If there was any doubt about how much the most recent United States women’s national team roster deviated from the historical norm of consistency, the starting lineup for Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Argentina provided confirmation.
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes followed through on her promises of player rotation and handing out first caps by making 10 changes to the XI that beat Iceland 3-1 three days earlier and starting three players in their first senior international game. Three players had not debuted as starters since the USWNT fielded an inexperienced squad in 2001 during preseason of the now defunct WUSA.
Seven players made their USWNT debuts over the three games in the past week, which hadn’t happened in eight years. The list of rare feats went on throughout the week for the USWNT, including forward Emma Sears tallying a goal and an assist in her debut, which hadn’t happened in 10 years.
The past week was unequivocally the start of a new era for the USWNT. The message was reiterated coming into this victory tour for the 2024 Olympic champions and it was reinforced by every action on the field against a disciplined Iceland team and a beleaguered Argentina squad. Nothing was a given and — to recite a common refrain from…
