Emma Hayes pinpoints crucial USWNT improvement ahead of Spain rematch
· Yahoo Sports
The U.S. Women’s National Team’s first camp since June didn’t get off to an ideal start on Saturday, with Emma Hayes’ side losing the first of their two scheduled games against Spain 2-0.
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Two goals within the opening 15 minutes from Patricia Guijarro and Eva Navarro were enough to secure the win for the reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup champions, despite the USWNT ultimately leading the match in shots, and with the visitors going down to 10 players late in the game when substitute Athenea del Castillo was sent off.
With Hayes and Co. just over a month out from the CONCACAF W Championship, which will serve as their opportunity to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, the ex-Chelsea boss is looking for her side to shake off this loss quickly as they prepare to face Spain once again on Tuesday.
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Reflecting on Saturday’s game at Audi Field, Hayes said on Monday, “If you give up two goals with a .67 xG, you can't expect to win games of football. You can't do that at the top level.
“And yes, are they clinical finishes from positions they shouldn't really score from? Yeah, they are. So, we have to tighten up on those things because, actually, they didn't create a lot of chances. And I think if we defend those moments better, it at least puts us into a stronger position.
“But I think once you go 2-0 down against them, then you are faced with chasing the game. And I think probably the first 30 minutes did fine. 30 to 45 minutes, I think we lost our structure. I think the second half it was all about us. But you also have to score to win games.”
As for Tuesday’s game at Subaru Park, Hayes highlighted the importance of her side getting out of the blocks quicker. “This window I always think it's quite tricky when you've been apart for 5 months as well because it's they come in with habits from their club, then, oh, you've got to break those habits in two sessions,” she explained.
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“And so if you're in your club, for example, largely player-to-player and here we're largely zonal, that's really hard for players, and even the new players say, ‘You know what, it's really difficult. I'm so used to marking a player in every situation, and at the international you need to learn to play zonally as well as player-to-player.’
“So, sometimes it takes a little bit of time to get into that. It's far from ideal when you've had four or five months apart. But I think some of the things that you see maybe in our game, it took us a bit of time to get all of that in a much better place.
“Took us a full sort of 45 minutes. I think for us we've now got to do it earlier. Don't take so long to do it; otherwise, you'll be 2-0 down.”
The USWNT and Spain are set to kick off in Chester, Pennsylvania, at 7pm ET on Tuesday, October 13.