Despite the never-ending questions surrounding manager Emma Hayes’ first game in charge of a major tournament like the Olympics, the USWNT removed most of their doubts with a dominant opening win over Zambia.
Despite the team’s blue-blood status entering the Olympics, Hayes is the team’s biggest name. She’s come off a historic 12-year stint with Chelsea Women, a period that’s included seven Super Leagues and five FA Cups. She left after the 2023-24 season to pursue greatness at the national team level with a struggling States team lost for direction. Under Hayes, they’ve looked directly toward the future. Hayes embraced the younger generation of players while parting ways with some of the legends of the game. In merely months, Hayes has done what the US struggled to do for years — change.
They entered the Olympics looking not only to redeem their worst World Cup performance of all time with a gold medal but also to prove their critics wrong. Critics have branded American teams as dull and stagnant as of late. Their 0-0 draw against Costa Rica didn’t help.
They were going up against Zambia, a sleeper side boasting two of the most expensive talents in women’s football — Racheal Kundananji and Barbara Banda. Kundananji signed for Bay FC for a world-record $825,000, while Banda signed with Orlando Pride for $740,000. Despite their relative inexperience against teams like the United States, they are still very dangerous, especially thanks to their agility and prowess on the wings.
USMNT dominated Zambia throughout the match
Despite the questioning eyes and doubtful statements that followed the team to the Allianz Riviera, the States opened the game with a statement. With just seconds off the clock, Emily Fox got the game off to a roaring start. Fox took the ball from Trinity Rodman in the box and beat two defenders on the dribble before cutting the ball back to Lindsey Horan. Horan’s effort rolled just wide of the post, just…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/olympics/dominant-uswnt-stroll-to-3-0-win-over-zambia/
Author : Deolu Akingbade
Publish date : 2024-07-25 23:18:45
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Author : soccernews
Publish date : 2024-07-25 23:21:52
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.