How Emma Hayes Led the USWNT To Gold (Feat. Andre Carlisle and Jason Anderson)

[@TheRumblewagon]

Really hope we get Lily Yohannes. She and Croix will go a long way to improving that midfield. Croix's NWSL leading 9 assists is obvious that she knows where to get the ball and with the triple espresso, she'll have a lot of options.

[@Andelani_Ikwueme]

Lindseys Game has dropped since shes been in France playing in a slow, low quality league, she needs to come back to NWSL, when she was in portland she was one of the best midfielders in the world

[@candacelong7643]

That was 2021 so not surprised her game has dropped. I actually was unimpressed with Foxy this year up until the Olympics. I was wondering what they were learning in Europe because both her and Horan were absent or forgettable. Outside of her assist to Horan at the Hold Cup it has been a quiet year for Foxy. But, she showed immense growth at the Olympics. Foxy was amazing!

[@15nickjfan]

@@candacelong7643foxy is a very good player but I don’t think arsenal will get the best out of her. But I understand that her college friend plays on the team and wanted to experience something different

[@candacelong7643]

@@15nickjfan True. I hope she’s not taking a step back being there but under Hayes she’s been shining. Terrific Olympics by her

[@saturdaysequalsyouth]

The French league isn’t great but Lyon are expected to win it AND win the Champions League. More of our players need to play for teams where winning everything is the minimum requirement: Barcelona, Chelsea, Wolfsburg, etc.

[@nottoomuch87]

Girma had an amazing tournament, but Ludmilla had her in hell that first half. I know a lot of that was the fact that she was exhausted from playing EVERY DAMN MINUTE.

[@candacelong7643]

The final was actually Girma’s worst game. She was clearly exhausted. Beat multiple times. Foxy and Naeher saved the day, especially Naeher. She held it down

[@candacelong7643]

Crystal has been overlooked. Thought she had a tremendous tournament, even more than Fox who was named often. Foxy was amazing too btw but Dunn will be missed if she’s not in the next cycle. She also is great for vibes. Great personality. She’s my pick. Also as a big Soph fan always have to give my girl a shoutout too. Way to comeback strong

[@HoffmanWSports]

Both so deserving!

[@MKelly-pm1np]

Touche’ Crystal had an amazing tournament. She keepa showing and proving why she’s so important to this team.

[@CJBouhlal]

Brazil's style of play wasn't the determinant factor against Spain nor the USWNT. 1. USWNT, Emma's style and the USWNT players natural ability gave has a very strong defense (conceded two goals in six games). And a very strong Offense were we scored 11 goals by the triple espresso and 1 by midfielder Korbin Albert. So, Brazil did press high from the get go, and we got nervous a bit, mostly because of the fatigue factor as we didn't at all react within the first 15 minutes.. But we basically controlled the tempo and scored the only goal of the match. We are unbeaten while Brazil lost 3 games in total 2. Spain, Now this team has a one trick horse style of play. They press High and they know they have a weak defense/Goalkeeper. Had we played them we would have smacked them around too like Brazil, but unlike Brazil we have a stronger Defense. I think we would have beaten Spain like we did with Germany 4-1 or something like that. The Spaniards have a weak goalkeeper + they don't transition well from offense to defense and this what Brazil took full advantage of. In fact Brazil deployed against us the same exact game plan, but were unable to score on NAEHER in spite of our players having been very very very very fatigued (Legs heavy, head a bit in the clouds etc..) We attack most of the time with the triple espresso, while Brazil or Spain they always attack with a minimum of 6 players (which is why when Spain doesn't transition back to the defense fast well enough they concede goals. Most of the games we stretched the opponents, and we did that because our defense is excellent and offense excellent by midfield ineffective or little effective. we left miles of space between the awesome back four and the triple espresso, but we knew how to get some balls through Lyndsey or Coffey or Albert to the front three. The midfields defensive role was more effective, they did participate in winning turnovers We beat everybody in spite of the fatigue or inexperience and young age or the recent takeover by coach Emma Hayes. The talent of the players was plenty good, and both the awesome back four and the front triple espresso. The three midfielders have a great individual level but as a unit they haven't yet performed well enough under Emma. I'm sure they will though.

[@CJBouhlal]

Based on the natural talent of our starting 11, we are a classical 4-3-3 with enough flexibility to vary it during the game, example Trinity returns to steal some balls and convert them into attack passes. This works very well when the opponent is about to press high. The 4th goal against Germany cam from such play

[@kennethlui2268]

The team only played three friendly games before the Olympics. Emma was trying to build trust, chemistry, and relationship among the players. I get it that there weren't many rotations. The team was doing well with the same players and they had been undefeated. Emma didn't want to break the chemistry. This strategy I guess works in such a short time. But I think going forward, Emma will nurture the unexperienced players more and build a team of trust.

[@KiqeLC]

Cruyff in an interview said that young players-applies to Korbin- need to be judged and given opportunities best on the most brilliant moments. Not their average or their mistakes. Because you can elevate the level and fix mistakes. But you cannot teach the exceptional plays. Korbin has some moments of true brilliance. Lots of potential if she's coachable and if fans don't completely destroy her confidence with the relentless attacks.

[@HoffmanWSports]

Two things - 1) she has control over the attacks if she does the work and shows it to prove she’s learned and doesn’t hold hatred and wish harm upon people based on their identities. That’s a choice she made and a choice she can make moving forward. That’s not on the people that got hurt by what she did. It’s on her. 2) Absolutely as a player. I don’t think any of us are writing her off forever. She’s so young and has shown some tremendous moments. I think we simply think there were better players for this tournament as she continues to develop, not that she couldn’t develop into a stalwart for this team in the future.

[@KiqeLC]

@HoffmanWSports on your first point: no. It's not up to her. There's no standard and no possible objectivity around "doing the work and showing it." People already disagree on what that even means. Fans will find it inadequate the same way they decided that her apology was inadequate. The only think we know for sure is: 1) she reposted abd liked homophobic and hurtful tiktoks. 2) she apologized 3) she has not reposted or like any more of that content. That's ALL we know for sure. Everything else is exptrapolation. And at this point it's clear they hate her more because of her family with disgusting MAGA political views that they do over homophobia. Trinity said homophobia is an opinion, and ppl conveniently ignored it. Trin also posted posted a tiktok hanging out with someone who has admitted to send sexual content to minors. No consequences for Trin. Blind eye. And I love Trin. And I hate MAGA political views. But fans are being Extremely unfair to Korbin. Extremely unfair. I really like you and your content. I hope you try to have a more objective position instead of regurgitating talking points from others.

[@CJBouhlal]

1:01:10 Trinity has something special. The First goal against Zambia and the winning goal against Japan, confirm that very clearly. Also the steal she did against Germany to make a pass to Mallory (think) which gave the fourth goal. You don't see that enough from US Forwards where they come back, steal the ball from th opponent and create a scoring chance for their team. That is something special Also, I think most US fans don't know she's the daughter of Basketball's living legend Dennis Rodman (I didn't) or most fans don't know who Dennis Rodman is. Regardless, it looks like she got her special talents from her dead.

[@eliedabdab4339]

so typical of Jason to try to bury KA. fyi Jason, she's 20 yrs old and still raw as a creative midfielder. However, she's already the most athletic of our midfielders and covers a ton of ground, a fact that you very conveniently omitted. Yes, had Lily been available, she would have gotten more minutes, but KA would still have been on the team, my guess Krueger would have been an alternate. Yes, there are more accomplished creative midfielders ahead of KA, but her current role is to play the double pivot, and her major accomplishment is long range shooting, a skill crucially lacking in our front line (Trinity excepted). Finally, she didn't lose a starting role at PSG, she was always being rotated with Samoura. I'm sincerely hoping you leave the girl be for a minute and accept the fact that she will be part of the next WC setup, along with other worthy candidates. Your bad mouthing of her ability and performance is getting old and is grating on those of us who believe she will rise or fall based on her development pace.

[@candacelong7643]

Sophia is the best long range shooter on this roster. No one has made more goals outside of the box since she entered the NWSL. Trinity isn’t known for her long range shooting. Is that what you were saying? That’s not her thing. Mal can at times but she’s more lethal near the goal. Probably the most efficient at close range. KA does have range but Smith is our best distance shooter. I’ve only seen Sentnor being remotely comparable to her.

[@eliedabdab4339]

@@candacelong7643 you're right in the sense that Sophia's shots from the edge of the pk area have markedly improved over the last few months. However, she's still not at the level of KA on that front and frankly, that's ok, long range shooting should not be her primary focus

[@candacelong7643]

@@eliedabdab4339 The last few months? Sophia has shot and been far more efficient than everyone else in the NWSL since 2022. I’m still taking Smith over Albert, especially shooting from range in a tight space. You said we’re lacking long range shooting. Smith provides this as well

[@MKelly-pm1np]

I think this tournament is the last time we are going to see Lindsey and Rose in a prolonged starting role. Lindsey is a smart, physical player. But at times her lack mobility is a detriment to the midfield. I also havent been super impressed with Rose either. Its like she an Lindsey cancels each other out or she needs a different type of midfielder partner. Maybe Croix or Hal? I think Coffey who Emma is going to build the midfield around. I can kind of see what Emma sees in Korbin but, there are other more complete players that should be playing in front of her.

[@barryfisher4734]

Yet for all of your and Julie Foudy's carping on the rotation, they won the gold medal. In fact the squad was buzzing in the 2nd half and the US team had the better energy.

[@HoffmanWSports]

Something we talk about...in this video lmao

[@nottoomuch87]

Definitely would have played better if she rotated properly. I understand why she did it, but it's not good to run your players into the ground if you dont have to, and she didn't have to. Super happy they won despite being exhausted, tho.

[@cr26404]

Another reason you can't trust Andre, his hatred blinds him, and he just makes stuff up. Whatever you think of Albert, she did not lose her starting job. She literally started their last game against Lyon in the playoffs. She also started their Cup winning final. Again, totally understand people thinking that others would be better than Albert or that Hayes is terrible at picking midfielders, but why resort to false information? Women's soccer deserves better. Also, weird to say she graded poorly in that game. FotMob and Sofascore have her graded the highest in the Gold Medal game. I realize others can disagree with those ratings, but enough to go from best to bad? Just feels like confirmation bias all the way down. Sorta like the fake an injury thing... First, Emma has to get the player to sell the team doc, then the team doc has to sell the independent doc. A lot of people having to compromise their professionalism. Jaedyn is still hurt for the Wave, and they had to put her back on the roster.

[@HoffmanWSports]

She went from an every match starter to being a rotational starter, and had the second most sub appearances on the team. You can just not be wrong. Also, we said she played well in the 2nd half which helps out the whole grading thing. And the injury thing - players were banged up. You're not really faking it. You're just being cautious. Deep breaths. It's going to be okay.

[@cr26404]

@@HoffmanWSports Again, always trying to reconcile "what everyone just knows" with what Emma actually does. If I had said that Rose lost her starting job to Albert in the most important game for the USWNT in years, you guys would be similarly irritating by that glib assertion as I am with pretending that PSG thinks less of Albert's quality (as an implied criticism of Emma's roster decisions). As far as the injury thing goes, I am pointing out that the process is a roadblock. If it is as easy to game as you suggest, then the obvious conclusion is that Emma thinks that Croix and Hal aren't good enough. I don't think that is true, rather I think the IOC was a PITA about alternates, even putting a still hurt Jaedyn back on the bench. BTW, I guess I should be fair and praise your correct takes. You are absolutely dead on about Trin, she is the toughest to replace player on the USWNT. (Despite Girma is the best CB in the world.) Teams fear Trin in space so much that she stretches their defensive width, which opens room for Mal and Soph to do their thing. Heck, Paige had all of that green grass to run into yesterday, because teams fear Trin so much. Never mind her defensive skills. Jona clearly gave her a limited game plan yesterday - and she still scored. And she looked bored/annoyed when they pulled her off...

[@HoffmanWSports]

Thanks for the acknowledgment we’re not total idiots 😂 On the injury front - I just think Emma didn’t value the same things we did. That’s perfectly fine. Her way clearly worked. I have concerns about it long term, but I also don’t think she’ll use the exact same strategy in the long term because she knows she has to develop the program writ large. It doesn’t mean we’re wrong either. Just different approaches that could have ended in the same result. It’s not more complicated than that. On Korbin - the last thing I’ll say is we shouldn’t conflate her ability to do something and what was earned. Andre’s argument was based on his observations up to that point and who he thought had performed at the level to deserve a roster spot/minutes. That is VERY different than “she cannot play.” Korbin’s super talented. We all saw that. Emma clearly has a good feel for what she wanted in that Brazil game. It worked. But capability is different than merit. Sometimes coaches go with one vs the other, and that’s their prerogative, but don’t confuse the two.

[@cr26404]

@@HoffmanWSports Yeah, nothing but love in my comments... As you can see from my comments about Trin, it obvious from five minutes of a press conference why Trin is a star, but I really dug in to find out what makes her a special player. It is why the Albert thing fascinates me, because things like "DEI Hire" represent a level of dismissal that is hard to reconcile with effusive praise of Emma as a manager - particularly as a notoriously unsentimental manager. If Alex Morgan didn't see it coming, then she spoke to no one who knows Chelsea - and Andre knows that too... So, I have tried to work with a hypothesis that splits the difference. Limited prep time values players with European experience because they speak the same language as Emma and can help get the team up to speed. Then Cat goes down. Lily won't commit. Tierna gets hurt and Sonnett has to replace her. Sam gets suspended. Rose gets hurt. Albert Forrest Gumps her way to a GWG and an assist on the gold medal goal. And moving forward, the list of better options will supplant her... Or not. There is a lot of evidence that refutes the hypothesis, such that it starts to feel like motivated reasoning. Of course, it is likely we will not get resolution soon. The CBA's required Victory Tour means the same roster for the Iceland friendlies. So, maybe we find out if Croix and Hal are more valued than Albert, but you know, friendlies against a much inferior opponent could create rotation for experience sake - see Crystal vs Jenna at LWB. Roughly a month later they play the Lionesses at Wembley. I just think that is too much of a yardstick match to see a bunch of roster turnover in that month. Maybe the second (not yet announced) friendly in Europe? So, do we have to wait until the February window to decide that Albert's presence on the roster represents the coaching staff's true opinion on her role moving forward? But then it feels kind of stupid, because you remember that Albert has played in almost every game since her first call up, including over players I like a lot like Rose, Hal, Lily, and Croix. (Maybe Jaedyn too, but it appears Emma sees her as a forward.) Frankly, I am more worried that after all this time in camp, hours of training sessions, if she is calling in midfielders, it is to replace Croix and/or Hal, who seem to be further down Emma's depth chart. Also, Lily was offered an alternate slot, not a roster sport (though Lily is an amazing player). Which is consistent with her playing before Hal but after Albert in the friendlies.

[@dtdtdtdtification]

but morgan HAS been bad though....and slow lol

[@dolphmanity]

Why are you spending more time critiquing reserve, 20-yo midfielder Korbin Albert than team captain, and literally the weakest player in Hayes' starting 11, Lindsey Horan? That's kinda weird. Most of the midfield issues will be solved when Yohannes replaces Horan, and Macario/Bethune replace Lavelle. Hayes now has plenty of time to sift through the plethora of would-be 6s. But sending Horan on her way is Hayes' most important task.

[@HoffmanWSports]

I think the Lindsey part of this is fair and we probably should have spent more time talking about it. We have in the past. I think the reason we geared more towards Albert is that she was more on the roster fringe. She would've been an alternate at best if Yohannes accepted the invite. They never were leaving Horan off, though I do wonder if that's on the table in the future.

[@BenAkalonu]

No wonder this podcast has zero growth. Criticising a girl with a goal and assist at the Olympic. Zero ball knowledge you should know her major strength is shooting from far post bum

[@Oneil-hy7zr]

And how is she a "DEI" selection if she is contributing by scoring the game winner vs Australia and setting up the game winning assist against Brazil. Make it make sense

[@BenAkalonu]

@@Oneil-hy7zr very stupid humans. This is what we get from the low class media. Stephen a smith won’t say utter rubbish like this about a player when they are clearly playing good regardless of if he likes them as a person or not. Thank God no one watches this rubbish. Unfortunately I’m here because I’m looking for women’s content that will be entertaining and logical. This is a horrible pod

[@HoffmanWSports]

Hey, what's your name?