USWNT faces challenges ahead of 2024 Paria Olympics

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

PASADENA, TEXAS (June 15, 2024) The United States women's national soccer team is going through a big change as they get ready for the 2024 Olympics. With new head coach Emma Hayes, the team is facing some tough challenges. They have fallen to their lowest-ever FIFA ranking, now sitting at No. 5.

The updated FIFA rankings released on Friday show that the U.S. dropped one spot from their previous rank in March. This is the lowest ranking for Team USA since FIFA started ranking women’s teams in 2003. It also marks a drop of three spots since the beginning of the year.

The decline began last year when the U.S. lost to Sweden in the Round of 16 at the World Cup. This was the first time the Americans failed to finish in the top three at the tournament since it started in 1991. That defeat pushed them down to No. 3 in the standings, behind Sweden and 2023 World Cup champion Spain.

Despite this, the team showed some strength by winning the SheBelieves Cup recently, beating Japan in the semifinals and Canada in the final.

The Olympics will be Emma Hayes' first major event as the head coach. Hayes, who had a very successful 12-year run with Chelsea, was named U.S. head coach in November. She has a record of 261 wins, 42 losses, and 64 draws, along with seven Super League titles and five FA Cup titles.

For the upcoming friendlies against Korea Republic, Hayes selected a 23-player roster with only 11 players from the 2023 World Cup team. She made some surprising choices, like picking defender Sam Staab over the more experienced Abby Dahlkemper.

Hayes told reporters:

"If we can perform at our best level, then we have a chance of doing things. But we've got work to do. The realities are that the world game is where it is, and the rest of the world do not fear the USA in the way that they once did and that's valid. It's our job to grasp quite quickly what we need to do to get close again to those levels."

Team USA will start their Olympic journey in Group B with Zambia, Germany, and Australia. Their first game is on July 25 against Zambia.