The US Women’s National Team head to their pre-Olympics training camp ahead of two final send-off matches.
The USA sends both men’s and women’s teams
Monday 8 July saw both US men’s and women’s teams arrive at their pre-Olympics training camps.
As OIympic teams worldwide begin to train together at camps, Monday marked the first time the USA’s men’s and women’s Olympic teams came together for a joint press conference.
There, U.S. Men’s Olympic Team Head Coach Marko Mitrović said: “We are very excited that we are going to be together with our women’s team. After almost two decades, we’ll have both teams representing our country at the Olympic games.”
Whilst the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) have been part of all Olympic tournaments in the past two decades, Paris 2024 is the men’s team’s first Olympics in 16 years.
USWNT Head Coach Emma Hayes said “This is the first time we’ve ever done a combined women’s and men’s Olympic team press conference. So that’s pretty cool. Of course, Marko mentioned why we haven’t done it in the past 16 years, but we’re doing it today.”
The dual power the USA brings to this Olympics is fuelled with a new edge and marks a monumental moment for the country.
USWNT Captain Lindsey Horan said: “You get to go represent, your nation, your country, but it’s so much more.
“We’re sat alongside the men’s national team coach and player over here, and we get to represent them as well.
“We’re representing Team USA, and that’s what the Olympics is all about. I think that is such a cool and special opportunity for all of us players.”
The new USWNT
The USWNT promises a reboot after their poor performance at the last Olympics at Tokyo 2020.
After a stream of gold medals that earned the team a formidable reputation, performance began to decline as more countries rose in the ranks of women’s football.
It has been clear for some time that this US team needed a reconfiguration of some sort.
Emma Hayes, formerly the head coach of multi-time WSL champions Chelsea in England, has already made her mark on the team through tournaments over the past year.
Hayes spoke on building the team up: “Getting everybody in camp, getting everybody together, getting everybody playing together, for me, are the most important things at this moment in time. And we’ll start to see how our team shapes up game by game, day by day.”
Hayes was very much involved behind the scenes in choosing rosters for the Gold Cup and the SheBelieves Cup while interim coach Twila Kilgore held the fort.
The team have played two friendly games under Hayes since she made her official move to the USA in May.
However, it was Hayes’ much anticipated Olympic roster release on 26 June that really revealed the head coach’s true intentions in sending the US team in a new direction.
US Olympic roster
GOALKEEPERS (2)
Alyssa Naeher
Casey Murphy
DEFENDERS (6)
Emily Fox
Naomi Girma
Jenna Nighswonger
Tierna Davidson
Casey Krueger
Emily Sonnett
MIDFIELDERS (5)
Lindsey Horan
Korbin Albert
Sam Coffey
Catarina Macario
Rose Lavelle
FORWARDS (5)
Trinity Rodman
Mallory Swanson
Sophia Smith
Jaedyn Shaw
Crystal Dunn
ALTERNATES (4)
Jane Campbell (Goalkeeper)
Hal Hershfelt (Midfielder)
Croix Bethune (Midfielder)
Lynn Williams (Forward)
Players out
The first thing that stuck out on this roster was the absence of USWNT legend Alex Morgan.
The veteran forward has been a part of every major tournament since 2008 and has stood as vice-captain to Lindsey Horan in recent years.
By leaving Morgan out, Hayes made her stance very clear: a new set up is the USA’s key to success in the short and long term.
Morgan has been an invaluable part of the team in the past, but as Hayes aims for a fresh start with new styles of play, flexibility, and versatility on the pitch, there may be new players who have emerged to form the core of the team’s new identity.
Flexibility is at the forefront of Hayes’ selection, a key element also for an 18-player squad that will play the short, packed tournament that the Olympics is.
Rapid recovery will also be crucial since players will only have three days between each match.
Crystal Dunn playing all positions
Crystal Dunn is top of the list when it comes to versatility.
A midfielder for NJ/NY Gotham FC, Dunn can also play at the back.
She has, however, previously played as a forward too and Hayes capitalised on this during the USA’s June camp, playing Dunn as a forward and watching as she scored soon after she came onto the pitch.
“Crystal has a lot of experience at international level and that will be invaluable,” Hayes affirmed.
She said: “No matter what she contributes to the team I know it will be her absolute everything. She’s demonstrated all the things you need to perform at a top level, time in, time out.
“She has been a very prominent player on this team and will continue to be so in the Olympics.”
Players of the versatility era
Defender Jenna Nighswonger has recently been moving further up the pitch in her play, adding extra power to the midfield.
Catarina Macario, recently returned from a long time out due to injury, plays in midfield but readily moves up as a reliable number 10, getting steady numbers of goals.
Despite irregular appearances on the pitch over time, Rose Lavelle brings an aggressive style of play that is near impossible to come up against.
She is also a player that consistently brings the same style and energy to any combination of players which will be key for an Olympic team that only has a short amount of time to train together.
Rookies Hal Hershfelt and Croix Bethune will head to their first major tournament with the National team as alternates after being called to the June camp as training camp players.
Hayes needs every player named on the roster to remain fit and ready to play, saying: “I view the fact that there’s 22 players going to the Olympics and that we are to prepare every player to be able to perform if required.”
Lead up to the Olympics
The official opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics kicks off on 26 July and, with just over two weeks to go, final friendly matches will act as the team’s send offs before the main tournament.
The US Olympic team will play together for the first time when they take on Mexico on 13 July at 20:30 BST at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
They will then face Costa Rica on 17 July at 00:30 BST for their send-off match at Audi Field in Washington, DC before heading to France for the Olympic Games.
Speaking about the USWNT’s preparations leading up to the Olympics, Emma Hayes told Beyond The 90 that the main focus will be to review the last camp, ensuring everyone is aligned with the national team objectives.
She explained that with varieties in syllabus, herself and her coaching team will deliver their tactical objectives to the players before Mexico and then continue taking it one game at a time.
Hayes emphasised: “We have prepared everything in the background for both the short and the medium term and are just looking forward to building on that.”
The games themselves
The team begin their Olympic campaign in Nice, against Zambia on July 25 at 20:00 BST.
Horan hinted that expectations should be high for the US Women’s National Team this summer, saying: “This is a team that strives for excellence.
“We always want to be at the top of that podium at the end of the day. I think after the World Cup, we really regrouped, and we’ve been working extremely hard over this past year, and especially these last few months.
“With Emma coming in and everything that she’s done and contributed, I think it’s a very exciting time.
“I mean, you look at the young players coming in, the leaders on this team, the big mesh of what we have. I think what you’re going to see and what’s in store for us is incredible.
“We want a gold medal at the end of the day and that’s what we’re striving to do.”
The USA’s group stage matches will see them play Germany on 28 July at 20:00 BST followed by Australia on 31 July at 18:00 BST.
Play-offs between the top two teams of Groups A, B and C respectively, as well as third place teams, will commence on 3 August.
Featured image courtesy of Erik Drost via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. License details found here.