Highlights: USWNT v. Canada (En Español)
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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Emma Hayes, Casey Stoney and a rivalry now playing out on the international stage
Women's soccer has come a long way since Casey Stoney was playing as a defender for Chelsea and the England national team. During her career, even basics like a club tracksuit were out of reach. 'That's all changed — and it's thanks to Emma Hayes,' she told The Guardian in 2021. Stoney has never hidden her respect for Hayes and the role she has played in reshaping the women's game, but she is just as clear about her ambition to beat her. Especially now, with Canada under her command. 'I definitely feel the rivalry. I feel the intensity of the game,' Stoney said before her side's 3-0 loss to Hayes' United States Women's National Team on Wednesday, which was followed by an icy handshake. Advertisement Hayes, known for her dry sense of humor, is a team builder and extraordinary tactician, while Stoney is a player-first manager. Their rivalry does not seem to be a heated one, but it sure raises the bar and sets the scene for great soccer. Over the past decade, the two women have shaped elite teams on both sides of the Atlantic, building cultures and collecting trophies. Hayes spent 12 years turning Chelsea into the best team in the English women's game. Under her leadership, they won seven Women's Super League titles, reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2021 and became known for Hayes' signature possession-based, physically demanding brand of football. Stoney made her name as a player with 130 England caps and with a successful professional career with Charlton, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, where she briefly served as player-manager. But it was not until 2018, when Manchester United handed her the keys to its newly formed women's team, that Stoney's managerial career took off. In just three seasons, she took United from the second division to top-four WSL contention. She is known for her defense-first approach and an emphasis on player welfare. The first true test of their rivalry came in January 2021, with Stoney's United on an upward trajectory and Chelsea chasing their next title. Hayes' side won 2-1. Stoney admitted after the game that she had 'taken notes' on Chelsea's preparation and Hayes' leadership. Hayes was respectful of what Stoney achieved at United. Advertisement 'They've signed really good players like (the USWNT World Cup winners) Christen Press and Tobin Heath,' Hayes told The Guardian. 'Casey's doing a brilliant squad-building job.' In many ways, that match cemented the dynamic between the two women: Stoney, the up-and-coming overachiever and Hayes, the insatiable winner. The rivalry was not fueled by personal animosity; it was born of proximity, ambition and two managers trying to outdo one another in a sport that, until recently, rarely gave women a stage. In July 2021, Stoney made a surprise jump to the United States, taking over expansion club San Diego Wave. It was a risky decision. New team, new league, new culture, but one that paid off quickly. When she made the move from England to NWSL, she told the late Grant Wahl that the biggest factor for her was that she was going to coach a 'women's-only soccer team, not reliant on anyone else'. In 2022, she was named NWSL Coach of the Year. In 2023, she led San Diego to the NWSL Shield. In November 2023, Hayes surprised the football world by announcing she would be leaving Chelsea to take the U.S. job. She remained with the London club through the end of the 2023-24 season before formally beginning her role with the U.S. in May 2024. Within three months, she had led the team to Olympic gold in Paris and given debuts to 17 players in a bold generational reset. Advertisement When Stoney was named the Canada head coach in January, what began as a distant rivalry evolved into a continental match-up. Her appointment came after the dismissal of Bev Priestman, who was fired following a drone surveillance scandal. 'Neither of us is coaching our native countries, but I think that adds more responsibility,' Stoney said before their meeting this week. 'But I'm really looking forward to playing against her team. She's done a great job here in the U.S. in such a short time, a testament to her as a coach and as a leader and what she's done in the game.' While the respect is clear, Stoney made no secret of her desire to win. 'My focus is squarely on what we can do with Canada.' After the USWNT's second goal on Wednesday, a stunning header from Claire Hutton, the cameras cut to Hayes on the touchline, fist-pumping in celebration. You did not need the audio; her lips said it all. 'F*** yes, f*** yes, f*** yes.' Advertisement But she was still humble at the press conference. Hayes's squad delivered yet another win, this time in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,215 in Audi Field. Throughout the June international window, she spoke with words and actions about her job being to make sure the team is winning consistently through 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2031. And that is why the looming rivalry between the U.S. and Canada is so compelling. Hayes is committed to building a legacy with the USWNT, the most decorated team in women's soccer. Stoney has resilience and is just starting her tenure, trying to develop Canada into a consistent contender. For the next few years — Hayes is with the USWNT at least until the 2027 World Cup, and Stoney signed with Canada until 2028 — these two soccer powerhouses will be guiding two North American giants. With soccer in the spotlight more than ever, the margins are thinner and the ambitions greater. Advertisement 'Casey demonstrated at both Manchester United and San Diego that she's worthy of coaching at the international level,' Hayes said after the game. 'I think it's too early to talk about her impact with Canada. She's just got the job. 'That said, I'm focused on us. I'm not here as an adopted American to worry about Canada's long-term development. I've got enough on my plate, and I'm certainly not giving her a headstart.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Women's national team, Canada, Women's Soccer 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
6 hours ago
- New York Times
Emma Hayes, Casey Stoney and a rivalry now playing out on the international stage
Women's soccer has come a long way since Casey Stoney was playing as a defender for Chelsea and the England national team. During her career, even basics like a club tracksuit were out of reach. 'That's all changed — and it's thanks to Emma Hayes,' she told The Guardian in 2021. Stoney has never hidden her respect for Hayes and the role she has played in reshaping the women's game, but she is just as clear about her ambition to beat her. Especially now, with Canada under her command. 'I definitely feel the rivalry. I feel the intensity of the game,' Stoney said before her side's 3-0 loss to Hayes' United States Women's National Team on Wednesday, which was followed by an icy handshake. Advertisement Hayes, known for her dry sense of humor, is a team builder and extraordinary tactician, while Stoney is a player-first manager. Their rivalry does not seem to be a heated one, but it sure raises the bar and sets the scene for great soccer. Over the past decade, the two women have shaped elite teams on both sides of the Atlantic, building cultures and collecting trophies. Hayes spent 12 years turning Chelsea into the best team in the English women's game. Under her leadership, they won seven Women's Super League titles, reached the UEFA Champions League final in 2021 and became known for Hayes' signature possession-based, physically demanding brand of football. Stoney made her name as a player with 130 England caps and with a successful professional career with Charlton, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, where she briefly served as player-manager. But it was not until 2018, when Manchester United handed her the keys to its newly formed women's team, that Stoney's managerial career took off. In just three seasons, she took United from the second division to top-four WSL contention. She is known for her defense-first approach and an emphasis on player welfare. The first true test of their rivalry came in January 2021, with Stoney's United on an upward trajectory and Chelsea chasing their next title. Hayes' side won 2-1. Stoney admitted after the game that she had 'taken notes' on Chelsea's preparation and Hayes' leadership. Hayes was respectful of what Stoney achieved at United. 'They've signed really good players like (the USWNT World Cup winners) Christen Press and Tobin Heath,' Hayes told The Guardian. 'Casey's doing a brilliant squad-building job.' In many ways, that match cemented the dynamic between the two women: Stoney, the up-and-coming overachiever and Hayes, the insatiable winner. Advertisement The rivalry was not fueled by personal animosity; it was born of proximity, ambition and two managers trying to outdo one another in a sport that, until recently, rarely gave women a stage. In July 2021, Stoney made a surprise jump to the United States, taking over expansion club San Diego Wave. It was a risky decision. New team, new league, new culture, but one that paid off quickly. When she made the move from England to NWSL, she told the late Grant Wahl that the biggest factor for her was that she was going to coach a 'women's-only soccer team, not reliant on anyone else'. In 2022, she was named NWSL Coach of the Year. In 2023, she led San Diego to the NWSL Shield. In November 2023, Hayes surprised the football world by announcing she would be leaving Chelsea to take the U.S. job. She remained with the London club through the end of the 2023-24 season before formally beginning her role with the U.S. in May 2024. Within three months, she had led the team to Olympic gold in Paris and given debuts to 17 players in a bold generational reset. When Stoney was named the Canada head coach in January, what began as a distant rivalry evolved into a continental match-up. Her appointment came after the dismissal of Bev Priestman, who was fired following a drone surveillance scandal. 'Neither of us is coaching our native countries, but I think that adds more responsibility,' Stoney said before their meeting this week. 'But I'm really looking forward to playing against her team. She's done a great job here in the U.S. in such a short time, a testament to her as a coach and as a leader and what she's done in the game.' While the respect is clear, Stoney made no secret of her desire to win. 'My focus is squarely on what we can do with Canada.' After the USWNT's second goal on Wednesday, a stunning header from Claire Hutton, the cameras cut to Hayes on the touchline, fist-pumping in celebration. You did not need the audio; her lips said it all. 'F*** yes, f*** yes, f*** yes.' But she was still humble at the press conference. Hayes's squad delivered yet another win, this time in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,215 in Audi Field. Throughout the June international window, she spoke with words and actions about her job being to make sure the team is winning consistently through 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2031. And that is why the looming rivalry between the U.S. and Canada is so compelling. Hayes is committed to building a legacy with the USWNT, the most decorated team in women's soccer. Stoney has resilience and is just starting her tenure, trying to develop Canada into a consistent contender. Advertisement For the next few years — Hayes is with the USWNT at least until the 2027 World Cup, and Stoney signed with Canada until 2028 — these two soccer powerhouses will be guiding two North American giants. With soccer in the spotlight more than ever, the margins are thinner and the ambitions greater. 'Casey demonstrated at both Manchester United and San Diego that she's worthy of coaching at the international level,' Hayes said after the game. 'I think it's too early to talk about her impact with Canada. She's just got the job. 'That said, I'm focused on us. I'm not here as an adopted American to worry about Canada's long-term development. I've got enough on my plate, and I'm certainly not giving her a headstart.' (Top photos: Getty Images)
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Emma Hayes' ‘astronomical' year as USWNT head coach – but this is only the first step
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — On June 1, 2024, as the U.S. women's national team prepared to take the field against South Korea in Colorado, head coach Emma Hayes stared down a stadium tunnel swirling with sound. Staff were banging on the walls to hype up the players, and fans roared with similar anticipation. The heat and humidity, combined with the mile-high altitude, were brutal — especially for an Englishwoman who hadn't known how to properly hydrate for those conditions. Advertisement It was Hayes' first game since accepting the position in November 2023, and she was nervous. She'd spent 12 years managing Chelsea and had no idea how an American crowd would respond to someone 'from the outside,' as she described it. Still healing from the disappointment of their earliest World Cup exit in USWNT history, her new side were also less than two months out from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Hayes felt 'desperate to do well for the team.' They beat South Korea 4-0, with two goals each from forward Mallory Swanson and defender Tierna Davidson. Seventy days later on August 10, the USWNT became Olympic gold medalists with a 1-0 victory over Brazil. And in the year since her nerve-wracking debut, Hayes has uprooted and overhauled the women's program in ways that feel revolutionary, inviting more new players to national team camp than any coach before her and revamping the U-23s to create a sustainable and cohesive pipeline of talent. Now, with two more years to go until the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, Hayes remains a champion of development and deliberation, choosing process over perfection as she continues to build. Thursday night offered a poetic checkpoint for what has changed and what has remained the same. Hayes and the USWNT were back at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, and the final score was again 4-0, this time against a depleted Republic of Ireland. Swanson is pregnant and Davidson is out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury; this match instead featured goals from defender Avery Patterson, midfielders Sam Coffey and Rose Lavelle, and forward Alyssa Thompson. Advertisement Coffey and Lavelle, who just returned to USWNT camp after an ankle injury kept her away since December, are two of just four players on Hayes' first roster as head coach who also played against Ireland. It's a testament to Hayes' dedication to experimenting and implementing a new standard for who receives an invitation to camp. Though Coffey earned her first USWNT call up in September 2022 under former head coach Vlatko Andonovski, she did not make the 2023 World Cup roster. Since Hayes stepped in, she has been a consistent fixture for the national team at No. 6. Thursday's match against Ireland was her 36th cap and she scored her third goal for the United States. 'She's had such a profound impact on me as a person and a player,' Coffey said of Hayes after Thursday's match. 'I think she, in many ways, has just given me such confidence and belief in myself to know what I can do and to help the team in any way possible. I think the amount that she's done in a year is astronomical.' Coffey added that she and her teammates 'still have so much that we want to do in so many ways.' Advertisement 'We want to grow and every camp, every game we have is just another step that we get to take together,' she added, 'and so we're loving her.' Thompson's journey with the national team has been similarly nonlinear, even under Hayes. While she made Andonovski's World Cup roster, she seldom played, and was not chosen by Hayes to compete for an Olympic medal in Paris. Her standout club performances since with Angel City in the NWSL earned her another invitation, and she has since solidified her spot on the USWNT. 'I feel like I've grown so much as a player,' Thompson said after the game Thursday night of Hayes' impact. 'I'm just understanding the game more. In the beginning, there was a lot of information that I wanted to take in, and now I'm really understanding it. I feel like it comes a little bit second nature. Just being able to keep implementing things and working on my game really helped and it came from Emma coming in and just helping our team in that way.' Hayes was similarly effusive in her post-match press conference. Advertisement 'I know you're probably bored of me, but I just love them all,' she said. 'I said to them today, I don't want them to think that I take for granted the trust that they place in me to coach them. I'm so grateful for how vulnerable they are to let me do that and, yeah, I just love them.' One year into the job, Hayes has called up 27 players to the senior team — which, of course, required tough decisions and frank conversations with those who lost their spots. Hayes' first major decision came when she announced her 18-player roster for the Olympics, which did not include USWNT legend Alex Morgan. Her omission marked the first time since 2008 that Morgan would not compete with the U.S. in a major tournament. It was a ripping off of a band-aid that sent shockwaves through the world of women's soccer and made clear the extent to which Hayes was willing to endure discomfort in order to manifest her vision. Morgan announced her second pregnancy and retirement last September, having played no part in the U.S.'s gold medal run. And Hayes kept tinkering. Sometimes it was out of necessity as a result of injuries or pregnancies, but largely to ensure players were in the best environments for their growth. The Olympic group has not all played together since leaving France, and two of those gold medalists, Korbin Albert and Jaedyn Shaw, have recently been moved to the U-23s to continue learning. Advertisement 'It's a reminder that you have to develop a playing pool that's capable, and when you're facing top opponents across the world that have Champions League experience, they have Nations League experience, they have cap accumulation (with the) under-20s, under-17s, we have a lot of catching up to do and to close that gap,' Hayes said. 'Our program has been really clear, especially with the introduction of our under-23 program.' Hayes would have been justified in coasting after last summer's accomplishment, at least for a little while; winning medals in major international tournaments affords you that. But if anything, she's become more dogmatic about the changes she wants to implement, the gaps she seeks to close between starters and bench players on the senior year, and also between the senior team and U-23s. 'I feel like we're back on track, but I will urge caution with it — and I say that because I'm so respectful of what England and Spain and Germany and Brazil in particular are doing in the global game. There is no gap between one, two, three, four, five in the world,' Hayes said Wednesday. 'We have to make every moment count for us to put ourselves in the best place possible to compete.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. US Women's national team, NWSL, Women's Soccer 2025 The Athletic Media Company
