Emma Hayes 'feels like a heart surgeon in the middle of emergency surgery' after taking over as USWNT manager

The former Chelsea boss has agreed to take on one of the most demanding roles in the women’s game, with the United States expected to compete for major honours at every competition they enter. They fluffed collective lines at the 2023 World Cup, which contributed to a coaching baton being passed in Hayes’ direction.

She opened her reign with a convincing 4-0 friendly win over South Korea, but has said of the pressure that she is under and the size of the challenge that she faces: “It feels like I'm a heart surgeon in the middle of emergency surgery. Not because anything is wrong, but the reality is it's really, really hard for me to be on the wards or on the clinics and teaching everyone and do surgery at the same time in such a limited amount of time. Between now and the next camp, it's about bringing everybody up to that level where everybody can do the surgery, if you know what I mean.”

Hayes was critical of the USWNT’s performance at the last World Cup, as they bowed out in the last-16, and has said of turning things around in a calendar year that has already delivered W Gold Cup and SheBelieves Cup success without her: “There's been a lot of learnings since [the] last World Cup. We always like to look at it externally, like these really fatal moments. From my perspective, I don't believe they can grow without that. You need those setbacks. Sometimes, on the biggest stages, it's not ideal, but the team wasn't ready. But the expectation in this country is win every game, every week, every tournament, every trophy. It just isn't going to work like that, I'm afraid. We have to adapt a little bit to that. For them, their learnings have been profound.”

A first opportunity for the USWNT to savour tangible success under Hayes will come at the 2024 Olympic Games, with the countdown very much on to a gold medal bid in Paris – with further friendly outings against South Korea, Mexico and Costa Rica to take in before heading to France.