It’s a reality check we love – Emma Hayes is the USWNT‘s coach. The tactical mastermind propelled her side to an Olympic gold medal and the players have come out in full praise. After Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma, we come to Crystal Dunn, the versatile defender, who gave her flowers to the legendary coach. Until the Olympics, interim manager Twila Kilgore led the USWNT. She was a stopgap solution after they fired Vlatko Andonovski.

But, with Hayes leaving Chelsea at the end of last season, the USWNT pounced on her. They knew she was the real deal. Of course, you can’t have 16 trophies in 12 years if you are not a big deal in soccer. All her rivals spoke highly of her. Nonetheless, Dunn spoke about how she separates herself from the rest of the USWNT coaches.

In an interview with ESPN, she detailed how the previous USWNT coaches focused on winning and did not care about the lighter side of the game. Sometimes, a player might just need a hand on her shoulder. That’s what Hayes brought in. Dunn mentioned, “I think in our careers, we play under coaches that are like, ‘Winning is Everything’ and yeah, I wanna win too. But it’s like tapping into that person and who we are as individuals. I think it gets the best out of us.” According to some players, the previous coaches on the team had a rather rigorous approach, and Hayes turned out differently.

Likewise, Crystal Dunn was also impressed by Emma Hayes’ tactical nous when she arrives in games by stating, “Just tactically, she is. She pushes you to be the student of the game. I think she invests in you not just as a player, but as a person and I think that is something you don’t get a lot,” which is quite important these days in sports.

Crystal Dunn remains excited about the journey ahead with Emma Hayes!

Most often, the players come to train, understand the tactics, and play ball. It’s not like that anymore. The ability to understand a player remains the mystery in unlocking his potential. Some of the world’s greatest coaches, like Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, are masters of tapping potential from players. The future looks exciting for Emma Hayes, Crystal Dunn, and the other players.

The Olympic gold medal is in the bag and Dunn aims for future success. She ended, “I think that’s something she does very consistently. She’s very intentional in her way of getting to know about people. I think that’s going to be a benefit for us and I think, I’m excited. I am excited for this summer. It’s going to be a big one. I am excited because the selection process for this was not easy. It was a battle for everyone to compete against each other.”

Hence, the stage is set for the USWNT to battle it out for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The players remain motivated and with the whole new team, the dominance of Emma Hayes has started. Hopefully, she can bring the World Cup home.