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U.S. women's national team head coach Emma Hayes has a reputation for always thinking ahead, and her first post-Olympics roster announced on Thursday shows why.
Rather than clinging to the group that won Olympic gold in August, with her first call-ups since, Hayes is taking a clear first step toward building depth and identifying new players for the buildup to the 2027 World Cup.
Eight new players join the 18 available players who return from the Olympics, including six who are uncapped. Three of them are earning their first call-ups to a senior USWNT camp. The USWNT's October camp -- which begins next week in Austin, Texas, before friendlies against Iceland and Argentina -- has plenty of intriguing subplots.
Rewarding good club form rather than past USWNT play
Hayes made it clear on Thursday that she wanted to reward players in strong form in the NWSL, and that players won't earn call-ups based on prior USWNT performances.
"The importance of what you're doing week in, week out, at the club level, it absolutely matters," Hayes said, "because you have to perform consistently, or you have to be in environments where you're challenging yourselves every day. That's the big message for me."
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The returns of forward Alyssa Thompson and midfielder Ashley Sanchez for the first time since late 2023 offer the most obvious supporting evidence.
Sanchez has been the focal point of the North Carolina Courage's attack in her first season with the team. She provides further depth for the USWNT in the No. 10 role, and she fits the creative profile that Hayes frequently lauds.
Arguably the biggest question mark for the USWNT at the Olympics and coming out of it, with an eye toward the future, is how to structure the midfield and who ultimately fits best. Sanchez is yet to get a legitimate look in a high-stakes USWNT game after surprisingly not playing a single minute at the 2023 World Cup.
Hayes recently traveled throughout the U.S. to watch NWSL games in person. On Thursday, she referenced various stops on that trip, including seeing Sanchez's talent in person.
Thompson, meanwhile, has been one of the best forwards in the NWSL over the past few months, tallying five goals and an assist in her past eight games after previously not scoring all season. Thompson turns 20 years old next week and already has a World Cup under her belt.
"I think she's been tremendous for Angel City," Hayes said. "I spoke with her when she did come into camp as a training player and she understood what she needed to do, and I've really appreciated her sort of living up to her own expectations for herself and demonstrating the behaviors and the performances that she wanted to see from herself. I'm super proud of her for that."
The need for strong club form creates a challenge for former USWNT mainstays. Forward Catarina Macario is back to playing limited minutes for Chelsea (Hayes signed Macario for Chelsea last year), but Macario needs to get back to playing more regularly before returning to the national team, Hayes said.
Vetting young and uncapped talent
This roster is relatively young, and it might keep getting younger over the next year as Hayes pushes to develop more players.
In this group, 14 players have fewer than 20 caps, and there are three teenagers on the roster. Only five players are in their 30s.
Hayes said throughout a news briefing Thursday that she will present a more holistic vision of the years ahead at a staff summit in January, when the federation will also host a "futures camp" alongside a senior team camp. That futures camp will feature a mix of the top players from the youth national teams, NWSL standouts and potentially even players from the new USL Super League, Hayes said.
The coach had limited room to add players to this camp due to the USWNT's collective bargaining requirement that all available players from the Olympic-winning team be recalled. Hayes requested an expansion of this camp roster to 26 players.
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Defender Alyssa Malonson and forward Emma Sears are the most surprising new call-ups for this camp.
Sears never earned a youth national team call-up and is not even a regular starter for ninth-place Racing Louisville, but she has shown clear potential this year as a poaching goal-scorer with remarkable pace.
"Emma Sears is a clear example of what we're looking to do in terms of providing opportunities for players who have performed well," Hayes said. "The new players coming into camp that weren't part of the Olympic roster are all players who have performed well throughout the NWSL season."
Seventeen-year-old Lily Yohannes, who scored in her debut for the USWNT in June, is not on this roster. Yohannes was born in the U.S. and plays for Ajax in the Netherlands. She has said she plans to apply for Dutch citizenship and that she has yet to decide on her future.
Hayes said they've had communication with Yohannes since the Olympics but there are no updates to share at this time.
Midfielder Olivia Moultrie, 19, is back with the team after spring injuries derailed her hopes of making the Olympic roster.
Building depth at USWNT positions of need
All the above points toward a central theme of need for the USWNT program, despite its return to the top of the podium in August: more depth.
Hayes finished the previous European season with Chelsea before joining the USWNT full-time less than two months before the 2024 Olympics. The gold medal triumph was only her 10th game in charge on the sidelines.
That meant Hayes had to work within the confines of what she had -- the player pool and the team's style. Sure, she had tweaked the roster in the months prior in collaboration with interim coach Twila Kilgore, but there wasn't time to implement drastic changes. That also limited Hayes' ability to bring in new players.
October's training camp roster is a first step toward improving depth across several positions.
Sanchez is one of myriad options as the No. 10. Thompson, Sears, and Yazmeen Ryan -- also a first-time call-up -- add to an already deep forward pool. But other positions represent greater areas of need for the USWNT.
Malonson, and the return of Hailie Mace for the first time since late 2022, address the ongoing need for more depth at fullback. That need is further underscored by 32-year-old Crystal Dunn's absence from this roster for personal reasons. Jenna Nighswonger, who still only has 15 caps, looks like another long-term answer in the position.
Six of the nine defenders in this camp were not part of the USWNT's 2023 World Cup squad. Emily Sams could be the future at center-back alongside Naomi Girma. (Tierna Davidson is out injured.)
"I say it privately more than I do publicly: The U.S. could quite easily put two teams out," Hayes said. "There's always, always going to be players that are missing. And there are players that are outside of this roster that equally deserve to be in."
Source: espn.co.uk