The U.S. women’s national team kicks off their final preparations for the Olympics on Saturday when they face Mexico at Red Bull Arena. The meeting marks a rematch from the group stages of the Concacaf W Gold Cup, when Mexico beat the USWNT 2-0. Though the game was just five months ago, this version of the U.S. team feels very different from the one that lost in Southern California, both in terms of personnel and confidence.
Head coach Emma Hayes, who was finishing up her 12-year spell with Chelsea at the time, described that match as a wake-up call that helped the USWNT more than it hindered the team as they continue their quest to put the disappointment of last year’s Women’s World Cup behind them.
“In a number of ways, I was always grateful for that result and performance, personally,” Hayes said in her pre-match remarks on Friday. “Could interject and put in the right things back into place. There’s no losing, there’s only learning and I see there’s been a lot of that since then.”
While assistant coach Twila Kilgore called on a group of veterans that day in what ultimately became a sink-or-swim test, Hayes will head to the Olympics with one of the USWNT’s youngest squads for a major tournament ever. It is that youthful…
