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After guiding the USWNT to a gold medal with a short run-up to the 2024 Paris Games, Hayes can now really get to work

Winning a major tournament, in the best of circumstances, is hard. Doing so with a short runway? Almost impossible. That's what U.S. women's national team manager Emma Hayes accomplished this summer at 2024 Paris Olympics. That's why people are so excited about the future of this USWNT. It's because Hayes, in almost no time at all, accomplished the impossible.

This past summer was just the beginning. Hayes has signed on for a long-term project, which means that what happened in France was a first step. A golden step, to be clear, but it really was still a bonus and an indication that this team is already further ahead than many believed.

After making the perfect introduction at the Olympics in France, the real work has just begun for Hayes. The Olympics were about scrambling to put together a team that could compete; now, it's about building a program that wins over and over again. Not just instant success, but consistent, sustained success.

That process really begins now. The USWNT's October camp is the first since the Olympics and, more important, the first of a new cycle. After turning the Americans into champions in just a matter of weeks, Hayes now has three years to build on the Olympic win. She now has that window to really put her vision into place.

"Nothing changes in terms of it's another opportunity for us to create new history and new heights and an identity that is built on in an already outstanding program," Hayes said. "For me, it's just about evolving. The Olympics form a great basis and they're a great foundation for us, but it's not a future predictor for success."

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  A hot start

  When Hayes signed with U.S. Soccer, it was clear she'd finish the season at Chelsea before heading stateside. The USWNT knew they’d need to act fast once she arrived.

  Hayes, though, wasted no time.

  She took over on June 1 for a series of four pre-Olympic friendlies, which resulted in three wins and a draw. Then, once the Olympics rolled around, Hayes and the USWNT zoomed through the competition, ending the tournament with a Gold Medal Game win over Brazil to reclaim a spot among the elite.

  “Winning’s in my DNA," Hayes said. "I’m used to being in finals, I’m used to competing for trophies. And so is the U.S. women’s national team."

  In just a matter of weeks, Hayes had accomplished more than anyone could have believed. While that's great and all, she wasn't really brought in for the Olympics and she wasn't hired to win one tournament.

  That's the work that begins now: the work that Hayes was really hired to do.

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  The rebuild really begins

  Hayes, at her core, is a builder. She's a winner, too, obviously, but, deep down, she's a coach that appreciated impact just as much, if not more, than results. It's why she stayed at Chelsea for 12 years, turning the Blues into a powerhouse. It's also why she was so drawn by the USWNT job.

  So, while the Olympic run was fantastic, a career highlight, there's still so much to look forward to.

  This camp, which features two friendlies against Iceland and one against Argentina, offers a glimpse at that. With this being a victory tour, Hayes obviously leaned on her gold medalists, but there's some razzle dazzle mixed in there, too, in the form of newcomers.

  In total, 18 members of the Olympic squad are in the team for these friendlies, but there are eight players involved that weren't in France this summer. Some of those eight could be key in a few years time.

  Rising stars such as Olivia Moultrie and Alyssa Thompson will look to take the next step, while uncapped players like Eva Gaetino, Emma Sears and Hal Hershfelt push for their chance. Hershfelt, of course, was an alternate this summer, but is among the six uncapped players in camp.

  Starting now, the player pool will begin to turn over, adding new faces while phasing out some of the older ones. The current squad has five players over the age of 30, although a few of them could still be involved in a few years.

  "I've said this, although I say it privately more than I do publicly: the U.S. could quite easily put two teams out there," Hayes said of the current player pool. "There's always going to be players that are missing and there were players and there are players that are outside of this roster that equally deserves to be in."

  The Olympics laid a foundation, but now Hayes gets the chance to really build upon it. The culture is way ahead of schedule, and now Hayes has a group of young stars eager to show that they deserve a place in it.

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  Tactical identity

  Given her limited time with the USWNT, Hayes didn't introduce too many wrinkles when she initially took over. She guided her players, who were all supremely talented and empowered them by putting them in a position to succeed. When you're as good as this USWNT team is, that's all you have to do on most nights: give your players a chance to be better than the opposition's players.

  Hayes will look to do more, though. Whatever edge she can find, she'll surely take it and, now that she has some time to work with this USWNT group under a bit less pressure, she'll have the ability to get creative.

  "Tactically, we will evolve," she said. "That's the reality of it. I think you saw throughout the Olympics that teams started to sit a lot lower, sitting with a lot of bodies, and made it very difficult for us to break teams down. We had to find different ways against different opponents all of the time, much like playing against a team like Brazil that will go man for man all over the park.

  "For us, I feel like we've already got a great understanding of our principles. We just need to evolve it to the next step."

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  Youngsters on the rise

  Of the 18 players on the Olympic squad, 10 were at the Vlatko Andonovski's failed World Cup squad the summer prior. Hayes took those players, rebuilt their confidence and turned them back into winners. It was an incredible job.

  In the long term, though, the players who will define this team's future are really just getting started. Several of them are in this camp.

  We already know what Hayes thinks of Jaedyn Shaw, who looked poised to be a breakout star this summer. After watching her thrive under interim manager Twila Kilgore, Hayes looked ready to turn Shaw into a major part of the attack, only to see injuries limit her at the Olympics. Unfortunate, of course, but the 19-year-old attacker is just getting started. Under Hayes, Shaw should be a staple for years to come.

  Youngsters such as Olivia Moultrie and Alyssa Thompson have had their moments, Thompson actually a part of the 2023 World Cup squad, but Hayes will now get the chance to work with them up close and personal and help them live up to their lofty potential. Both are involved in this camp. Despite all of their experience, both are still teenagers.

  Gaetino, Hershfelt and Sears are in line for their first caps, and all are under the age of 24. Gisele Thompson, Kennedy Fuller, Croix Bethune, Trinity Byars, Lexi Missimo and perhaps even 17-year-old Lily Yohannes? There are so many young stars itching to break through, and developing those young stars into USWNT contributors will perhaps be the most rewarding part of Hayes' job.

Ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been working tirelessly to try and bolster his side in the attempt to return to some form of European competition.

The goalkeeper department has been a cause for concern for the Magpies, with number one Nick Pope missing over four months of the campaign due to a shoulder injury.

He was subsequently replaced by backup shot-stopper Martin Dubravka, who looked shaky at times and unable to match the quality demanded by a side pushing to finish inside the Champions League places.

As a result, Howe has been desperately delving into the market to find a suitable upgrade on the pair, with Giorgi Mamardashvili looking the main target at one point.

However, Newcastle refused to meet the £35m valuation of the Georgian, with the club exploring other options as a result in their hunt for a new shot-stopper.

Newcastle's current goalkeeping situation

In recent weeks, the Magpies have ramped up their efforts to sign Burnley's James Trafford, following the Clarets’ relegation back to the Championship.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed that the club have already agreed personal terms with the 21-year-old, but the two sides remain some distance away from agreeing a fee for his services.

Howe’s side were claimed to have had a £15m bid rejected for the former England U21 international, but Burnley are demanding a higher fee to make a profit on the signing, with former side Manchester City having a 20% sell-on fee.

Whilst Trafford has the potential to turn into an excellent Premier League goalkeeper, with the deal seemingly at a standstill, Newcastle may have to continue to explore other options if they are to bolster their ranks.

The club have also previously been linked with another talented goalkeeper, potentially needing to re-open talks for his signature, proving to be a better option than Howe’s current preferred choice.

Newcastle can forget Trafford in move for talented goalkeeper

Since the end of the 2023/24 season, Newcastle have been linked with a move for out-of-favour Arsenal ‘keeper Aaron Ramsdale, who could be allowed to leave the Emirates this summer.

He’s fallen down the pecking order, losing his number one spot to David Raya, with Ramsdale needing a fresh start to reach his full potential.

Despite his lack of game time, he’s still managed to feature a handful of times in the Premier League, producing an array of better stats than Howe’s main target.

He’s managed to concede fewer goals per 90 over the course of the last 12 months, also managing to achieve a higher pass completion rate than Trafford despite his ball-playing abilities.

Games

6

28

Goals against per 90

0.8

2.2

Pass accuracy

70%

66%

Clean sheet percentage

33%

7%

Crosses stopped

17%

7%

The “world-class” Arsenal talent, as described by former professional footballer Steve Nicol, has also demonstrated his quality without the ball, claiming 17% of the crosses into the box compared to Trafford’s tally of just 7%.

Ramsdale would undoubtedly be a huge upgrade on any of the club's current goalkeepers, given his proven quality in the Premier League, with Howe needing to push for a move to sign the 26-year-old ahead of Trafford if they have any ambitions of pushing for a Champions League spot next season.

A £75,000-a-week Manchester United player has reportedly agreed personal terms ahead of a move to a Champions League side.

Man Utd exit rumours

It promises to be another eventful summer at Old Trafford, this time with Sir Jim Ratcliffe as co-owner, who has now decided that Erik ten Hag will remain as Red Devils manager.

A number of player exits have already been confirmed ahead of the 2024/25 season, though, with Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial departing when their contracts officially expire at the end of the month.

They may not be the only senior departures, though, with speculation surrounding the futures of Jadon Sancho, Casemiro and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Sancho spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund but could be moved on once again.

The Brazilian midfielder, who missed the FA Cup final win over Manchester City, has already said his United goodbyes ahead of a likely exit, whereas Inter Milan are thought to be interested in signing Wan-Bissaka, who could sold for just £20m.

Another player who could move on for good is Mason Greenwood, who spent last season out on loan with Getafe. The forward has been linked with a move to Juventus, who have qualified for next season’s Champions League, and a new development has now emerged.

Mason Greenwood transfer update

Fabrizio Romano has recently stated that Greenwood’s Old Trafford career is “over”, with United exploring all options of a permanent exit for the player.

“We keep repeating since February, March that the Mason Greenwood story is over at Manchester United. They want to sell Mason Greenwood and my information is that it could be a loan with obligation to buy, so it could be that kind of formula – a potential loan move with buy obligation not option.

“Let’s see what’s going to happen but there are many possibilities around Mason Greenwood, and Man United will take the time to pick the best proposal. There is interest from Juventus but they have to sell at least one offensive player before they can land the player.”

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The transfer expert noted Juventus’ interest, and according to reports in Italy, Greenwood and the Serie A giants have reached an agreement on personal terms.

Ratcliffe and United want a fee of up to €50m (£42m) for Greenwood’s services, with talks between the two clubs underway. The £75,000-a-week forward made 36 appearances for Getafe last season, scoring 10 goals and registering six assists. His time at Old Trafford is all but over barring a dramatic U-turn, so it’ll be interesting to so if United can bring in a fee around their asking price of up to €50m.

Pakistan will look to create consistency and work on their batting ahead of the big event

Firdose Moonda15-Sep-2024Pakistan’s problems: Inconsistency from a team in transition
Pakistan are on their third captain in the last 18 months since last year’s T20 World Cup and their latest, Fatima Sana, will take the reins for the first time in this series. The 22-year-old bowler takes over from Nida Dar, who succeeded Bismah Mahroof, and has the job of creating consistency, especially at major tournaments.Pakistan have only won one match each in the last three T20 World Cups and will go into this tournament with tempered expectations of what would represent success. In a group that includes two tournament favourites – Australia and India – and the in-form Sri Lanka, getting to the semi-finals will take some doing, especially given their recent form.Related

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Since last year’s T20 World Cup, Pakistan have played 23 T20Is, won nine and lost 14 but among their victories have been series wins over South Africa (at home) and New Zealand (away). They’ll fancy themselves against New Zealand in the group stage, and other wins will be a bonus.Pakistan would also like to see an improved commitment to professionalisation from their board. In its 2022 women’s report, global player body FICA (now called WCA) said “fundamental changes are required to create a recognised pathway for female cricketers in Pakistan to make a viable living out of playing professional cricket,” and as recently as this week, that was evident. Players did not receive daily allowances at their training camp which has left some players low on morale ahead of an important event.Muneeba Ali is Pakistan’s leading run-scorer this year•Asian Cricket CouncilPakistan’s focus in this series should be on run-scoring, which is an area they have underperformed. Muneeba Ali is their highest run-scorer in T20Is this year with 280 runs from 12 matches. Their bowlers have enjoyed the bulk of the success with left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal collecting 18 wickets at 14.33 in T20Is this year.South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt said she “expects Pakistan to bowl a lot of spin so we are prepared for that,” both in the series and when they get to the UAE. South Africa’s stunning slide at home South Africa’s long-running search for an ICC trophy came the closest it ever had last February when the women’s team became their first senior side to qualify for a World Cup final, and that too at home. But a perfect opportunity to build on their success was squandered. There were delays in appointing a new coach and they will travel to this World Cup with an interim appointee Dillon du Preez on the back of a string of poor results.Since reaching the 2023 final, South Africa have played 18 matches in the format, won five and lost 10 with three no-results. They have not won one out of the six series they’ve played and lost series to Pakistan, Australia (both away) and Sri Lanka (at home) as well as a match to Bangladesh for the first time in a T20I.None of that will matter to a fan base desperate for a major trophy and ever-expected after both the men’s and women’s sides reached the last T20 World Cup final. South African supporters will need to be reminded that women’s cricket has grown especially strong in India since the last T20 World Cup, and with Australia and England always a step ahead, their team will have to find something or someone special to challenge for the trophy.Marizanne Kapp and Laura Wolvaardt are crucial players in SA’s top order•Getty ImagesHappily for South Africa, their new all-format captain Wolvaardt is among the best players on the global stage and leads with bat and on the field. She is their leading run-scorer in T20Is this year, followed by No. 3 Marizanne Kapp and her opening partner Tazmin Brits. All three of them have more runs than Pakistan’s Muneeba this year. While that speaks to the strength of the top order, it also points to problems lower down, especially as former captain Sune Luus has struggled. In the last 18 months, she averages under 20 with the bat, which makes South Africa extra reliant on allrounders Nadine de Klerk and Chloe Tryon for middle-order firepower.Both those players have the additional concern of their bowling attack, which has been underwhelming since Shabnim Ismail’s retirement. De Klerk is South Africa’s highest wicket-taker with eight wickets in nine matches this year and South Africa will be expecting more from the likes of Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune and young Ayanda Hlubi at the World Cup.Their spin contingent features a newcomer, 18-year old Seshnie Naidu, who could make her debut against Pakistan in this series, as she prepares for the big time. “It will be awesome for her to get a game and a taste of international cricket. I’ve faced her a bit in the nets and she has good control for such a young legspinner,” Wolvaardt said.Advantage Pakistan? Mostly, Wolvaardt wants to use the series as a barometer for whether South Africa have progressed since being blanked 3-nil by Pakistan a year ago in Karachi. “It will be a great judge to see if the work we have done behind the scenes is working,” Wolvaardt said.In that series, South Africa scored 150 batting first twice and failed to defend it and then could not chase 151 in the third match. “We’ve been talking a lot about finding that extra 10 to 20 runs,” Wolvaardt said.It’s unclear whether those runs will be needed at Multan Stadium, which will host a T20I for the first time. Wolvaardt described the experience of being the first international T20 side to play at the ground as “special.”

In a setback to both the player and the Delhi Capitals, Shreyas Iyer is set to miss the entire IPL 2021. ESPNcricinfo understands that Iyer, who is the Capitals captain, will undergo surgery to his left shoulder, which he partially dislocated on Monday while fielding during first ODI of the England series.It is understood that Iyer is likely to be out of cricket for at least a few months, thus erasing any hopes the Capitals had of him returning during the second half of IPL 2021, which will be played in India between April 9 and May 30.On Thursday, the BCCI had only confirmed Iyer had been ruled out of the ongoing three-match ODI series against England without releasing any details on the injury, as well as the surgery. It also wished Iyer “speedy recovery” as response to a tweet by the Indian batsman, who said he would be “back soon.” Iyer picked the injury during the early part of the England’s chase in the first ODI. Posted at extra cover, Iyer fell awkwardly on his left shoulder while successfully intercepting a drive from Johnny Bairstow in the eighth over of the England innings. Immediately, Iyer was seen grimacing and rolling on the turf while holding his left shoulder. After brief medical attention, Iyer was rushed out for scans, which revealed he had “sublaxtion” (partially dislocated) in his shoulder.It was the third time since IPL 2020 that Iyer had hurt the left shoulder, having also hurt it during the ODI series in Australia.Indications that Iyer’s injury this time was serious, came via a tweet posted early on Thursday by Parth Jindal, the Capitals’ co-owner. Jindal said he was “devastated and gutted”, and wished Iyer “quick recovery” as India “needs you in the T20 World Cup.” Iyer had been appointed captain of the Delhi Daredevils, as they were called then, during IPL 2018. The team had won only one of their first six matches that year, which made Gautam Gambhir, then the captain, step down. Iyer, who was then 23 years old, was identified as his successor, three years after the franchise had bought him as an uncapped player.Iyer had pipped local boy Rishabh Pant to the leadership position. He soon built a close rapport with the Capitals’ head coach Ricky Ponting, as the team’s fortunes turned around with playoff qualifications in the last two seasons. In 2019, the Capitals lost in the Eliminator, and in IPL 2020, they reached the final, losing to Mumbai Indians. Iyer was the fourth-highest run-getter in IPL 2020.

Sussex steer clear of danger on weather-curtailed final day

Paul Edwards11-Apr-2021

When a heavy snow shower ended this match just after lunch on the final day one or two wiseacres at Old Trafford suggested it was all one could expect if one played cricket at such a damn silly time of year. What such people appear to forget is that a year ago when the country had just entered its first lockdown, God’s mordant wit furnished us with one of the balmiest and driest springs in memory. It seems absurd to rule out playing first-class cricket in both April and September simply because the weather is a little iffy; if that was the criterion, we’d hardly get out there at all.Two much more persuasive analyses of this match were supplied after its conclusion by the Sussex skipper, Ben Brown, and Lancashire’s assistant coach, Mark Chilton. They suggested that a game many will recall for the complete absence of both spectators and warmth has still supplied much from which their players can benefit as they ready themselves for the five gorgeous months that await us. Lancashire already knew Dane Vilas was a batsman of the highest class, of course; his 189 was barely par. But the manner in which the home attack approached their work on this final morning, albeit they took only two wickets, was impressive indeed.Cricket to pay respect to Prince Philip

Play in the County Championship next Saturday will pause between 2.50pm and 4.10pm, to coincide with the funeral of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The ECB has also recommended that play in recreational cricket stops between 3pm and 4pm, to allow players to observe the one minute’s silence at 3pm.

“That first session is a benchmark now,” said Chilton. “We played with great intensity even when we weren’t picking up wickets. That’s the level at which the players want to perform and if they continue like that, they’ll get the results.”To a degree one needed to watch the cricket closely for two hours to see what Chilton meant. The maintenance of lines of attack, the scarcity of loose balls and the enthusiasm of Lancashire’s fielding rewarded careful study. Even then, Sussex’s openers, Tom Haines and Aaron Thomason resisted Saqib Mahmood, Tom Bailey et al for over an hour until Mahmood took two wickets in successive overs. The first of these fell after two long legs had been posted for Haines, who obliged by hooking the ball straight to Tom Hartley, the finer of the fielders. Less than ten minutes later Stiaan van Zyl’s rather miserable return to the colours was completed when he was leg before to Mahmood for 4, but Thomason and Tom Clark took their team to lunch without further mishap.Not, however, without further comment. Thomason, a properly combative fellow, had apparently already irritated Lancashire by his desire to go off for bad light on Saturday evening, although his keenness may be attributed to an understandable wish to avoid hypothermia. However, when Luke Wood piled into 20-year-old Clark in an attempt to unsettle the lad, Thomason was soon atop the barricades. He and Vilas had already exchanged pleasantries when the umpires decided to snuff the matter out before it graduated from tetchiness to hostility. This attempt was only partially successful for it appeared that Neil Bainton and Martin Saggers were monitoring the situation throughout the morning, rather in the manner of United Nations peacekeepers. In truth the affair was manbags at coffee-time. There will be a few more such contretemps before September is out.But the argy bargy encouraged Brown, who had led the Sussex side comprehensively disembowelled by Lancashire on three boiling days in July 2019. And even more heartening to him had been the bowling of offspinner Jack Carson in freezing condition on a very good pitch and that of debutant Sean Hunt, who picked up three wickets and was the pick of Brown’s seamers in Lancashire’s first innings.”I’m really proud of our efforts,” said Brown. “To go toe to toe with a really strong Lancashire side, one that you would expect to be up there at the end of the season, was a great start to the season. To judge from that last session of fiery cricket I think we rather surprised Lancashire and it’s just a shame that the weather took a hand on the last two days.”To see the guys have each other’s backs is something I’m very passionate about. I thought it was really hard first-class cricket but Sussex v Lancashire has a fantastic tradition of fiery games and to renew that and see people stand up for each other made it an excellent start to the season.”So what price playing in April now? Sussex travel to Cardiff on Wednesday where they will meet a Glamorgan side buoyed by the cricket they played at Headingley. Lancashire host Northants, who responded to Kent’s tall score at Canterbury with one of their own. And all 18 teams have a chance of winning the County Championship. Heavens above, if things carry on like this, there is a danger we might start enjoying ourselves.

Australia coach Justin Langer accepts the national team’s public espousal of high behaviour standards left them open to a heavy round of criticism following an unedifying final day of the Sydney Test, and found parallels between Steven Smith’s crease scratching episode and his own “bail tapping” incident in Si Lanka in 2004.While Langer went on the attack about some of the more outlandish criticisms of Smith in particular, revealing on morning radio that he had personally called Darren Gough and Michael Vaughan about their commentary on the episode, he was also self-aware enough to know that the way the Australia side has tried to make high profile improvements to team behaviour and culture since the 2018 Newlands scandal left many observers sweating on the next lapse.When it arrived in the form of the captain Tim Paine’s combination of harangues at R Ashwin and dropped catches during India’s unlikely escape with a draw at the SCG, the howls of derision from around the world, particularly in England at the outset of an Ashes year, did not unduly surprise or alarm Langer.”Just a good reminder isn’t it … I remember a great mate of mine told me a few years ago if you’re going to build a house or a hotel, it takes years to do it, but it takes a couple of hours to rip it all down with a bulldozer,” Langer said. “So we’ve got to be on top of our game all the time, but also our players are human.Related

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“In a lot of senses they’re in very different circumstances with how they’re living, they have been through England, they’ve been through IPL, they’ve been in hubs, all that sort of stuff. But that’s okay, we’ve just got to make sure we’re on top of our game all the time.”That’s one of the challenges of leadership, that’s one of the challenges of putting yourself out there and talking about culture and how important culture is. You can’t slip, and if you do slip, you get criticised for it, and that’s all okay. But we’ve hopefully had the courage to say ‘no, no, this is what we expect, this how we’re going to behave’, so when we don’t do it to the standard we expect, we expect to get criticised for it.”Early in his coaching career, Langer was profiled by the magazine and asked whether the episode in which he was cautioned by the match referee for inadvertently flicking off a bail during a Test match in Sri Lanka in 2004 – the over before the Australians appealed for hit wicket against Hashan Tillakaratne after Ricky Ponting noticed it on the ground – meant his integrity should be questioned.Langer has always maintained the incident was the accidental extension of a habit of touching the bails as he walked past them between overs, and said that afterwards he was far more conscious of himself and did not do it again. Similarly, he expected Smith to be much more aware of the crease area being the domain of the batting side when he was fielding, even if no-one is calling for his many shadow-batting quirks to end.”I actually spoke to Steve about it the other day,” Langer said. “I reckon I tapped the bail every single time since I was 10 years old. I remember being interviewed a couple of years ago and someone brought it up then about whether I was the right person to lead Australia because of what I did in Sri Lanka all those years ago. I nearly fell off my seat. It was the most innocent thing.