USWNT ‘24-27: The Golden Girls

[67YAZ]

They didn’t dominate. They weren’t stylish. They were just the toughest and most resilient over 6 matches in 16 days, with 2 of those going to extra time. 16 days!!!

This is the Hayes era, and as effective as it was at the Olympics, we still don’t know how she’s going to shape this squad and its tactics. But we know she challenges the players to be better, brings joy and togetherness to the program, and isn’t afraid to make tough/controversial decisions.

So all eyes turn to Brazil 2027.

 

[Eastchop]

LFG. Cant wait to see what Emma does with some actual time to develop the team

 

[InstaFace]

One name you will all learn over this thread's time horizon (and which some of you know already): Lily Yohannes.

"where are we going to get a Horan replacement? She's 30!" Answer: Lily Yohannes. DM / CM for Ajax. Turned 17 only two months ago. After playing footsie with the Dutch federation, the USWNT called her up this spring. And against South Korea she had, I think it's fair to say, the most electric 15-minute debut anyone has ever seen. Scored, assisted, every ball perfect, some of them genius. I've watched her work in the UWCL, including against Chelsea - she was absolutely ready for that level, and I think after this coming season we should expect her to move to the big leagues.

But for now let's celebrate the Olympic gold.

 

[sezwho]

What an amazing run, and they showed such heart. I can’t imagine how the rest of the global women’s soccer world must feel right now…they’re back already?

 

[67YAZ]

One name you will all learn over this thread's time horizon (and which some of you know already): Lily Yohannes.

"where are we going to get a Horan replacement? She's 30!" Answer: Lily Yohannes. DM / CM for Ajax. Turned 17 only two months ago. After playing footsie with the Dutch federation, the USWNT called her up this spring. And against South Korea she had, I think it's fair to say, the most electric 15-minute debut anyone has ever seen. Scored, assisted, every ball perfect, some of them genius. I've watched her work in the UWCL, including against Chelsea - she was absolutely ready for that level, and I think after this coming season we should expect her to move to the big leagues.

But for now let's celebrate the Olympic gold.

She’s not permanently cap-tied yet, is she?

 

[InstaFace]

1991 - Won the World Cup, no women's soccer in the Olympics.
1995-96 - 3rd in World Cup, Olympic Gold
1999-2000 - Won the World Cup, Olympic Silver
2003-04 - 3rd in World Cup, Olympic Gold
2007-08 - 3rd in World Cup, Olympic Gold
2011-12 - 2nd in World Cup, Olympic Gold
2015-16 - Won the World Cup, out of Olympics in the QF
2019-20 - Won the World Cup, Olympic Bronze
2023-24 - Out of World Cup in R16, Olympic Gold

In every cycle, the US has won exactly one of the two major tournaments.

So unless I am very mistaken, only twice has there been a team that has simultaneously held the two titles: the 1999 and 2015 USWNTs, who in both cases were Olympic champions and won the next (1999, 2015) WWC. So we'll have a chance to do it again for the third time.

And on 3 occasions, the USWNT has prevented the World Champion from also winning olympic gold: 1996 (beat Norway in the semis in AET), 2004 (beat Germany in the semis in AET), 2012 (beat Japan in the gold medal match, 2-1).

Only two other countries have ever won both titles in the first place, nevermind consecutively: Norway (1995 WWC, 2000 Olympics) and Germany (2003 and 2007 WWC, 2016 Olympics). Japan (2011 WWC), Canada (2021 Olympics) and Spain (2023 WWC) are the other countries to have won a major title. Sweden is perpetually the bridesmaid: Silver in Rio and Tokyo, 2nd in 2003, 3rd in 2019 and 2023 WWCs.

 

[InstaFace]

She’s not permanently cap-tied yet, is she?

She is not, that debut was only a friendly. But Emma Hayes would be a fool not to call her in on a now-permanent basis going forward. And Hayes is no fool.

The Dutch are rolling out the red carpet for her, but I think will generally prefer to put Damaris Egurrola (who is only 24) on the field ahead of her, whereas succession opportunities on the USWNT's best-XI midfield look about as visible as they ever do.

 

[Ale Xander]

Hope Hayes takes lessons from Kerr and hope Kerr takes lessons from Hayes. On substitutions.

US is deep. USE IT.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

She is not, that debut was only a friendly. But Emma Hayes would be a fool not to call her in on a now-permanent basis going forward. And Hayes is no fool.

The Dutch are rolling out the red carpet for her, but I think will generally prefer to put Damaris Egurrola (who is only 24) on the field ahead of her, whereas succession opportunities on the USWNT's best-XI midfield look about as visible as they ever do.

She's not cap tied and she's likely to play with the Dutch at least once, next window, to see what that's like in comparison, but also this was her Instagram Stories today so I feel quietly confident.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Hope Hayes takes lessons from Kerr and hope Kerr takes lessons from Hayes. On substitutions.

US is deep. USE IT.

It's something to monitor to see if it's an overall Hayes issue going forwards, but for this tournament specifically her depth plans took a real hit with Cat Macario getting hurt in the runup followed by Shaw getting hurt and not really being fit all tournament. If those two were healthy (and with Croix Bethune getting a few more months to work into the team, and Mia Fishel recovering from her ACL, etc.) I think the team will be swimming in attacking options.

It's the 6/8 spots where they really need to find better overall solutions. Coffey is good, but a step slower than you want against elite competition. Horan is great, but is teetering on the edge of being unusable at her current speed and mobility level and is at the age where she could lose a step and fall over the brink at any moment. Yohannes is key, continued development from Korbin Albert could be key, there are CMs in the NWSL looking to stake a claim and it will all need to be figured out.

 

[Ale Xander]

It's something to monitor to see if it's an overall Hayes issue going forwards, but for this tournament specifically her depth plans took a real hit with Cat Macario getting hurt in the runup followed by Shaw getting hurt and not really being fit all tournament. If those two were healthy (and with Croix Bethune getting a few more months to work into the team, and Mia Fishel recovering from her ACL, etc.) I think the team will be swimming in attacking options.

It's the 6/8 spots where they really need to find better overall solutions. Coffey is good, but a step slower than you want against elite competition. Horan is great, but is teetering on the edge of being unusable at her current speed and mobility level and is at the age where she could lose a step and fall over the brink at any moment. Yohannes is key, continued development from Korbin Albert could be key, there are CMs in the NWSL looking to stake a claim and it will all need to be figured out.

Thanks, didn't realize Shaw was hurt.

 

[the1andonly3003]

cool https://x.com/MikeKeegan_DM/status/1822349687224954925

 

[67YAZ]

cool https://x.com/MikeKeegan_DM/status/1822349687224954925

She’s going to be an American icon.

Emma Hayes comes into press conference: 'It's like someone let a f*****g balloon down in here.' Adds: 'I had a f*****g blast this past month. At times I felt I was at university. America means more to me than most people realise. I was a 20-year-old that came from a stuffy society that didn’t embrace the women’s game. I went to the US and they gave me opportunities that England never gave me and I am so happy to repay that faith.'

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Thanks, didn't realize Shaw was hurt.

She both got specifically hurt in a training session and has been a bit off this year generally. I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s been a struggle adding the additional national team load onto the NWSL season and she needs to adjust.

 

[the1andonly3003]

She’s going to be an American icon.

Sounds like she wanted to take over for Southgate

 

[Mighty Joe Young]

Congrats to the USWNT!

Was struck by the overall parity in the tournament. Could have easily been won by any of the quarter-finalists - which bodes well for the future.

 

[Silverdude2167]

Sounds like she wanted to take over for Southgate

Can she coach the USMNT as well? One coach is cheaper than two, right?

 

[Silverdude2167]

One name you will all learn over this thread's time horizon (and which some of you know already): Lily Yohannes.

"where are we going to get a Horan replacement? She's 30!" Answer: Lily Yohannes. DM / CM for Ajax. Turned 17 only two months ago. After playing footsie with the Dutch federation, the USWNT called her up this spring. And against South Korea she had, I think it's fair to say, the most electric 15-minute debut anyone has ever seen. Scored, assisted, every ball perfect, some of them genius. I've watched her work in the UWCL, including against Chelsea - she was absolutely ready for that level, and I think after this coming season we should expect her to move to the big leagues.

But for now let's celebrate the Olympic gold.

I was at the home leg against Chelsea, she was everywhere and amazing till she got a yellow. She is going to be special.

 

[InstaFace]

U-20 Women's World Cup going on right now in Colombia. We just played Mexico in the R16 and maaaaaan the highlights alone were a journey, I'm sure the game was fun as all hell.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vHIl5mbYyw



Ally Sentnor, the team's captain, seems ticketed for USWNT stardom. Was #1 pick in the NWSL draft (the last draft ever, it seems), was clearly a cut above on the field from what I can tell.

We play Germany in the QFs this Sunday at 9:00pm ET. I'll probably be watching that instead of struggling to enjoy myself while watching the NFL.


In Lily Yohannes news, Ajax got bounced from the Champions League in the qualifiers (which are much stiffer than the men's UCL - only 4 teams direct-qualify for the group stage). Lost a single-leg match vs Fiorentina 1-0 and they're out. So the season is now almost a total waste for her, because the only games that would actually test her level are now gone from the schedule. The Dutch league is only semi-professional, most players in the league are not on pro contracts. Twente FC did qualify for UWCL to rep the Eredivisie Vrouwen, so maybe playing them will be worthwhile. But I think my hope for Lily right now is, really work on a lot of fundamentals this fall (I think an NWSL loan is too much to hope for), and then answer the call when England comes calling in January with a transfer deal.

 

[Ale Xander]

Ally is pride of both MA and UNC!

 

[InstaFace]

Not looking great vs Germany. Down 1-0 at 65' via a PK.

 

[ekim colorwaterpit]

2 goals in stoppage time for us to tie it. Amazing game!

Edit: and by stoppage time I mean 97 and 98th minute

 

[InstaFace]

2 goals in stoppage time for us to tie it. Amazing game!

Edit: and by stoppage time I mean 97 and 98th minute

Was absolute mayhem moments for the ~15 or so of us in the Scuffed gamethread. We were consigned to an obvious loss and were trash-talking Tracey Kevins' coaching work already. And then we collectively lost our goddamn minds. I've seen miracle last-minute goals, but I'm not sure I've ever seen TWO of them, certainly not so close to the final whistle. Only thing I can compare it to is Barcelona's comeback vs PSG a few years ago in the second leg of their UCL knockout match. And then there was a very tense Extra Time where frankly Germany had the better of the run of play (when you'd have expected them to be shell-shocked), and then things flipped again for the PK shootout with two of Germany's first 3 shots missing the goal entirely and their 4th being saved brilliantly by Teagan Wy for the win (it's good to have The Tall Goalie for a change, shoutout to Ethan Horvath).

It was a fairly exciting game, maybe not as much as R16 vs Mexico, but then got super intense those last 20 minutes of regular time and onward. I'm not sure a highlights package can really do it justice, but man did it go from depressing to euphoric in a goddamn hurry. Our first goal was an absolute beaut by Dudley:

View: https://twitter.com/USYNT/status/1835519417767051460


(gotta love tossing aside the German goalkeeper to get the ball back, just chucking her like she was a stuffed animal)

Here was the second, in Fergie time. A bit lucky / fluky yes, but also very heads-up by Sentnor to get to the deflected cross first.

View: https://twitter.com/USYNT/status/1835519510566097375



Next up we play North Korea (!) in the semis, on Wednesday, at the much more reasonable hour of 5:30pm ET. It'll be on FS2 again. I'll have my 6-year-old's soccer practice at that time, and will probably be ignoring her and watching this instead. Hope a few more folks here pick it up, because the team is a lot of fun. Our winger Maddie Dahlien was a legitimate HS track star in Minnesota, like top-5 in the state in 4 different track events, and you can kinda see it on the field when she just blows by people like they're not even there. Savy King played some amazing defense last night and also was pinging the ball around on 30-40 yarders all night, I was very impressed. Ally Sentnor may be the highest-class player of the lot, but there's a ton of entertainment to watch there on the field.

 

[ekim colorwaterpit]

Was absolute mayhem moments for the ~15 or so of us in the Scuffed gamethread. We were consigned to an obvious loss and were trash-talking Tracey Kevins' coaching work already. And then we collectively lost our goddamn minds. I've seen miracle last-minute goals, but I'm not sure I've ever seen TWO of them, certainly not so close to the final whistle. Only thing I can compare it to is Barcelona's comeback vs PSG a few years ago in the second leg of their UCL knockout match. And then there was a very tense Extra Time where frankly Germany had the better of the run of play (when you'd have expected them to be shell-shocked), and then things flipped again for the PK shootout with two of Germany's first 3 shots missing the goal entirely and their 4th being saved brilliantly by Teagan Wy for the win (it's good to have The Tall Goalie for a change, shoutout to Ethan Horvath).

It was a fairly exciting game, maybe not as much as R16 vs Mexico, but then got super intense those last 20 minutes of regular time and onward. I'm not sure a highlights package can really do it justice, but man did it go from depressing to euphoric in a goddamn hurry. Our first goal was an absolute beaut by Dudley:

View: https://twitter.com/USYNT/status/1835519417767051460


(gotta love tossing aside the German goalkeeper to get the ball back, just chucking her like she was a stuffed animal)

Here was the second, in Fergie time. A bit lucky / fluky yes, but also very heads-up by Sentnor to get to the deflected cross first.

View: https://twitter.com/USYNT/status/1835519510566097375



Next up we play North Korea (!) in the semis, on Wednesday, at the much more reasonable hour of 5:30pm ET. It'll be on FS2 again. I'll have my 6-year-old's soccer practice at that time, and will probably be ignoring her and watching this instead. Hope a few more folks here pick it up, because the team is a lot of fun. Our winger Maddie Dahlien was a legitimate HS track star in Minnesota, like top-5 in the state in 4 different track events, and you can kinda see it on the field when she just blows by people like they're not even there. Savy King played some amazing defense last night and also was pinging the ball around on 30-40 yarders all night, I was very impressed. Ally Sentnor may be the highest-class player of the lot, but there's a ton of entertainment to watch there on the field.

Yeah maddie played for MTA which is a club my son flirted with a bit this summer only to go back to his old club, but they run a great program.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

I have no idea how to truly evaluate goalies, particularly youth goalies, but Teagan Wy makes me feel safe out there during this tournament and I consider this a good sign.

 

[Pesky Pole]

Bumping for anyone (like me) who forgot about the early start. Second half just starting with the US trailing 1-0.

FS2

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Is North Korea good?

 

[nayrbrey]

Is North Korea good?

They’ve been pouring a lot of effort into developing a strong women’s team since the 90s. They’ve won the u-20 World Cup twice.

https://www.nknews.org/2024/09/zero-to-hero-how-north-korean-womens-soccer-became-a-juggernaut/

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

They’ve been pouring a lot of effort into developing a strong women’s team since the 90s. They’ve won the u-20 World Cup twice.

https://www.nknews.org/2024/09/zero-to-hero-how-north-korean-womens-soccer-became-a-juggernaut/

I had no idea. I follow the World Cup and the Olympics, of course, and CONCACAF events, but have limited knoweldge beyond that.

 

[nayrbrey]

I had no idea. I follow the World Cup and the Olympics, of course, and CONCACAF events, but have limited knoweldge beyond that.

I had no idea either until about a month ago when I saw a different story about them on a Substack post. It’s really an interesting backstory.

 

[InstaFace]

Absolutely unbelievable that North Korea can get kicked out of one World Cup for cheating, fail to qualify for another, not even enter for a third... and basically impoverish their own population and repress nearly all forms of individuality... and yet somehow, have a world-class women's soccer program that can compete with any team in the world and do things like take the game to us the way they did today. Like from these highlights, and what people who watched every minute were saying, they absolutely outplayed us basically start to finish. It's kinda astounding.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyvJ1HY3FgA

 

[Ale Xander]

I'm still on the high from being down 2 goals 96 minutes in, in a what was supposed to be a 98-99 minute game and winning it.

Just amazing.

 

[InstaFace]

the good news is, we do still get one more game with this crew, the bronze medal match on Saturday vs (it appears) Netherlands, who lost 2-0 to Japan.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Alyssa Thompson with a beauty for her first team goal.

 

[67YAZ]

Took 42 matches, But Girma opened her account yesterday. And then potted a 2nd 12 minutes later.

How excited were her teammates? Girma is their future captain, no doubt.


Up next is a big window - England on Nov 30 and the Netherlands on Dec 3.

Also, for bonus content - Louisville Slugger have Mal a custom bat to celebrate her 100th cap. But I love Hayes' face in his video, like she is completely baffled.

 

[InstaFace]

After playing a little footsie with the Dutch federation, Lily Yohannes commits to the USWNT.

View: https://twitter.com/lilyyohannes10/status/1855989039590981934?s=46&t=ANJNnro2LlIhQ2pO0y0x0A


Should make the end-of-month friendlies just a little spicier:

Saturday Nov 30th: vs England (in Wembley)
Tuesday Dec 3rd: vs Netherlands (in The Hague)

Think it's safe to predict that Emma Hayes will not be playing around for those.

 

[67YAZ]

Oh fuck yes. Incredible news. Let’s goooooo!!!!

 

[67YAZ]

Alyssa Naeher set to retire from the national team after this coming window. She also signed a contract extension to stay in Chicago for a 10th season.

Naeher has 113 caps, 2 World Cups, a gold & a bronze medal. She was CONCACAF Keeper of the year in 2018. I’d argue she’s the 3rd best American woman keeper we’ve ever had and will be hard to replace, though we have some good ones vying for the job.

Naeher was a bulldog who outworked the competition. She wasn’t as physically gifted as other elite keepers, but she was fearless in the box and a vocal leader on the pitch. She grinded hard in the gym and brought game intensity to training. She carried an attitude to the defense that will have to be rediscovered.

 

[SoxFanInCali]

Naeher had to replace Solo in all the chaos that came from her blowing things up on the way out, and did a great job. You can argue about how truly gifted of a keeper she was, but I can't think of a match they lost because of a howler from her, and can name several where she pulled off a penalty save or a point-blank stop late to preserve a lead. She was clearly a leader on the pitch and seemed to be beloved by everyone in the squad even while being very low-key off the pitch. She wore the shirt with pride and deserves every bit of praise she receives on her way out.

 

[InstaFace]

Unlike her predecessors in Solo and Scurry, I never really thought Naeher was the best choice for WNT goalie, and remain flummoxed at how she would consistently be the choice. Naeher was typically average in NWSL, with others like Jane Campbell and now Kingsbury looking superior both from the eye test and the advanced stats (particularly psxG +/- per 90), and doing so for multiple years. Jill Ellis didn't have too many great alternatives in 2019, but Vlatko did, in both 202 and 2023, and he just kept sticking with Naeher. I can only assume that there was some aspect of defensive organizing, competitive intensity, or something in training, that just made him always more comfortable with her than with trying anyone else. We got an occasional Adrianna Franch start in friendlies here or there (plus the 2021 Olympics bronze-medal match), and some rumblings about Ashlyn Harris, but aside from that Naeher might as well have been the third goalpost, for how consistently she was seen in net.

All that said, it's true that she never really cost us an important game. Unlike Solo, she only rarely saved our bacon with spectacular efforts, but there were a few, like the kick save in the semifinal vs Germany in this summer's Olympics. So whatever critiques we could have, they didn't end up mattering. She made a key error vs Spain in the R16 of the 2019 WWC, but it was early in the game and we fought back to win with the help of some penalty calls. She was injured early in the 2020 Olympics semifinal vs Canada, and it was a well-taken penalty that decided it. We were never going anywhere in the 2023 WWC, so even though I think she did save that one kick in the shootout vs Sweden, who really cares, her teammates had already let her down. The one game she might have well and truly blown, the waterlogged Gold Cup semi vs Canada where she came late on a route-one ball, missed the ball and absolutely destroyed the attacker, she ended up redeeming herself with a great performance in the shootout and we got the win. So my evaluation of her WNT career is largely "did no harm". She wasn't a star of the team, but she was good enough to be out there, wasn't a weakness, and was consistent - and in total that had a lot of value.

Looking forward very excitedly to the next era of USWNT goalkeeping, however. Phallon Tullis-Joyce over at Manchester United has not escaped the eye of Emma Hayes, and I bet we'll see her in a game before too long. But I'm more of a Kingsbury believer, personally.

 

[Jimy Hendrix]

Single data point does not a statistical analysis make, but I was not impressed with Kingsbury's work on the goal in the NWSL championship over the weekend.

It's open competition time now though, so she's definitely in the group that's gonna get their shot for '27.

 

[InstaFace]

We go in the lion(esses)'s den at Wembley, today at Noonish ET.