“She brought back the joy into all of our games. She let us be us,” Mallory Swanson earlier remarked about how Emma Hayes‘ trust in the players helped the USWNT regain their confidence and rediscover their joy for the game. But that’s not all; truth be told, nearly every player who has played under Hayes on the US team has echoed this sentiment. While the praise rightly goes to the English tactician, Hayes herself has given all the ‘credit‘ to the American ladies for embracing her and her teachings.

If getting a big-name coach like Hayes is a significant thing for the WNT, then so is it for the former Chelsea boss to coach a team full of elite-profile stars. Names like Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Lindsey Horan, and many more coming together as a group can be intimidating for perhaps any tactician to manage. Luckily, the 48-year-old was able to comprehend this star-studded squad with ease.

“Well, that’s why I give the credit to the players because they have to be open enough to receive,” began the former WSL boss during her exclusive chat with Sky Sports when asked how it was for her to go into a locker room with such established players and in a completely different environment to have a chance to sell herself in front of the players. 

Then again, responsibility also befalls Hayes, who somehow had to make things comfortable for the environment of the team. “But I have to be concise and coherent enough to deliver something they can follow with limited time which they did. We developed trust really quickly. We put joy at the heart of everything and I felt that myself,” emphasized Hayes.

Once everything was in place, it was easy rowing for the 4x World Champions. “I felt like I was in that place where I could smile and enjoy myself. Though the combinations of those two things were so powerful, one that I know that the locker room would talk about as the two biggest factors in our winning,” concluded Hayes.

Perhaps, considering the 2024 Paris Olympic triumph as more than just a record fifth gold medal for the USWNT—it marked the team finding their rhythm and cohesion. However, no matter how much effort went into building trust and understanding behind the scenes, one cannot deny that the USWNT-Hayes connection was all about being in the right place at the right time!

How did Emma Hayes achieve ‘the most remarkable thing’ with the USWNT?

With just 10 games under her belt, no prior international coaching experience, and a squad still reeling from the heartbreak of the 2023 FIFA World Cup, Emma Hayes surely faced significant challenges as the USWNT boss. Yet she remained steadfast in her confidence—both in herself and in the team’s potential to bounce back—culminating in an Olympic gold triumph at the Paris Games.

“I had the best players available, we had good form, we were good defensively, scored the most goals. We came together in the right moment, the players followed the plan and together we achieved the most remarkable thing in a short space of time. I have amazing players. We had a backroom staff that came together… it’s never one single thing,” Hayes insisted in an interview.

Such praise underscores the importance of teamwork and the value of coming together at the right moment. Indeed, it’s both gratifying and exciting to see how well things have worked out for the USWNT and Emma Hayes.