Women

May 30 (Reuters) - Fans can expect a sharper United States women's national team with coach Emma Hayes on the sidelines for the first time, captain Lindsey Horan said ahead of Saturday's friendly with South Korea.

The U.S. are out for redemption after last year's disastrous World Cup campaign, eyeing the top of the Olympic podium in Paris this year with the former Chelsea manager at the helm.

Lindsey Horan — "You're going to see a lot of growth in the USWNT with Emma Hayes."

The first Emma Hayes USWNT roster was revealed on Tuesday ahead of two June friendlies vs. South Korea. Hayes gave the nod to veterans like Alex Morgan, gave two players their first USWNT call ups and had an interesting change of position for Crystal Dunn.

This USWNT roster is the final one before the 18-player squad for the Olympics will be made. A total of 23 players are on the team for the games against South Korea. 

Emma Hayes USWNT roster

Emma Hayes will manage her final game with Chelsea on Saturday before she turns her attention toward the United States women’s national team. A growing list of USWNT injuries will be a main concern for Hayes.

There is good news and bad news for U.S. fans at the moment. The bad news is that big names are missing time due to injuries. The good news is that the Olympics doesn’t start for another two months and there’s still time for those players to recover.

Here’s a list of USWNT injuries that could impact who Hayes calls up for two friendlies vs. South Korea in early June.

The United States women’s national team will say goodbye to another star as defender Kelley O’Hara announced her plans to retire at the end of the 2024 NWSL season.

O’Hara goes down as one of the best fullbacks in USWNT history as her 14-year career with the national team saw her win two World Cups and a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics.

Brazil's all-time top scorer in both men's and women's football, Marta, will retire from internationals this year, the 38-year-old striker said ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Marta, who has been playing in the United States with Orlando Pride since 2017, hopes to make her sixth appearance at the Olympics at this year's Paris Games.

Marta retiring from national team

Marta announces she will retire from international football at the end of this year.

The United States women’s national team fandom is divided on one big question. Should Alex Morgan go to the Olympics this summer?

Only 18 players will be on USWNT head coach Emma Hayes’ roster this summer as the USA seek their first gold medal in women’s soccer since 2012. Does Morgan deserve one of the coveted roster spots?

Alex Morgan Olympics debate

Morgan was on the outside looking in at the start of 2024. When the USWNT Gold Cup roster was released in February Morgan’s name was nowhere to be found. 

The United States women’s national team will go on a month-and-a-half hiatus following a spring that saw them lift the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup and their seventh SheBelieves Cup. We’d say we’ve seen enough for a USWNT Olympic roster prediction.

Incoming USWNT head coach Emma Hayes will need to narrow the roster to 18 names for the Paris Olympics. She’ll have watched both tournaments and have a solid idea of who deserves to go.

Twila Kilgore’s time as interim head coach of the United States women’s national team has come to an end following the SheBelieves Cup triumph vs. Canada. 

Current Chelsea boss Emma Hayes will coach the next USWNT game which will be a friendly vs. South Korea on June 1.

Kilgore finishes her eight-month tenure with a Concacaf W Gold Cup title, a SheBelieves Cup title and a national team with renewed hope.

The U.S. women’s national team were crowned the 2024 SheBelieves Cup champions after defeating Canada in Columbus on Tuesday.

After facing off against Canada in the W Gold Cup semifinals last March and  defeating The Maples through penalties, both national teams were to meet once again in hopes of winning a trophy.