Emma Hayes had some explanations to give after she decided to snub veterans like star forward Alex Morgan and defender Becky Sauerbrunn in the USWNT for the Paris Olympics. Well, not anymore, especially after the English manager’s heroics lead the Star and Stripes women’s football team toward the historic fifth gold medal. It even impressed star goalie Alyssa Naeher, to select a roster that never won this prestigious accolade before.

For more context, 9 players in the squad were first-time Olympians. However, this has never been the case before. “For us specifically, going into this one—something that we talked about as a group before was unlike any tournament team that I can remember for sure—nobody on this team had an Olympic gold medal. I think that’s really rare going into this kind of tournament,” said Naeher on the latest episode of SiriusXM FC 157.

“You always have that one person that’s still around from 2012, but I think that was something very unique to this group. Once we kind of figured that out, it helped,” added the 36-year-old, who herself was a veteran in the team of young ladies. Yet, no one can deny that fewer achievers in the past have been significant in their emphatic run in the summer games.

“I do feel like gel the group even more because we were kind of like ‘Hey, this is something special and unique that we can do together as the 22 players in this room,'” concluded Naeher. Perhaps it was also the combined motivation of every player that saw them conquer their status of dominance. This very aspect of the players getting along with each other has been reiterated by the young members of the team as well. But how did Hayes manage to do that?

Have freedom, have fun, and perform your heart out: this seems to be the mantra that Hayes has brought to this team. “I think she just came in and allowed us to be ourselves and play freely and express ourselves. I think we have such a good group and to just have that freedom helped us to gel quickly and be successful,” defender Naomi Girma said. If that is one side, the other is the fun Hayes has brought into the team environment. 

Hayes has all that work as the pressure buster. The soccer ladies have karaoke machines, nail technicians, coffees, and many more to keep stress at bay. And that really works.

“I think the fun aspect goes a little bit unseen in sports, but I think it was huge for us. In training sessions, even game days, there’s always music blasting [by designated team DJ Crystal Dunn], there’s always dances, there’s always fun. I think that helps us with our success; being one and being together,” Forward Trinity Rodman said. But do not make the mistake of thinking that they take their business lightly.

“We still push each other hard. There’s a misconception of, ‘Oh, they laugh and dance all the time at training. They’re not serious.’ We just proved to everyone that we are and that we take this very seriously,” Rodman boasts. However, crafting this young team has not been easy for Hayes. She faced questions from the highest echelon of the sports from the likes of USWNT’s legendary forward Christen Press. Hayes made her intentions clear. And it is very simple.

“The cap accumulation down our roster is too low,” Hayes had told on Women’s Game podcast last month. “We need to start giving exposure and experiences to players that might have been in and around. It helps when players can be a little more versatile,” Hayes stood firm on her ground. She stressed the importance of getting more caps for players who have fewer than 30 games for the United States. Understandably, the vision is to keep the reserve bench ready. This isn’t the first time Hayes’ has been praised for this approach.

Just some ten days back, ESPN pundit Sebastian Salazar commended the former Chelsea boss for being able to ‘turn the page on the generation that won 2015 the 2019 World Cup.’ He also mentioned that avoiding Morgan helped Triple Espresso, a.k.a the trio of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman, to be themselves in the attack. As Hayes shines brightly, it brings along the most obvious: the expectation of more success. And the best opportunity for that comes after 1037 days.

Next stop for Emma Hayes and USWNT: the 2027 World Cup!

With the US Women’s National Team embarking on its new era, the group has already set its sights on the 2027 World Cup, set to take place in Brazil from June 24 to July 25. Emma Hayes voiced the team’s enthusiasm for achieving more together. “We are so looking forward to the things we can do together. Of course, tonight we have a gold medal, but it doesn’t mean it ends there,” mentioned the 47-year-old after the Olympic win.

Notably, with three years still to go, defender Tierna Davidson believes the American women’s potential is “limitless” under Hayes’ leadership. Having already experienced the thrill of winning on a major international stage, Davidson says the team is eager to return and achieve even more. The Gotham FC star also acknowledged that the USWNT has all the “tools” necessary to excel in the next prestigious competition. Probably the most important among those is Hayes’ approach to how a team should think.

She seems to be a firm believer in, ‘Stick to the process, and results will follow.’ This mindset was amply clear when Hayes sat with the press after she started her role in May. Back then, the conversation was going around the fact that the US had dipped to fifth position in the FIFA ranking, its worst ever. Hayes brought it back to ‘What next from here?’. “It’s about where we finish when we need to that matters to me. So I want to focus on that instead of where we are in the world rankings, where we are in comparison to Spain,” she had said.

With this fresh perspective, Hayes and her staff will “refine everything… in preparation for the next major tournament.” This is the only indication that we may see the USWNT give their all in the next World Cup campaign. Regardless, the biggest question will be if Emma Hayes will again choose a squad without key veterans.