Emma Hayes Shows Us The USWNT She Believes In

In January, Emma Hayes called in 50 players to train with the USWNT. Twenty-six were with the senior national team, and the rest were part of a Futures camp, which was meant to develop and scout young prospects. It was all part of Hayes’s mission to revamp the American women’s soccer system at all levels. Since then, she’s laid out a far-reaching plan that details how she hopes to push the American soccer world to reframe its goals from matching the men’s game to doing instead whatever is best for female players specifically. The effects of that blueprint, or “The WNT Way” as she calls it, will only be evident years down the line. But where Hayes does have total control, and where results are more prompt, is with the senior national team. Most immediately, she would have to select a 23-player roster for the SheBelieves Cup.

U.S. Soccer created the poorly named tournament in 2016 as an alternative to the Algarve Cup. It’s not a tournament that means much on its face, other than being a guaranteed three games against strong opposition at a regular lull in the international soccer calendar. With more than two years to go before the next major tournament, this SheBelieves Cup provided a good opportunity for the USWNT to tinker with its roster and tactics.