San Diego – The details of a defeat vary on a case-by-case basis, but the feeling of it is undoubtedly and sometimes it is better to look at the emotion of the moment.
“It is normal to be disappointed,” said head coach of the American national women’s team, Emma Hayes, shortly after winning her first defeat since he took over last June, a 2-1 defeat against Japan in the final of the Shebelieves Cup on Wednesday. “I told players.
“It is really important to remember moments like this and the learning that we draw and I look forward to the next opportunity that we are together to build on some of these progress and learn the most important things when you play a high-level opponent. I prefer to do it now that much later.”
It was the type of game that appears during the regular four -year cycle of the USWNT. Do not look for more than a defeat against France in a friendly month before the 2015 women’s World Cup or the team’s 2-0 defeat against Mexico before the 2024 Olympic Games as moments that have proven to be crucial in the road to this team towards major victory. This time, the result does not act as an essential awakening; It is rather one of the first stages of a longer vision, and perhaps a moment of training for a new version of the USWNT.
It was the expressed intention of Hayes for the Shebelieves Cup, one of the first – and certainly not the last – testing the test grounds for the next generation of players. She selected a team made mainly from players with 30 international or less appearances, hoping to offer valuable experiences to those who need them rather than relying on veterans like her predecessors. This is why she called the games of this week a success even before the start against Japan, and why she said “Mission accomplished” after the final whistle, with many positive points to take away.
“I think we could look at the progress of the ally Sendnor, a young player entering the senior camp, scoring a few goals, Lily Yohannes obtaining his first two departures at the senior level,” said Hayes. “There are a lot of new combinations and new connections, which launch a number of challenges when you play a well -polished team”
Sendnor was particularly impressive during the Shebelieves Cup by scoring twice in three games, including the only goal in defeat against Japan. She intensified in the absence of Trinity Rodman’s “Triple Espresso”, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson (formerly Smith), strengthening her case at this early stage of the new four -year cycle that will end with the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games.
“Ally is demonstrated in her ascent through the national youth teams and during her first year, she has qualities that can decide a match,” said Hayes. “She certainly ends the very minimal chances she could get and that’s what the best players have. I think she has that and I think it will make her confidence for having this tournament and receive some back to back departures.”
To an equal extent, Hayes has identified areas of improvement that will only come with experience. She pointed out that Yohannes, a 17 -year -old with only four caps, was responsible for ordering the same field on the ground as Yui Hasegawa, which approaches 100 caps for Japan and “is probably the best pivot in the world”. It was far from the only point to remember.
“That you have to recognize how to better keep the ball better because if you do not do it, you will continue all night, so I think that for us as a team, we are very well attracted the pressure, then breaking the pressure, we have to look at development,” said Hayes. “I think that the learnings that players, I think, will understand perfectly why you cannot jump areas in the midst of the moments. I think it is a very good learning curve for our players and I think that the importance of experimenting it from the start.”
On Wednesday, a common symptom of defeat was not found on Wednesday – the need to ring the alarm. Hayes deals with this not as an obstacle to their growth but as an important part of the process, kissing the realities of the football landscape of increasingly competitive women.
“Development is not linear,” she said. “It is not only in one direction. I think you need moments to give you an idea of where you are on this path, but I think it’s exciting and I think our future is exciting, whatever the result”
What is the next step
Hayes plans to take full advantage of the long road to the 2027 World Cup and will use part of this year to continue to move away from the players’ swimming pool. This will involve dividing her vast pool of players into those who are ready to stay with the senior team and those who will spend time with the U-23 team, a group she previously said that she hoped would play a “integral part” in the plans for 2027 and 2028. The young youth team will hold the competing camps with the senior team as frequently as possible, simulating this year.
“We have to look at which players are ready for the moment and which are ready for later, which will go with (U-23) and which will develop with us,” said Hayes on Wednesday. “We have truly deepened processes around what we do so as not to be emotional around these things. We take the time. There are several people involved in it, including the head of young people, Tracey Kevins, to the technical team that will work, in the coming weeks, which we think that the best paths of progression will be for each player.”
The development of precipitated players does not appear on the agenda of Hayes, because the head coach focuses on each part of a player’s jump in the senior team.
“I think it is important for everyone to understand that when you come in a new environment, it sometimes takes a little time for the players to go,” she said, using the goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce as an example. “This is only her second camp. She always gets to know people. Forget her playing capacity – you must also establish relationships out of the field, and this is something that will take a little time.”
The work continues in April, when the USWNT faces the Brazil Olympic silver medalist in a pair of games, while other games will be added to the calendar in the coming months.
“Now, it is at the next stage and the great thing about this period is that we have an upcoming camp in April, then in May, then in June,” said Hayes, “then we have a good time to define our identity more and something that we look forward to.”
