Emma Hayes leads USWNT into two stiff tests with Brazil
The numbers surrounding the United State women’s national soccer team for this international window trend toward youth.
According to U.S. Soccer, the average age of the players called into camp is just over 25 years old, and the average number of appearances is less than 35 (33.6), with nearly half the roster with 10 or less.
“Our young group has to recover after a loss against Japan in the SheBelieves Cup and I’m looking for us to take the next steps in our journey and demonstrate the behaviors you need to compete in top levels,” USWNT coach Emma Hayes said.
“What we’ve realized is we’ve got a large group of the playing pool that don’t have a lot of experience. I’m not talking about the Emily Sonnetts and Rose Lavelles, I’m talking about a vast majority of the players having less than 15 caps (national team appearances). So, we have to build the experiences, we had to deepen the playing pool, we have to create opportunities at both the under-23 and WNT level, so that we are developing a good 50 players every year. I think I need another probably two camps beyond this one to really see what the core group will be. But I will want to try and make the group as consistent as possible each and every camp.
“This is for me, just one of the steps you have to have in development and one we want to make sure our playing pool is deep enough so that when we come to the World Cup, the players are better prepared than they were going into the Olympic final.”
The youth and inexperience will be tested with two big meetings against Brazil, with the first coming Saturday at SoFi Stadium (2 p.m., TNT, truTV, KVEA). The USWNT defeated Brazil 1-0 in the Paris Olympics gold-medal game.
One of the players looking to make an impression is Washington Spirit defender Tara McKeown, who attended Newbury Park High and USC and has made three national team appearances.
First things first, however, is figuring out the ticket situation for family and friends.
“My mom keeps asking for tickets and I told her she’s just going to have to start buying some,” McKeown said. “I think she got a group block, so it could be 30 (family and friends) or more.
“Playing with the national team in front of my friends and family is a dream come true and I’m just excited that they’re able to come to the game and I’m able to be here.”
Tuesday was the first day on the training field for the national team. After Saturday’s game, the same teams will meet April 8 at PayPal Park in San Jose.
“Just to give you context, generally speaking, we can play against an opponent and have eight-plus pass sequences, 24-25 times a game,” Hayes said. “Against Brazil, you get one. You don’t get 6-7 seconds to make a decision, you get one second. Usually that split-second results in another 50-50 action, so it’s a percentage game. It’s full of throw-ins, full of dead-ball situations, it’s full of duels and you have to compete to play in there. You have to learn to fight and scrap and that’s in the American DNA and I for sure want to put young players in that game, knowing that it might be a shock to the system for some of them, but I want to take that hit now and that’s why I want to keep experimenting with our playing pool.”
Roster update
Angel City FC defender Gisele Thompson, who was initially called to the join the U-23 training camp, has replaced Gotham FC defender Tierna Davidson (knee) on the senior roster for the Brazil games. Olivia Moultrie will now replace Thompson on the U-23s.
This is the second consecutive national team camp in which Thompson and her older sister and Angel City FC teammate, Alyssa, have participated together.