Emma Hayes sees Saturday’s Wembley clash between England and the United States as an opportunity to celebrate progress that has been made in the women’s game.
The friendly, a meeting of the top two sides in the FIFA women’s rankings led by the US, is expected to have an attendance of more than 83,000.
Hayes, who guided Chelsea to a glut of silverware in a 12-year tenure before taking charge of the USA team during the summer, was asked at her pre-match press conference how she felt English women’s football was doing in comparison to America.
Y’all ready for this?! ? pic.twitter.com/Iuvuq54A83
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) November 29, 2024
She said: “I know we (in the United States) have a thriving league in the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League), much like the WSL (Women’s Super League – England’s top flight).
“I think it’s fair to say both countries are committed to women’s sport and developing the women’s game.
“As always, we can talk about the things we need to keep doing to improve it, but I think we need to celebrate how far we’ve come too, and having 80,000 paying fans to watch a great match-up is again not just a sign of progress but shows that the Lionesses are sustaining a lot and being able to play at Wembley so often.
“So celebrate both countries, celebrate the work that’s being done, as opposed to pick it apart.”
“Hopefully it will be a fabulous game, I know both coaches (she and counterpart Sarina Wiegman) will want that and of course we both want to be on the winning team.”
The US, four-time world champions, turned to Hayes after crashing out in the last 16 of the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand – their worst performance in the competition.
After starting work in the role following the end of the 2023-24 WSL season, the 48-year-old subsequently guided the team to Olympic gold at the Paris Games, and in 13 games under her so far they have recorded 12 victories and one draw.
“I’m not just blowing smoke right now. I think for us going into the Olympics, the poise, the calmness, the confidence that we had and still have is directly related to how our manager is, how she is on the sideline, in meetings.
“And I have a lot of respect for that because it gives me calmness, gives us poise, gives us the confidence to go and do our thing and know we can.
“I think it’s really special with a leader. As a veteran, I’m still learning and growing as a player, and I think that’s the coolest thing for me. So think of all these young players coming in, into this environment and going into these games as well.”
