And just like that, the USWNT are on top of the soccer world once again.
FIFA announced their women’s rankings this morning which saw the USA women’s team move from fifth place back into first after their gold medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
After last year's disaster of a World Cup, the Americans began to slip down the rankings, going from first, to third, to fifth, the lowest the USWNT has ever been ranked before. Their fifth place ranking came just this past June before head coach Emma Hayes began coaching the team.
With 12 games under her belt as the USWNT head coach, Hayes has already made an extreme impact. Players stating things like, “The vibe is just different,” and “We needed a coach to believe in us.”
As a new era of the USWNT begins, there were question marks all around the team. Since Hayes only had a few games many were wondering if that was enough to bring them even close to a medal, let alone winning the gold medal. Many also questioned her coaching technique as she made minimal substitutions during the tournament which proved to not be a problem as they brought some hardware home.
With the trio of Sophia Smith, Mal Swanson and Trinity Rodman just getting started, the USWNT forwards and scoring ability will be in good hands for quite some time.
Young Naomi Girma has stepped up and become a world-class center back, getting praised by many around the planet.
“She’s the best defender I’ve ever seen, ever,” Hayes said when asked about Girma’s impressive Olympic tournament.
With Alyssa Naeher in net, the USWNT has a huge confidence boost as talks around Naeher being the best USWNT goalie ever continue to circulate.
Under captain Lindsey Horan’s wings, Korbin Albert is ready to fill her spot in the midfield when the time comes. Albert proved why she belongs on the USWNT roster and continues to flourish under Hayes.
Dealing with a leg injury, young star Jaedyn Shaw did not see the field during the Olympics Shaw had experience with the USWNT before the Olympics, playing 16 games with them and scoring seven goals.
With this young roster and Hayes just getting started, there is every reason to believe the USWNT can be the number one team in the world for years to come.
