In her first two weeks as coach of the United States women’s national team, Emma Hayes sometimes felt like “a heart surgeon undergoing emergency surgery.”
“Not because anything is seriously wrong” with the team, she clarified; but her first training camp overloaded her and the players with, well, a lot. There were individual meetings and intense classroom sessions. There were “tired brains” and tax practices. Hayes, less than a week after arriving in America, jumped into the USWNT cauldron and tried, in one fell swoop, to build relationships and trust, teach “methodology” and the “principles”, to set expectations and, by the way, to win a few. soccer.
“It’s really very difficult for me to be in the wards or in the clinics, to teach everyone, And doing surgery at the same time,” Hayes said, extending the metaphor.
But now, after a second straight victory over South Korea on Tuesday night, she will have time to breathe and think about her first major decision.
Before her second camp at the beginning of July, she will have to choose a team for the Paris Olympic Games.
And unlike a list of 23 players for the World Cup, where marginal decisions rarely prove to be consequential, Olympic lists are limited to 18 players.
Hayes, with only nine days of in-person evidence, will therefore have to balance a somewhat unbalanced USWNT team.
It has a multitude of talented attackers but a lack of central defenders. Will she take Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, Jaedyn Shaw, Trinity Rodman, Alex Morgan, Catarina Macario and Rose Lavelle? Or, to bolster defensive depth, will they leave one of these stars at home?
At least two players starting Saturday or Tuesday against Korea will have to be eliminated.
Here’s where the USWNT player pool stands as the July 3 roster deadline approaches.
USWNT Olympic Roster Locked, Bubble Players
Hayes will take two goalkeepers and 16 outfield players to France. The contenders for the 16 appear to be:
Locks (10): Naomi Girma, Tierna Davidson, Emily Fox, Jenna Nighswonger, Sam Coffey, Lindsey Horan, Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, Jaedyn Shaw, Trinity Rodman
Likely (6): Emily Sonnett, Crystal Dunn, Korbin Albert, Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan
Bubble (3): Casey Krueger, Sam Staab, Abby Dahlkemper
Distant shots (3): Lily Yohannes, Olivia Moultrie, Lynn Williams
If Hayes were to simply pick his top 16 players, those first two categories would likely make up his roster. And given their versatility, they very well could be.
Those 16, however, would leave the USWNT Olympic depth chart with four or five depths in all four offensive positions and only two depths, if any, in some defensive positions.
USWNT Possible Olympic Depth Chart
With the 16 players mentioned above, here is what the USWNT depth chart would roughly look like:
Leaving behind: Nighswonger, Dunn, Sonnett
Central defenders (2): Girma, Davidson, Sonnett
Back right: Fox, Dunn, Sonnett
Defensive midfielder: Coffey, Sonnett, Albert
Central midfielder: Horan, Albert, Dunn
Attacking midfielder : Shaw, Lavelle, Macario, Horan, Dunn
Wingers (2): Swanson, Rodman, Shaw, Smith, Dunn
Striker: Smith, Morgan, Macario
The roster can include four substitutes – essentially players on standby as potential replacements in the event of an injury.
The replacements, one of whom would surely be a center back, somewhat assuage concerns about defensive depth – but not entirely. With up to six games in 17 days, in potentially devastating summer weather, with red card suspensions still possible, depth within the 16-man roster is needed. And the USWNT’s defensive depth, as noted above, would depend entirely on two players: Dunn and Sonnett.
That, in a nutshell, is the case for Staab, a left-handed center back who excelled in the National Women’s Soccer League and who could suddenly become the fourth center back in the USWNT; or Krueger, or Dahlkemper.
Olympic list bubble
Sam Staab (D) — At 27, a month ago, she had never even been invited to a USWNT camp. But while Hayes was looking for additional defensive options, Staab received his first call-up; then his first appearance on Saturday off the bench; then his first start Tuesday evening. Has she 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 been recovering from a long-term injury, actually started three games for the USWNT earlier this year. In April, she appeared as the third central defender, behind Girma and Davidson. But she was completely left off the final training camp roster.
Casey Krueger (D) – Krueger is reliable and has been hanging around on the USWNT sidelines for a while now. She is a very solid 1v1 defender, can play any full-back position and could replace the right or left center back in a back three if needed – as she sort of did on Tuesday, when the United States took possession. in a 3-5-2/3-4-3 shape.
Krueger would add value to an Olympic roster. But the question, as for Staab or Dahlkemper, is: how to make room for him?
Will Hayes make a surprising Olympic selection?
Alex Morgan (W) — Morgan was outside watching 23 players rosters last winter, and seemingly on the verge of falling out of the USWNT picture. Then Mia Fishel tore an ACL, the coaches called on Morgan as a late replacement, and Morgan proved his enduring value. His goals have dried up, but his skills – as a classic No. 9, a target who can bond with teammates and a grinder who can lead a press – are unique in the player pool. Hayes surely sees it and wants it to be an option this summer.
Catarina Macario (M/F) — Macario still hasn’t played more than 60 minutes in a game for the USWNT since April 2022. She is still recovering from a multi-year injury layoff. But Hayes, who recruited Macario from Chelsea while injured, clearly likes him – whether as a centre-forward or a No.10. “I know how she works in the pocket,” Hayes said after starting Macario in an attacking midfield role on Saturday. “She can attract players, she can escape pressure, she is a fairly pressure-resistant player. She connects very well.”
Rose Lavelle (M) — Lavelle, like Morgan, only fits one position. But at this position, when healthy and fit, she is the most inventive player in the USWNT. She hasn’t been very good for the national team over the past year and lost her once-guaranteed starting spot, but she could be a great spark off the French bench.
Corbin Albert (M) — Albert plays in a much shallower position than the three players mentioned above. But, beyond a brief apology on Instagram, she has yet to publicly address her transphobic activity on social media, which was revealed in March and sparked numerous “conversations” within a team that has always supported and defended the LGBTQ+ community. In pure football terms, she almost certainly belongs on the Olympic roster; but the controversy adds a certain degree of uncertainty.
Crystal Dunn (D/M/F) — The ultimate utility player seems perfect for an Olympic roster. She could replace left back, right back, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, left winger or right winger. Hayes, upon arrival, moved Dunn forward – because “I know what she can do at left back” – and Dunn scored quickly on Tuesday in her first start in that position since 2017. The only scenario in which it is omitted? If Hayes prefers Krueger as a defenseman, he concludes that Dunn is unnecessary surplus up front.
The Joker
Lily Yohannes is 16 years old, and with 20 minutes remaining in the USWNT’s final game before the roster deadline, she had never seen the field. But when she appeared, she looked remarkably comfortable and clean on the ball. Then she scored.
She is still far from the Olympic Games. She has only played a handful of matches at the highest level yet, and 20 minutes on the bench against South Korea in a friendly doesn’t change that. But his passing game is unlike any other American midfielder. She has a place on the national team – long term and short term, and maybe even now.
Goalkeepers
The goalkeeper position, on the other hand, is quite simple.
Alyssa Naeher is currently recovering from a thigh injury. “If she wasn’t injured, she would definitely be in this camp,” Hayes said.
If Naeher recovers from her injury in time for the Olympics, she will be the starter, and either Casey Murphy or Jane Campbell will be the backup.
If she doesn’t, Murphy and Campbell will likely battle it out for the starting spot.