Rebuilding or not, six reasons you should not underestimate Emma Hayes and the USWNT in quest for Olympic gold

There aren't many defenders better than Naomi Girma. There definitely aren't any that make the game look so effortless or easy. Make no mistake, though: what Girma does is not easy. In fact, it's key to everything the U.S. does.

Girma is extremely smooth but, most important, she's consistently and completely reliable. The 24-year-old defender never seems to make the wrong play. Whether on the ball or off of it she makes the right decision every time, often bailing out teammates in the process to stop chances before they even get started.

It's impossible to overstate how valuable that is in a tournament like the Olympics. It's so, so helpful to know that there's a defender with Girma's capabilities on the pitch. She's a bedrock, one thing this team will never have to worry about.

Girma is the base of this USWNT and that is one hell of a foundation to build on.

From the start, the midfield never looked quite right at the 2023 women's World Cup. The No. 6 position was a problem. Rose Lavelle's injury shook things up, and then-coach Vlatko Andonovski never found the fix.

This summer, things are different. In these Gagmes, the midfield has a sense of purpose.

There are only four players listed as midfielders in the squad: Lavelle, Lindsey Horan, Sam Coffey and Korbin Albert. That's a bit misleading, though, as this group also includes Crystal Dunn, Jaedyn Shaw and Emily Sonnett, each of whom offers something wildly different.

Coffey is the primary No. 6, and her exclusion last year looks even worse now. Horan keeps her place as the do-everything No. 8, while Lavelle will be the big threat if she is, in fact, healthy. There's a balance there and, even if Lavelle can't go, Albert can fill in.

In Shaw, this team has a game-breaking No. 10, while Dunn can play pretty much anywhere. Sonnett has experience as a No.6, central defender or fullback.

The point is this: there are plenty of options, and all of them can create very different looks. That's something the U.S. lacked this summer but, this time around, Emma Hayes has no shortage of choices.

This is a young team, one led by a new generation of superstars but, make no mistake: there is considerable experience, too.

Six members of this squad were involved in the 2021 Olympics, winning bronze. This team also has four members of the squad that won Gold back in 2016. There's Olympic experience here, and with experience comes calm.

Those players are spread all over the field, too. Alyssa Naher starts in goal, and there will be no nerves from her no matter what's thrown her way. Mallory Swanson's game may be different than when she won Gold in 2016 as a teenager, but she can call on those experiences as she looks to lift an attack with several strike partners near that age. Lavelle played in all six games last time around - she'll know what she's in for at this competitive level.

That experience is key. These games are grueling and they are nerve-wracking, particularly for young players. Every little big of experience helps and, thankfully for the U.S., there's plenty here.

The biggest difference between this year's team and last year's is on the bench. This time around, the USWNT has Emma Hayes.

There's a reason that U.S. Soccer went out and hired her, and it's because Hayes is arguably the brightest mind in the women's game. They had no problem waiting for her, too. That's how convinced the federation is that she's the right person to change this team.

That change will take time, of course, and it's impossible to expect her to put her stamp on this team with just a few camps. Hayes, though, is an effective, crafty tactician who can make a difference. In a one-game scenario, Hayes can out-think whomever is on the other side.

Her ability to do that may just be the difference between success and failure for the U.S. The style of play won't quite be there yet, but that allows this team to be fluid and perhaps add a few wrinkles no one is expecting. It may very well be an opportunity to surprise opponents with a USWNT that they've never quite seen before.

There isn't a team in this tournament that has the pure attacking talent that this team has. Whether the U.S. can get the most out of it is another question - but, on paper, this group is loaded.

Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith are your starters, and each is the type of player that can destroy an opponent on any given day. As mentioned, Swanson is experienced and, more important, healthy after missing the World Cup. Rodman and Smith are both looking to bounce back from tough tournaments last summer and both certainly have the ability to do that in a big way.

Aside from them, you have Shaw, one of the game's brightest rising stars, and Lynn Williams, a veteran that can stretch the game as a supersub. The question is how it all comes together and what this team can do to ensure they score more effectively and efficiently than they did at the World Cup.

With those players on their games, you can't bet against them. Opponents may need to play mistake-free soccer because, if they don't, this group will be ready to pounce.

Perhaps the best thing that this USWNT has going is that few really expect them to be the USWNT, at least as we know it. For years, the expectations were gold or go home. This time around, they're more tempered.

Everyone knows that this team is rebuilding. Everyone knows that this team isn't rebuilding from a position of strength. Just last summer, the U.S. suffered the program's worst-ever World Cup result. Getting the house in order just 12 months removed from that? Nearly Impossible.

But, with that, comes a positive. This team isn't as burdened by outsized expectations in the way that, say, Spain will be. For the U.S., this is more of a trial run to kickstart the Hayes era, at least in theory.

Despite what's being discussed on the outside, the players are adamant they can take gold. It's an easy rallying cry, too. "The world doesn't believe in us" is the oldest trick in the motivational book and, for the first time in decades, it's one the U.S. can actually use.

The USWNT has rarely had the benefit of being underdogs. This summer, they can lean into those lowered expectations - and perhaps those underestimating this team will be the ones who are ultimately surprised.