She nodded at the pressure that comes with being a part of one of the most successful women’s soccer teams of all time, saying, “We can’t control the keyboard warriors. And for us, you know, we have to realize the privilege to play for USA at the Olympics. Not only is it, you know, the greatest honor for these players, but one that we did not want to waste and we certainly don’t want to waste that with, you know, remarks and comments that are happening away from us that – people are entitled to – but we should just focus on ourselves and look after each other.”

It’ll be up to players like Mallory Swanson, who’s playing in her second Olympics and third major tournament, to guide the younger players through the pressure that is heaped on the American women’s team.

Swanson said so far, the mix of younger and more veteran players has led to a positive atmosphere in a locker room full of some of the game’s top players.

“You got a mix of not of veterans, and then some newer players and I think that makes us really, really good,” Swanson said. “I think. It’s like I said, like the vibe has been really positive and it’s been a lot of fun and, yeah, I think just going into the tournament, that’s important.”

Finding an identity – and a top target

With Morgan left at home, it’s the first major tournament in many years for the US women where there is not one striker who is expected to pour in the goals.

Smith, Rodman and Swanson made up an electric front three against Costa Rica, often blitzing down the flanks of Las Ticas to create chances. Their intricate passing and combination with Horan occasionally left Costa Rican defenders flailing.

But the chances were left wanting. That leaves room for a concerning question – who’s the classic striker that can be counted on to finish off the build-up play like Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm once did?

“It’s frustrating, obviously, when you’re creating those chances that it’s just not going in. And but yeah, I think that we’re getting in those positions, and I think that you take the positive from that,” Swanson told reporters after the July 16 game. “And then I think you just go back to the training ground, and you just continue to work on finishing that last little bit. And yeah, I think it’ll come and, and just be a little – me myself, I just had to be a little bit more clinical, and just go back to the training ground and just get some reps in.”

Hayes is happy to be patient with her team while they forge their new identity, and said the teams the team played ahead of their trip to France allowed them to get great experience playing different types of defenses.

“The last part in the box is that little bit of composure, whether it’s to find the right – the spear player in the right moment, and where it’s just execute,” Hayes said. “When I analyze the chances, should we win the game? Of course we should win the game. But for me I’m always, I’m always about analyzing what you have to do to be able to ensure that happens or at least we can get into the positions again and again. I cannot finish the ball for players, but I can certainly coach to put players in positions.”

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