Did you know? The April roster that USWNT boss Emma Hayes announced for the doubleheader clash against Brazil averaged just 25 years of age. In fact, following their 2-0 win at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, the American ladies fielded their youngest squad to be capped in 24 years during the second clash at PayPal Park, even though it ended in an unfortunate 1-2 defeat. Naturally, it sparked some suspicion about whether Hayes made a mistake by giving too many chances to the youngsters. But for her, this entire roster was all about “expanding and experimenting.”

Compared to the team with whom she won the Paris Olympics, the current roster scenario has been way different. In fact, not just for this camp, but with the previous ones as well. Even though the nature of all such games is merely friendly, many still question Hayes’ roster calls as the game might have put unnecessary pressure on the youngsters. But in reality, this is exactly what the former Chelsea boss wants to do.

“You think about some of them, they probably never played a game like that before, with that volume of jewelling,” admitted the 48-year-old in the aftermath of the Brazil defeat. “That took a lot out of us. But as I kept saying to the team, I want to put players in the frying pan. I want you to feel the heat, and get a much bigger sense.”

“This camp was always about expanding and experimenting with the player pool. I really feel like that is becoming so clear to me which players I think are really ready for us right now and which ones are not. Some might, as I’ve said before, go back to the 23s, and need to to develop their game and prove themselves at that level first before they make progress here,” explained Hayes.

It’s hard to question the former WSL manager over the fact she doesn’t fancy the youth talent in her team. To quote her own words, Emma is a strong “believer” in having young blood around. Then again, one has to understand it’s all being done in accordance with the USWNT’s long-term project, i.e. the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

To build a perfect team for the prestigious tournament like the way she did at the Olympics, this is a perfect time for Hayes to discover herself in an army of the best 26 players that will potentially help her win the Golden trophy. Not to mention that during the Summer Games triumph, she didn’t even have a chance to look at all of her options.

More details were offered by her in an interview earlier: “I want to get to the end of June where I have a really strong sense of a core group of players that will form part of the build towards the World Cup.” Hence, with more than two years down the road, until the WC kicks off in Brazil, Emma would like to try and use all the players she can.

“It is not the World Cup today; if it was, of course, we’d be disappointed. But I didn’t pick a team today for today,” concluded Hayes in the same presser after her side’s defeat. This statement alone makes it evident that whatever she’s doing concerns their future goals. Then again, many still don’t believe in the youth, so does Hayes have anything to say about it?

Emma Hayes defends USWNT youngsters amid second defeat

A rather gloomy feeling washed over fans after the defeat. A déjà vu, one can say, as the scoreline looked eerily similar to the story of their final clash vs Japan in the SheBelieves Cup. Then again, winning wasn’t exactly the focus of Emma Hayes and Co. “It’s been a really good camp and we mustn’t always measure progress by outcome,” she said, keeping her team’s head high despite the defeat.

The former Blues Chicago Red Stars manager insisted that everyone should look on the brighter side. Like for instance, the younger players were able to get a much-needed experience of playing against a difficult opponent in such a pressured environment. Hayes stated that if she prioritized short-term success, she wouldn’t have made so many changes—but her focus is on the long term.

Looks like Emma Hayes has no regrets over the loss of her roster selection—even though it brings “short-term pain within it.” So tell us, are you ready to face such constant short upsets just for the sake of the future? Sound off in the comments.