COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — If the U.S. women's national team's 4-0 victory over South Korea on Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park was any indication, last year's stagnant World Cup attack is entirely a matter of past.
Emma Hayes' era as USWNT coach had a slow first half hour before forward Sophia Smith quickly turned and passed a ball to winger Mallory Swanson for the first goal of the game in the 34th minute. Swanson raced in behind of South Korea's five defenders and saved the ball for his first of two goals of the night in a play that exemplified both the team's patience and the fluidity of the front line.
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“I think there's something really good about Emma's style and the way she wants us to be fluid in our structured principles, so I think she gives us a lot of freedom,” USWNT midfielder Catarina Macario said after the match.
Macario played the No. 10 role Saturday in his first start for the national team in 781 days. He pressed in high areas alongside Smith, the USWNT's No. 9, as the USWNT built attacks with five players on the front line at times. Macario also frequently launched into wide areas to find play. Swanson also moved inside at times, moving into the number 9 role late in the match after a series of substitutions. Trinity Rodman rounded out the USWNT's top four with her usual persistent effort on both sides of the ball on the right wing. The trade between those four players specifically is a welcome sign for a team that was too rigid (a word Hayes recently used to describe what the team needs to avoid) at the 2023 World Cup, where the USWNT's elimination in the round of 16 marked the end of the program. worst result in a major tournament.
Swanson and Macario were absent from that squad due to injury. Swanson was arguably one of the best players in the world before rupturing her left patella tendon last spring, and former USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski was developing Macario as the focal point of the attack in 2022 before Macario tore his left anterior cruciate ligament. Hayes now has the benefit of having those two players healthy, not to mention the luxury of bringing Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle and Jaedyn Shaw off the bench in the second half to add fresh legs to the attack.
Shaw, 19, is the USWNT's leading scorer this year and one of the most versatile and creative attacking players in the group. On Saturday, Shaw primarily played a left-wing role alongside Swanson.
Hayes said Friday that she divides her coaching responsibilities like American sports teams do, with different coaches specializing in different areas of the game. The offensive third is their responsibility, so Saturday's first line was a first look at how a USWNT group loaded with scoring talent could function with Hayes now on the sidelines, following a six-month waiting period while the season wrapped up. European in Chelsea.
The new coach praised her team's ability to process a lot of new information this week, but stressed Saturday that there is room for improvement. The Americans were slow and at times disjointed in the first 30 minutes Saturday. South Korea got an early corner kick and got close to the goal only as a result of the Americans' mistakes. The USWNT finally settled into the match, and the first goal came from a patient period of possession that ended with center Naomi Girma with the ball in an advanced position. She played Smith, who turned and quickly stuffed Swanson for the score.
“In terms of what I asked of the group, what we prepared for, the execution of that, we've taken steps in the right direction,” Hayes said. “For the first 30 minutes I felt like what we struggled with was the technical execution. We scored on our first three chances, so we were efficient and clinical.”
He added that “there's another level” Smith still needs to reach, particularly in his combined play with Swanson.
The USWNT faces South Korea again on Tuesday in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the team's final game before Hayes must choose her 18-player Olympic roster. He has plenty of attacking talent to choose from, and every decision he makes about how to set up the frontline has a knock-on effect on the rest of the positions. Alex Morgan reaffirmed his role as the team's No. 9 earlier this year, but Morgan did not play Saturday. Hayes called it a caution because of pelvic tightness in Friday's practice, noting that the staff wanted to play a “nice, fresh” Morgan on Tuesday.
Smith has long been the other natural choice in that forward role, but last year she was assigned to a wide role alongside Morgan and the entire front row struggled at the World Cup. Smith's central presence Saturday underscored why it's her best role.
Rodman remains consistently reliable, having played in every USWNT match since early 2023. She was active throughout Saturday's match, triggering passing sequences after recovering the ball in deep areas and getting to the baseline to serve centers.
Macario is the nonconformist within the group. She is a generational player who can thrive as a number 10 with freedom, or can break through defenses as a striker.
“In hindsight, because I coached her at the club level, so I know how she operates in the pockets,” Hayes said. “She can attract players, she can escape pressure; she is a fairly pressure-resistant player and she links up very well.”
Hayes said he “really enjoyed the front four in the first half.”
“Fluidity” is a common way to describe Hayes' tactics, and that showed in the attack on Saturday. Hayes, however, has also consistently tempered expectations, emphasizing the need for processes. She is pragmatic and still far from satisfied.
“I think you can see we're building something,” Hayes said. “There's a lot of work to do. There are a lot of holes in our game, for sure, but it was a good start.”
