The next time we see the U.S. women's national team, we'll be seeing a much different version. The Emma Hayes era is upon us, and after months of waiting, the soon-to-be-ex-Chelsea manager is on her way with the Olympics looming large.
In the months leading up to Hayes' arrival, Twila Kilgore has been in charge of a USWNT rebuild. Last summer's World Cup was a major blow for this program, and Kilgore's job was to make as much progress as possible before handing the reigns to Hayes. Mission accomplished, it's fair to say.
On Tuesday, the USWNT lifted another trophy, the second of this brief Kilgore era. Having faced two of the world's top teams in Japan and Canada, the U.S. took home the SheBelieves Cup. The vibes are high in USWNT land, for sure.
On Saturday, led by young star Jaedyn Shaw, the U.S. came from behind to take down Japan in a 2-1 win in front of a record crowd in Atlanta. Then, on Tuesday, the U.S. once again bounced back after conceding first. They equalized, took the lead, conceded and then survived, emerging victorious over Canada in a penalty shootout.
If there was a word to describe these two games, it would probably be gutsy. The U.S. dug deep in both, they never faltered or wilted despite setbacks and they pushed right on to fight through their flaws.
Kilgore has helped rebuild the foundation, which had cracked quite a bit in recent years. Now, everyone can look forward to seeing how Hayes builds upon that foundation as the U.S. moved forward full of confidence.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the SheBelieves Cup..