USWNT zeroes in on Olympic opener against Zambia – Equalizer Soccer

Photo Copyright Nick Tre Smith for USA TODAY Sports

Just days away from its Olympic opener, the U.S. women’s national team (USWNT) is hyper-focused on taking the tournament one match at a time — that starts with a match against Zambia on Thursday. The women’s game globally, head coach Emma Hayes said, is too good today to take anything — the group stage included — for granted. 

“I can’t overemphasize: We’re only thinking about Zambia,” Hayes said Tuesday in a press conference. “I think one of the biggest problems has been that too often we keep talking about what we’re going to do in Paris, what happens when you get to the semis or finals. I think it’s disrespectful to the rest of the world to talk like that. The game has moved to a point where that isn’t the case. It isn’t a shoo-in to get somewhere, it has to be earned. There’s no given right when women’s football has developed the way it has across the world.”