A week later, the US women’s national team opened camp for this month’s friendly matches of SpainEmma Hayes spoke about the DNA team. The four-time world champions are historically one of the game’s elite attacking sides; no matter the composition of the team on the pitch or in the dugout, the players near the goal always draw attention to the opposition. That won’t change the games in Spain, but the question remains more pressing.
How exactly will it be? USWNT’s the substrate of the defense environment with the attack layer of the DNA of Spain?
Spain ranks among the toughest tests any team faces, such is the natural quality of the reigning World Cup-winning side, but it also looms large on the USWNT’s schedule following the 2024 Olympics, when Hayes’ work on revamping the team really begins. Since winning the Olympic gold in Paris in the weeks since Hayes’ tenure, the US team has conceded just 15 goals in 34 games and only averaged seven shots against per game, while opponents managed an average of just two shots per game. It’s not just that they represent the opposition, no matter how challenging – the back line of the USWNT has only been around for two years. Spain will show whether it comes down to the hosts’ ability to fend off the opposition’s onslaught, or whether or not they even have the chance to prove themselves yet.
USWNT schedule for Spain
All times US/East
- Oct. 10: USWNT vs. Spain, 2:30 pm (TBS)
- Oct. 13: USWNT vs. Spain, 7 pm (TNT)
As much as he has offensive offensive options, Hayes has spent the last two years rotating through defensive options with the definite intention of building a player pool. Noemi Girma, who by right of inheritance Becky SauerbrunnThe spot at center back ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup remains top choice and Hayes continues to be billed as the best defender ever. That’s not the only problem, though – Girma is weighing in with a calf injury that led to Hayes calling it quits. Chelsea reevaluate their behavior.
“This has happened many times and if we want her to be in a position to play for club and country on a regular basis, I think we have to change things,” Hayes said Tuesday. “He is the last person who wants to be in this position, and he really worked to bring himself back to a good level. Obviously, I’m not in control of that. I’m not the club. But with Chelsea we have worked harder to think differently about making the right solutions because the player is suffering. And I know that she is completely devastated.”
There is another thing too – Gotham FCEmily Sonnett often called on the veteran presence to slot into the opposite line-up. She ruptured her patellar tendon in her left knee in July, though the injury ruled her out of the rest of the NWSL season and could jeopardize her chances at a third World Cup at the end. Hayes is down to four options: Sonnett’s club and country teammate Tierna Davidson, who started alongside Girma in the Olympics and is the presumptive starter in Brazil; the Washington SpiritTara Rudd, one of Hayes’ first beneficiaries after the Olympic trials; San Diego Wave Kennedy Wesley, who has seven caps; and ” Utah Royals‘ Kate Del Favaa respected NWSL veteran who earned his first cap at the age of 28.
Davidson is the only group with experience playing in major international competitions, but perhaps more importantly, no team has played a full midfield against each other. At least Davidson and Rudd have had experience with the rigors of the national team under Hayes’ leadership, with the center only conundrum enough to throw a wrench in their plans to field a full-strength line-up for both friendlies against Spain.
The USWNT didn’t add cover to the defensive midfielder, either. Olympic starter Sam Coffey will also miss Spain’s friendlies with an injury he sustained over the weekend Manchester cityHayes remains the first choice in the ongoing process. Bay FC‘s Claire Hutton was Coffey’s rival before the injury spot and missed the nod against Spain but again she deserved it, this is not a situation where the USWNT necessarily has depth. Gotham’s Jaelin Howell Coffey is a replacement on the roster and only boasts six caps, while captain Lindsey can play there in a pinch, but the demands of Arteset’s naturals don’t match. Hutton boasts plenty of promise about himself, with the 20-year-old already set to be a fixture in the national team for years to come.
Spain is a tough enough challenge, but in particular Hutton, the USWNT’s absences at center back mean the strength of the team’s spine could rest alone in the middle of action against the world champions.
Wrapped up in the USWNT’s thorny questions is how the team will prepare for Spain’s well-documented writing options, specifically its desire to dominate possession. In the US, the post-Olympic film presented them with various tests, including games against teams that posed physical challenges they had previously been poorly trained for, but Spain is a different test altogether. The USWNT usually dictates the timing of the game but it is unclear if the visitors will try to pick the ball off or simply give possession to Spain, hoping to hold them in other ways. Houton is likely to play a key role in the implementation of whatever plan Hayes chooses.
Perhaps above all, though, Hayes’ reputation as a pragmatic commander would be tested over the course of the next week. The injuries to Girma, Coffey and Sonnett are obviously not her fault and her insight into the expansion plans will only provide a helping hand in this two-year period as she figures out how to beat Spain. Mistakes won’t exactly be costly – long before he took this job, the USWNT used losses in the build-up to major tournaments to identify mistakes that allowed them to go forward and collect winners’ medals and future games could serve the same purpose, regardless of the outcome. In the final bellwether of both teams’ ability to win a second World Cup in Brazil, although each event could well be revealed.