Emma Hayes wins USWNT coaching debut Swanson, Davidson scored twice.

Gettyimages 2155646403 Scaled


Emma Hayes started her tenure as head coach of the United States Women’s National Team with a win: Forward Mallory Swanson and defender Tierna Davison scored twice to lead the United States to a 4-0 win over South Korea on Saturday at 19,010 in Commerce, Colorado.

“I thought we dominated in the first half with what we did. Stick to structures. “We’re going to stick with the coach,” Hayes said on TNT’s postgame show. “They all did what I asked.”

Swanson’s goals were her first for the USWNT since suffering a torn patellar tendon that kept her out of the 2023 World Cup in April. Davidson scored just her second and third career international goals.

The fresh start on the bench came with lineup changes. Hayes named the youngest USWNT starting XI since April 2022, averaging 25.5 years of age and 45 games per player.

Swanson is back on the score sheet

In the run-up to Saturday’s friendly, Hayes was eager to share her experience with Swanson at the 2017 United Football Coaches Conference in Los Angeles. According to the manager, she was trying to recruit the 18-year-old to the Chelsea team in the final months before her NWSL debut.

Seven years later, she finally had the chance to call on Swanson — and it didn’t take long for that much-anticipated player-coach matchup to come to fruition.

In the year The goal was Swanson’s first since suffering a torn patellar tendon in a 2023 friendly against the Republic of Ireland for the USWNT. It also followed a highly-motivated set-and-ball move, which required Sophia Smith to use her line-leading skills at the top of the box before slotting a well-measured assist to Swanson.

Swanson in 2010 He didn’t get off to a good start until 2024, still seemingly in the final stages of his recovery from that knee injury. She didn’t take a penalty in the SheBelieves Cup final and saved her first spot kick of the NEWSL season, lacking her usual firepower. With just a few months of consistent playing time, she looked her usual dynamic self on Saturday, working to get in behind South Korea’s back line and showing good movement off the ball and toying with Smith and Trinity Rodman in the first half.

The second half was more of the same, with Swanson taking some dangerous set pieces including an assist on Davidson’s goal. In the 77th minute, she piled on the pressure that started the South Korean move, then raced into open space down the right channel, receiving a good cross from Rose Lavelle before firing into the far post – her second of the day and her 34th international goal in 91 senior games.

Swanson had 30 friends and family in attendance, far more than the number of tickets normally allotted to each player.

“I actually ended up buying a suite,” she said. “Because it was easy, I knew (Colorado natives) Soph and Lindsey would jump on it. So I was like, a text message (our press officer). I was like, I need help. Please help me.”

In the year As early as 2023, Swanson needs few reminders of how dangerous she was to her country. Getting her back among the goals ahead of the Olympics feels like a win in itself. Hayes hopes Swanson can prepare for the kind of big competition she enjoyed at last summer’s World Cup at the Olympics.

– Jeff Rutter

Davidson recorded his first USWNT bracket

Davidson tripled her international career goals in one game. Her first and until this friendly match was against Chile in 2018. Her two goals on Saturday were corner kicks, the first by Katarina Macario and the second by Swanson. Davidson sat at the back post for both.

“We’ve been changing a lot of different things,” Davidson said after the game when asked about working more on set pieces under Hayes. “I think we’ve decided to do what we want to do, and we’ve been going around the back room making sure nothing goes wrong for me. And the two services came to me, so (I) made sure to put them back in.

None of Davidson’s teammates seemed surprised by the header; Set pieces were clearly part of their set-up, and Davidson was a particularly obvious back-post target. Sophia Smith called Davidson a “dominator” on set pieces, though even she expressed surprise when Davidson was bracketed.

Mal Swanson simply smiled and said, “Of course,” when asked if she expected Davidson to dominate at cornerback. And as for Davidson herself, she laughed as she met “Happy Pride” in the mixed zone.

“I actually said that to our media person,” she said. “I was like, oh, it was Pride Month. Scores one gay point.

– Steph Young

Hayes player rotation

Hayes has emphasized how important it is for the players on her roster to have the ability to play multiple positions on the field, so it’s no surprise that her players are showing glimpses of that kind of versatility and creativity under her leadership. It will also be important for Hayes to test as many players as she can in the two friendlies against South Korea, especially as the manager looks ahead to this summer’s Olympics with an 18-man roster.

While the first half saw no changes to the USA and South Korea, Hayes made a total of six changes in the second half, with Casey Krueger, Jedyn Shaw, Sam Staub, Lavelle, Crystal Dunn and Corbin Albert entering the game.

The players who stayed in the game were Jenna Nigswonger and Naomi Grimma in the back, Jane Campbell in goal and Swanson in the lead.

While at NJ/NY Gotham FC, Nigswonger proved her versatility by switching between positions in her two seasons with the club, earning the NWSL Rookie of the Year in 2023. And wearing the captain’s armband when Lindsey Horan was red-carded in Albert, she established herself as the backbone of the back line.

– Melanie Anziday

The USWNT celebrated Pride Month, Albert shouted again

Before beginning her postgame interview with TNT, Hayes acknowledged why the USWNT put rainbow-themed numbers on the back of their jerseys.

“First of all I want to say Pride Month,” Hayes said. “I only learned this today.”

For the 6th year in a row, US Soccer has partnered with an LGBTQ+ charity to “proudly celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community in June,” the federation said.

As part of the partnership, the US women’s and men’s teams will wear jerseys with rainbow-themed numbers during matches in June. Signed jerseys from each member of the two teams will be auctioned off on Friday, May 31, via US Soccer, with all proceeds going to the You Can Play Project, which “helps promote a safe and inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community.” ,” U.S. Soccer said in a press release.

One of the auction sites set up is USWNT midfielder Albert, who shared anti-LGBTQ+ content on social media and subsequently apologized earlier this year after pressure from past and present USWNT players, including Megan Rapinoe.

When Horan came on in the 71st minute, after the announcer mentioned Albert’s name, there were boos from the crowd in the stadium and on the broadcast.

“I want to sincerely apologize for my actions on social media,” she wrote in part on Instagram in March. “Liking and sharing offensive, insensitive and hurtful posts was immature and disrespectful and was not my intention.”

Albert, 20, is a midfielder at French Division 1 Feminine club Paris Saint-Germain. In addition to that month’s friendlies, she was a member of the USWNT squad for the CONCACAF W Gold Cup and SheBelieves tournaments.

“We want to create an environment of tolerance, respect, inclusion, but I want to make sure that when our players come and play, they represent the national team. I want you to know that I’m always going to teach and do the right things to make sure everyone follows that,” Hayes said after the game. “I want to make sure our players feel supported by all of us when they come out and play for us. This is very important to me. “

(Photo: Brad Smith/Getty Images)



Exit mobile version