COMMERCE CITY, Colorado — If the United States women’s national team’s 4-0 win over South Korea on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is any indication, the stagnant offense from last year’s World Cup is a thing of the past.
Emma Hayes’ tenure as USWNT coach slowed to a half-hour mark before forward Sophia Smith made a quick run and laid the ball past winger Mallory Swanson for the game’s first goal in the 34th minute. of two goals on the night in a game that reflected the patience of the team and the flexibility of the front line.
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“I think what’s great about Emma’s style and the way she wants us to be fluid in structured principles, so I think she gives us a lot of freedom,” USWNT midfielder Catarina Macario said after the match.
Macario played the No. 10 role on Saturday in his first start for the national team in 781 days. He was pressed into high territory alongside Smith, the USWNT’s No. 9, as the USWNT builds an attack with five players across the front line at times. Macario also often spreads to large areas to find the game. Swanson will also switch inside, and he moves to the No. 9 role late in the match after several substitutions. Trinity Rodman rounded out the front four for the USWNT with his usual hard work on both sides of the ball on the right wing. The exchange between the four players is especially a welcome sign of a very stiff team – a word Hayes used recently to describe what the team must avoid – at the 2023 World Cup, where the USWNT’s round of 16 exits the program. Worst finish in a major tournament.
Swanson and Macario were absent from the squad due to injury. Swanson was arguably one of the best players in the world before tearing his left patella tendon last spring, and former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski developed Macario as the focal point of the attack in 2022 before Macario tore his left ACL. Hayes now has the benefit of two healthy players, not to mention the luxury of bringing Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle and Jaedyn Shaw off the bench in the second half to add fresh legs to the attack.
Shaw, 19, is the USWNT’s leading scorer this year and one of the most versatile and creative attacking players in the pool. On Saturday, Shaw played primarily in the left wing role alongside Swanson.
Hayes said Friday that he splits the coaching responsibilities the way American sports teams do, with different coaches in different areas of the game. The attacking third is his responsibility, so Saturday’s front line was the first look at how the USWNT’s pool of scoring talent could work with Hayes now on the sidelines, after a six-month layoff while he completed the European season at Chelsea.
The new head coach praised the team’s ability to process a lot of new information this week, but he stressed Saturday that there is room for improvement. America was slow and, at times, disjointed in the first 30 minutes on Saturday. South Korea won an early corner kick and went close to goal only as a result of an American error. The USWNT finally settled into the match, and the opening goal came from a patient spell of possession that ended with center back Naomi Girma on the ball in a forward position. He played Smith, who turned and quickly slotted Swanson for a goal.
“In terms of what I expect from the group, what they’re prepared for, the execution — we’ve made steps in the right direction,” Hayes said. “I felt for the first 30 minutes, it was the technical execution where we struggled. We scored in the first three opportunities, so we were efficient, we were clinical.”
He added that “there’s another level” Smith still needs to reach, especially in combination with Swanson.
The USWNT faces South Korea again on Tuesday in St. Louis. Paul, Minnesota, in the team’s final game before Hayes had to select 18 players on the Olympic roster. He’s spoiled for choice with attacking talent, and every decision he makes about how to set up his front line has an impact on other positions. Alex Morgan reasserted his role as the team’s number 9 earlier this year, but Morgan did not play there. Hayes called it a precaution because of hip tightness in Friday’s practice, noting that the staff wants to play Morgan “nice and fresh” on Tuesday.
Smith has long been another natural choice in that forward role, but last year he was thrust into a wide role alongside Morgan and the entire front line struggled at the World Cup. Smith’s presence at center on Saturday underscored why this is his best role.
Rodman remains reliable, having played in every USWNT game since the start of 2023. He was active during Saturday’s match, sparking a passing sequence after receiving the ball deep in the area and reaching the end line to serve up a cross.
Macario is the maverick of the group. He is a generational player who can develop as a No. 10 with freedom, or he can pull out the defense as a striker.
“I have hindsight because I have coached him at club level, so I know how he operates in the pocket,” Hayes said. “He can draw players, he can escape from pressure – he is a player who can withstand the press, connects well.”
Hayes said he was “very happy with the front four in the first half.”
“Fluidity” is a common way to describe Hayes’ tactics, and that was on display in Saturday’s attack. Hayes, however, has also constantly tempered expectations, stress is necessary for the process. He’s a pragmatist – and he’s not nearly satisfied yet.
“I think you can see we’re building something,” Hayes said. “There’s a lot of work to do. There are a lot of holes in our game, no question, but this is a good start.”
