Olympic Games Paris 2024

Paris 2024 Olympics: How Emma Hayes will rejuvenate USWNT

By Courtney Hill
3 min|
Crystal Dunn on the charge for Team USA

Picture by 2024 Getty Images

The United States Women’s Soccer Team (USWNT) is the most successful women’s team to have competed at the Olympic Games.

In seven outings, they have made the podium six times, missing out only in Rio 2016, and secured gold on four occasions, the last coming in London 2012.

Ever since winning the 2019 World Cup, however, the team's status has dipped.

From a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 to a last-16 exit at the 2023 World Cup, the USA have not quite lived up to expectations recently.

Emma Hayes is the coach tasked with changing that, and restoring their reputation Paris 2024.

Emma Hayes: USWNT will take things game by game

Head coach Hayes is adamant that despite outside noise, the USWNT intend to approach Paris 2024 on a game-by-game basis. She believes that anything else would be disrespectful to their opponents.

“I keep saying and I can’t overemphasise it – we are only thinking about Zambia," she said ahead of their curtain-raiser on Thursday (25 July).

“I think one of the biggest problems has been too often that we keep talking about what we’re going to do in Paris or what happens when you get to the semi-finals… I think it’s disrespectful to the rest of the world to talk like that.

“It has to be earned, there is no given – there are top football nations in this tournament and on any given day, any opponent can beat anyone. I don’t think shocks in the women’s game exist anymore.”

While much of the talk is around bouncing back from their earliest-ever exit from the Women’s World Cup last year, the USWNT's new boss insists this side has moved on from that disappointment.

Instead, all of their energy is focused on a new era of the USWNT, and their eighth Olympic campaign.

“I think this time is past that [and] is firmly focused on creating new history together,” Hayes continued.

“Our motivation is playing for the USA and competing for the USA; our motivation isn’t always about writing the wrongs – far from it.

“We’re excited, we’re prepared. I can only control the controllable with the volume of games and training sessions we’ve had together, but we are in the place where we should be considering all of those things.”

USWNT in training on Wednesday (24 July)

Picture by 2024 Getty Images

Emma Hayes: We’ve trained well this week

Ahead of Thursday’s opener, Hayes believes there is nothing more her team could have done in terms of preparation given their limited time together.

The British coach joined soon after her final campaign with Chelsea ended, taking charge of things at the beginning of June.

As they prepare for their first major tournament with Hayes at the helm, it is all about focusing on their development as a team.

“For us, it’s so important we continue to focus on our progress. We focus on the things we can control and just build on all the work we’ve been doing ever since I’ve taken over,” she added.

“I think we’ve had a really good training week here in Marseille; everybody’s adapted, acclimatised.

“We had a really good training session [on Tuesday], I think some of the details we’ve been working on have really shown and I’m happy with that.

“[Right now] all of our focus, all of our attention, all of our detailing is about how to beat Zambia – nothing else.”

The USWNT kick off their bid for a fifth gold medal on 26 July at 21:00 CET/15:00 ET.

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