“I Don’t Believe We’d Have Gone Through”

Team USA fought its hardest battle yet in the Olympics during the quarter-final against Japan. It took the USWNT 107 minutes to find a breakthrough via Trinity Rodman’s strike. Why was the game goalless till then, and why did it look rather sluggish? Simply because USWNT stars cut an exhausted figure because of the rigorous Olympic schedule. Goalscorers, Rodman, Lindsey Horan, and Korbin Albert took physio’s help in the extra time to overcome their tiredness as Emma Hayes took some blame.

Many say Hayes could have avoided this by using substitutes during the QF with Japan. The British coach has fired back at those critics, stating she knows how to do her job.

Emma Hayes has time and again detailed why she is not a big fan of making too many changes to her squad at the Olympic tournament. This time, while reiterating it, she not-so-subtly asked her critics to check her resume. “I’m paid to do this job. What I’m interested in is what we do in-house. I’ve been coaching football matches a long time,” said Hayes, as compiled by The Athletic.

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After expressing discontent at the criticism of her player management, the coach explained her philosophy behind the ‘no-rotation’ policy.

“I’ve said it from the beginning: connections help. I don’t believe we’d have gone through if we’d have made too many changes,” Coach Hayes added. The former Chelsea boss has been a big fan of building team chemistry by making her best players play together. Team USA has won all four games at the Olympics. So Hayes’ strategy is not going to waste, after all.

In yet another testament to Emma Hayes’ rigid, yet fruitful coaching methods, she summoned the entire squad for one final scrimmage before the iconic semi-final against Germany.

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Emma Hayes gives out injury update ahead of GermanyIn a recent interview, coach Hayes said, “It is a great sign” to have all 18 USWNT squad members train at the facility in Lyon before facing Germany. These include the injured players: Jaedyn Shaw, Tierna Davidson, and Emily Fox. Fox, notably, injured her knee in the very last game against Japan and has still shown up at the training camp.

Not only does this serve as a prominent indication, but displays Hayes’ determination to field her top players with minimal alterations from the last match.

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Notably, the USA faces Germany after beating them 4-1 in the group stage. Even with that advantage in hand, Hayes expects a testing battle against Germany. Still, she assured fans that the team had prepared well by practicing for the last two days. Let’s see if Hayes and Co. surpass one last hurdle before they reach the iconic gold medal game in Paris.