Lily Yohannes, 17. Claire Hutton, 19. Alyssa Thompson, 20. Ally Sentnor, 21. Hearing how young these names make one thing clear: the future of the U.S. Women’s National Team is in safe hands. It’s no surprise that the current April window roster averages just 25 years of age. While most would agree that these rising stars are key to the nation’s long-term success, Emma Hayes seems to believe in a slightly different philosophy.
Well, it’s not like she doesn’t fancy the young blood in her team. To quote her own words, the English tactician is herself quite a “Believer” in having youth in any team. While it is something that counts in her long-term project, Hayes doesn’t rule out the impact of senior players on the national team, especially in the development of future talents.
“I think one of the great things about our team is not just the quality that we’ve got in-depth but the quality of our senior leadership,” Emma began while speaking ahead of the second Brazil clash on Tuesday.
The 48-year-old cited the example of a previous 2-0 win at SoFi Stadium, insisting the presence of veterans like Emily Sonnet, Crystal Dunn, and Lindsey Heaps is “a real testament to the quality of the senior players” which allows players like Lily Yohannes to step on the pitch with full confidence.
(This is a developing story…)
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