The U.S. women’s national team will wrap up their international window on Tuesday against South Korea. The USWNT kicked off the Emma Hayes era with a 4-0 win on Friday and welcomed some new tactics along with the new head coach herself. The two-game series will conclude at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota and the squad will try to begin a win streak for their new manager.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the game:
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Viewing info
- Date: Tuesday, June 4 Time: 8 p.m. ET
- Location: Allianz Field — St. Paul, Minn.
- TV: truTV, Universo | Live stream: Max, Peacock
Players to watch
Even with the Olympics just weeks away, Hayes is just getting her first time on the sideline with the USWNT, so players are still getting final evaluations ahead of a final roster for the Paris Olympics. Tuesday’s victory featured 16 different players on the pitch, as Hayes and the coaching staff maxed their substitution windows to rotate more players into the game.
It was a pretty clear indicator that the entire 23-player roster will be utilized, especially in light of some lingering injuries to some players that entered camps initially. After Tuesday’s win, Hayes praised the efforts of players after an intense week of training, and just seven players have yet to get any minutes — including Alex Morgan. Though Hayes did provide more context in post-game comments that was a precaution taken by the staff for the long-time striker due to pelvic tightness in training and eluded that they wanted to play a “nice and fresh” Morgan in Minnesota.
So here’s a few players to watch:
Rose Lavelle: The attacking midfielder has worked her way back into solid form after dealing with a lower leg injury after the USWNT’s Concacaf W Gold Cup title run. She only played 30 minutes on Tuesday and had an immediate impact by delivering an assist on one of Mallory Swanson’s goals, so she could get a full half to close out the series.
Alex Morgan: A veteran of the squad who was in solid form during the Gold Cup, but has dealt with a lingering injury, and now has a new coach to work with. How, or if, she’ll be utilized will be a big question mark with this as the final game before Hayes names her Olympic roster.
Jaedyn Shaw: The 19-year-old leads the national team in goals this year and has seen time on the pitch in different attacking roles. She exited the Gold Cup featured as a No. 10, though now that Lavelle is back in the mix, saw time on the wing as a sub on Tuesday. She’s also dealing with a lingering injury, so the coaching staff might limit her role as a precaution again.
What they’re saying
Hayes didn’t shy away from applauding the efforts of the team and their willingness to adapt to new information in the opening week. Despite the big win in her debut, she balanced a lot of praise while spinning the group ahead that there is still more to improve in their second game against South Korea.
“I’ve trained them quite hard this week and I think with the altitude, the heat and the training, I thought there was a little lethargy but I thought the team stuck at it,” she told broadcasters post-match. “I thought we were controlled in what we did in the first half, we stuck to the structures, we stuck to the coaching. Felt at times, maybe we could’ve played in behind in the right moments but going from underplaying to overplaying is usually the first step … Everybody did what I asked of them.”
“I think you can see we’re building something,” Hayes said during her post-game conference. “There’s lots of work to do. There’s lots of holes in our play, no question, but it was a good start.”
Prediction
There will likely be player rotations by Hayes and some adjustments by South Korea, so perhaps not another lopsided win, but look for another convincing performance for USA. Pick: USWNT 3, South Korea 0
