April 16 – New US women’s national team manager Emma Hayes will bring a winning mentality back to the country at the Olympic Games this summer, according to the players.
The Americans want to exorcise the demons of their disastrous World Cup last year and return to the top of the Olympic podium after having to settle for bronze in Tokyo and leaving Rio empty handed in the last two editions.
Hayes (pictured) is leaving Chelsea to take over the four-times Olympic gold medallists, making her debut in June with two friendlies.
“She’s a serial winner,” said defender Crystal Dunn, who previously played under Hayes for Chelsea. “She tactically knows what it takes to win.”
The USA triumphed at the recent CONCACAF W Gold Cup, beating Brazil in the final 1-0. Last week, in a repeat of the W Gold Cup semi-final, the US beat Canada on penalties to win the four-team SheBelieves Cup final last week. While it shows a return to winning form both results were achieved within the comfort of home territory.
With a changing of the guard and a large number of senior players finally hanging up their boots, the current US women want a return to winning the biggest prizes and to build their own history that matches the dominance of the previous generation of players.
Midfielder Rose Lavelle said of Hayes: “She has such a winning mentality, such a winning resume so we’re so excited for her to come into the environment and to learn from her and for her to push this team to a new height.”
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