Sports
Hayes inspired a USWNT turnaround – but expectations remain as high as ever
PARIS — The USWNT was on message all Olympics. Joy and belief. Trust and confidence. A fresh start under Emma Hayes.
After winning gold on Saturday at Parc des Princes in Paris, while many of the questions the players faced were about the game and the emotions and the medals around their necks, there were still a few that lingered on the past — especially last summer and the turnaround of this team over the past year from their worst World Cup finish to the top of the podium again.
The thing about this team, though, no matter what they accomplish, there’s always an eye to the future.
“We know there’s so much more in us, there’s so much more potential in the way we can play, the way we can break down opponents,” USWNT captain Lindsey Horan said in the final press conference, itching to don her goggles and start spraying champagne in the locker room with the rest of the squad to celebrate their 1-0 win over Brazil in the gold medal match.
“My gosh, the way the team is now and seeing the potential for 2027, it’s very exciting.”
USWNT captain Lindsey Horan says there is much more to come from this side (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
As much as the players have left the narrative around 2023 behind, it will shadow them for a while yet — at least until 2027 begins and a result comes there. That same old pressure is back, the expectations the same as ever: win, win, and win some more.
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Under head coach Hayes, though, it feels like there is a new pressure valve that wasn’t there before. There are karaoke machines, nail technicians, coffees, her being forced into watching more TikToks than she ever expected (or wanted). She’s met them where they are, as players and as people.
“We’ve been having so much fun,” forward Trinity Rodman said on Saturday after the match. “But again, we still push each other hard. There’s a misconception of, ‘Oh, they laugh and dance all the time at training. They’re not serious.’ We just proved to everyone that we are and that we take this very seriously.”
Big shout to @Nike for one heck of a celebration party 🎉🎉🎉 pic.twitter.com/EXQXC6PyhW
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) August 11, 2024
Maybe this Olympic gold proves they can have it all: the performances on the field, the goofiness off it, and joy threading through every moment, even as they had to find new depths in the summer heat of France against some of the best teams in the world.
If this team meshed so well in such a short period of time, if Hayes got so much right in her first 10 games as manager that it resulted in a gold medal, then maybe it’s more than fair to be thinking about three years down the line.
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But first, there’s so much that needs to happen between now and the next World Cup, which takes place in Brazil. Though FIFA has confirmed a schedule of international windows and competitions, from 2025 to 2029, a lot is still unknown — and there’s nothing firmed up about when World Cup qualifiers would be in 2026.
In the immediate future, everyone goes back home. Players will get a break, but there’s the rest of the NWSL season to play. Hayes noted at one press conference she still hasn’t even packed up her stuff at Chelsea’s facilities due to the speed at which she departed her previous role. There’s at least a little time here for a breather.
Hayes will now have a little bit of downtime (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
U.S. Soccer has the next four games booked, including three home matches in a row during the October window (back-to-back friendlies against Iceland in Austin and Nashville, then another against Argentina in Louisville).
Then they’ll head back to Wembley, this time with Hayes as their manager. The last time the USWNT played in England’s national stadium in London, it was a narrow loss to the Lionesses that came in the wake of the release of Sally Yates’ report into systemic abuse across the NWSL. This November, there should be no additional context needed, just a head-to-head that should be fodder for bragging rights for a while, maybe even into 2027.
Most importantly, Hayes and her technical staff, the players, and the federation have some space to intentionally start building — not just for 2027, but across the youth teams, their relationship with the NWSL, USL Super League and other international pro leagues, and more.
Hayes knows that expectations are as high as ever. And her days of being “a heart surgeon in the middle of emergency surgery” are finally over. She said Saturday that she believed she joined the USWNT at the right moment.
“Trust me, I know what this jersey means,” she said Saturday. “But I’m not going to let it strangle me, far from it.”
Back when Hayes first officially started her role in May, she worked hard to reframe the conversation from results to process, from the team’s worst-ever FIFA world ranking (they dipped to fifth) to what they could achieve.
“Are the USA at their best possible position today?” she asked at a lengthy sitdown with reporters upon her arrival in the States. “No, but it’s about where we finish when we need to that matters to me. So I want to focus on that instead of where we are in the world rankings, where we are in comparison to Spain.”
The only gap she was interested in then was the one she saw between their play on the field and what they could be at their full powers. On Saturday, not even a full three months into her tenure, she was asked what she makes of that gap now.
Hayes smiled. “We are so excited at our potential,” she answered.
“We are so looking forward to the things we can do together. Of course, tonight we have a gold medal, but it doesn’t mean it ends there. We want so much more for ourselves because we’re competitors. But we’re just at the beginning. About 75 days in, baby.”
And with that, it was time for them to join the party surely already raging in the locker room. Goggles were waiting. The pressure might always still be there, but it could wait for another couple of days. After all, there’s 1,046 to go until the first kick in Brazil.
(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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After its massive 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday night, Mexico has won Group A and officially clinched a spot in the knockout round.
El Tri will play its Round of 32 game in Mexico City, and will face the third-place finisher in either Group C/E/F/H/I.
This is the fourth time that Mexico has topped the group stage of a World Cup, with the other three coming in 1986, 1994 and 2002.
With the win, Mexico remains unbeaten in World Cup group games at home, going a combined 6-2-0 (W-D-L), with two wins and a draw in 1970 and 1986, and now two wins in 2026.
Before the tournament began, Mexico was listed at +6500 to win the World Cup. Now, after winning its first two games of the tournament, Mexico has surged up the oddsboard to +5000.
Can Mexico build off its first two matches and make a deep run in this tournament? Let’s check out the updated odds for El Tri as of June 19.
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Team Mexico — Stage of Elimination
Last 32: +125 (bet $10 to win $22.50 total)
Last 16: +135 (bet $10 to win $23.50 total)
Quarterfinals: +600 (bet $10 to win $70 total)
Semifinals: +1600 (bet $10 to win $170 total)
Runner-up: +3000 (bet $10 to win $310 total)
Outright winner: +5000 (bet $10 to win $510 total)
Mexico is currently +5000 to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup after winning Group A (Getty Images).
Mexico’s Past World Cup Results:
1930: Group stage
1934: Did not qualify
1938: Withdrew
1950: Group stage
1954: Group stage
1958: Group stage
1962: Group stage
1966: Group stage
1970: Quarterfinals
1974: Did not qualify
1978: Group stage
1982: Did not qualify
1986: Quarterfinals
1990: Banned
1994: Round of 16
1998: Round of 16
2002: Round of 16
2006: Round of 16
2010: Round of 16
2014: Round of 16
2018: Round of 16
2022: Group stage
2026: TBD
What to know: Mexico has made a habit of being in the running, but never really being in the running. Make sense? Consider this: El Tri made it out of the group stage in seven consecutive World Cups (1994-2018), but never made it past the Round of 16 in any of those years. In 2022, Mexico failed to make it out of the group stage, and it will look to get back to its winning ways in 2026 after a great start to the tournament. With its win Thursday night, Mexico has now advanced to the knockout stage in eight of the last nine World Cups. It is important to note, however, that Mexico has never made it past the quarterfinals at a FIFA men’s World Cup.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Three and a half years after its biggest failure on the World Cup stage in half a century, the Mexican national team needed only two games to advance to the knockout round of this year’s tournament as winner of Group A.
Mexico’s defense held off a spirited final push by South Korea, earning a 1-0 win on Thursday night at Guadalajara Stadium in front of a fiery announced sellout crowd of 45,522.
“It was a very tough game,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said.
Goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu made a mistake in the 50th minute, failing to stop what appeared to be a simple cross and bobbling the ball. That allowed Mexico’s Luis Romo to easily tap the ball into the net and claim a 1-0 lead.
“In the end, a mistake was going to tip the scales,” Aguirre said.
Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel blocks a shot from South Korea’s Son Heung-min during their World Cup match at Guadalajara Stadium on Thursday.
(Natacha Pisarenko / Ap Photo/natacha Pisarenko)
“You always want to be there; I felt it, and I got the chance,” said Romo, who started the game after starting the opener on the bench — a strategic change by the Mexican coach that paid off.
South Korea put pressure on the Mexican team throughout the game. Late in the scoreless first half, Jae-sung Lee came close to giving South Korea the lead. Aguirre hoped his team would shake off nerves following the emotional opener at Azteca Stadium and show more bite in its second game against South Korea, but his team didn’t have much power behind its attack during the game’s first 45 minutes.
The crowd in Guadalajara grew frustrated and began booing the Mexican national team’s performance at the end of the first half.
Mexico, however, won back their cheers when it capitalized on South Korea’s costly mistake and converted it into a goal.
Obed Vargas replaced Romo in the 71st minute and was close to scoring a spectacular goal if not for Seung-gyu’s save.
El Tri earned a win without any other goals thanks, in part, to a great night by goalkeeper Raúl Rangel, who stopped a header by Cho Gue-sung in the 87th minute. Captain Edson Álvarez helped turn away South Korea’s attack late, holding up relatively well despite having left ankle surgery during the past year.
“It was just a reflex,” said Rangel, whose club team Chivas plays at at Guadalajara Stadium. “I was very focused and stepped up when the team needed me, and I’m happy about that.”
LAFC star and South Korea captain Son Heung-min fired one shot over Mexico’s goalkeeper in the first half, but Álvarez cleared it off the line before the referee ruled Son was offsides.
South Korea finished controlling possession 58% of the time, but it only earned two shots on target.
“It wasn’t a good game because they didn’t let us do much,” Aguirre said.
Mexico was coming off a comfortable 2-0 victory over South Africa, while the South Koreans had defeated the Czech Republic 2-1, marking their first World Cup opening-match win since 2010.
During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Mexico was eliminated in the group stage for the first time since 1978, breaking a streak of seven consecutive appearances in the knockout rounds. However, playing on home soil, the team’s goal is to emulate El Tri’s achievements in 1970 and 1986, when they reached the quarterfinals — the country’s best World Cup finish.
Due to the new 48-team format, Mexico would need to win two knockout-round matches and reach a sixth game to realize its goals.
“We’re taking it one step at a time; first, there’s the third game,” Romo said.
Mexico’s Luis Romo celebrates with his teammates after scoring during a match against South Korea at Guadalajara Stadium on Thursday.
(Natacha Pisarenko / Associated Press)
After the win over South Korea, Mexico will close out group play against Czechia at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Wednesday. El Tri will get to play the first two games of the knockout round — should it win the first one — at Azteca Stadium, a venue where it has never lost a World Cup game.
South Korea has four points and will be favored when it plays South Africa Wednesday in Monterrey. If South Korea wins the match, it would be the Group A runner-up and advance to play the Group B runner-up on June 28 at SoFi Stadium.
“We want all nine points,” Vargas said of Mexico’s goal entering its next game against Czechia.
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Who’ll win the Golden Boot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup? The race is on for who’ll score the most goals at the tournament, and it is set to be one of the tournament’s most closely watched storylines.
Several of the world’s top forwards will be aiming to finish as the competition’s leading goalscorer. Kylian Mbappé enters the tournament after winning the Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, and Mikel Oyarzabal are among the other players expected to challenge for the award.
And check out our list of all the 2026 World Cup goals, ranked!
Favorites To Win The Golden Boot
Harry Kane: +310 (bet $10 to win $41 total)
Lionel Messi: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Kylian Mbappé: +350 (bet $10 to win $45 total)
Erling Haaland: +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Kai Havertz: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
Vinícius Júnior: +3300 (bet $10 to win $340 total)
Folarin Balogun: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Mikel Oyarzabal: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Lamine Yamal: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)
Raphinha: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Michael Olise: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Romelu Lukaku: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Viktor Gyökeres: +4500 (bet $10 to win $460 total)
Cody Gakpo: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
Cristiano Ronaldo: +5500 (bet $10 to win $560 total)
3 Goals
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
2 Goals
Johan Manzambi (Switzerland)
Harry Kane (England)
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Kylian Mbappé (France)
Harry Kane (England)
Elijah Just (New Zealand)
Yasin Ayari (Sweden)
Kai Havertz (Germany)
Folarin Balogun (USA)
1 Goal
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)
Rubén Vargas (Switzerland)
Ermin Mahmic (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Michal Sadilek (Czechia)
Teboho Mokoena (South Africa)
Jáminton Campaz (Colombia)
Luis Díaz (Colombia)
Daniel Muñoz (Colombia)
Abbosbek Fayzullaev (Uzbekistan)
Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Martin Baturina (Croatia)
Petar Musa (Croatia)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
João Neves (Portugal)
Marko Arnautović (Austria)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
João Neves (Portugal)
Caleb Yirenkyi (Ghana)
Ali Olwan (Jordan)
Romano Schmid (Austria)
Leo Østigard (Norway)
Ayman Hussein (Iraq)
Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal)
Bradley Barcola (France)
Ramin Rezaeian (Iran)
Mohammad Mohebbi (Iran)
Maxi Araújo (Uruguay)
Abdulelah Al-Amri (Saudi Arabia)
Emam Ashour (Egypt)
Alexander Isak (Sweden)
Viktor Gyökeres (Sweden)
Mattias Svanberg (Sweden)
Omar Rekik (Tunisia)
Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
Keito Nakamura (Japan)
Daichi Kamada (Japan)
Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands)
Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands)
Felix Nmecha (Germany)
Nico Schlotterbeck (Germany)
Jamal Musiala (Germany)
Nathaniel Brown (Germany)
Deniz Undav (Germany)
Connor Metcalfe (Australia)
Nestory Irankunda (Australia)
John McGinn (Scotland)
Ismael Saibari (Morocco)
Vinícius Júnior (Brazil)
Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
Gio Reyna (USA)
Mauricio (Paraguay)
Cyle Larin (Canada)
Jovo Lukić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Ladislav Krejcí (Czechia)
Julián Quiñones (Mexico)
Raúl Jimenez (Mexico)
Hwang In-Beom (South Korea)
Oh Hyeon-Gyu (South Korea)
Own Goals
Yazan Al-Arab (Jordan; 1)
Ayman Hussein (Iraq; 1)
Mohamed Hany (Egypt; 1)
Miro Muheim (Switzerland; 1)
Damián Bobadilla (Paraguay; 1)
Last 5 Golden Boot Winners
- 2022 (Qatar): Kylian Mbappé (France) – 8 goals
- 2018 (Russia): Harry Kane (England) – 6 goals
- 2014 (Brazil): James Rodríguez (Colombia) – 6 goals
- 2010 (South Africa): Thomas Müller (Germany) – 5 goals
- 2006 (Germany): Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 5 goals
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