USWNT’s Emma Hayes says all players have trained for Olympic semifinals: ‘It’s a great sign’

LYON, France — The U.S. women’s national team has survived the tough times of the Olympic Games, but ahead of Tuesday’s semifinal against Germany, everyone was training.

“It’s a great sign,” said head coach Emma Hayes ahead of the team’s training in Lyon, but she gave no further details on who might be available for the match.

The US will play a revenge match against a team they have played before in this tournament, but it was clear that Hayes and the players did not expect the same type of match as in Marseille.

“Even when you play the same opponent a week apart, it’s always two very, very different games,” Hayes said. “Our shot conversion was high in the first game. This is an exciting matchup, but we’re preparing for it a little bit today. We did some work yesterday, so we’re ready.”

Hayes also noted that the USWNT is dealing with teams that have been under their head coaches for longer periods of time, which makes them more tactically cohesive. “I have to speed things up, so I don’t make a lot of changes,” she said Monday, adding another defense of the team’s lack of rotation.

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As for Germany, Hayes said they have returned to some of their “German DNA” under head coach Horst Hrubesch. “They are very direct, incredible in transition, but also a team that knows how to stay in a game,” she said.

Germany needed both extra time and penalties to defeat Canada in the quarter-finals, with goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger playing a major role in the shootout, saving two penalties and then converting Germany’s final kick for the win.

As for the USWNT’s health, defender Tierna Davidson collided with German defender Jule Brand in that first meeting. Emily Sonnett replaced Davidson in the 44th minute of that match and the next two games against Australia and Japan. Hayes said at the time that Davidson was nursing a knee contusion.

On Saturday, the U.S. battled Japan for 120 minutes. Trinity Rodman scored the game-winning goal in the 104th minute, but Emily Fox, Korbin Albert and Rodman all needed help from their coaches in overtime. Fox came off the field after her injury in the 121st minute, with Casey Krueger taking her place. All three players appeared to move well during the media warmup Monday, though Davidson again wore a full-length sleeve on her right leg.

Players admitted that fatigue was an issue during this tournament, but that was to be expected.

“Fatigue is inevitable,” Rodman said Monday afternoon. “It’s at this point in the tournament where it’s about who’s mentally stronger? Because physically you might feel like you can’t handle it. It’s the mental game that you keep playing and honestly the last game was just a mental game of ‘We’re going to push as hard as we can physically, mentally, emotionally for this game.'”

Rodman scored the winning goal, helping the US qualify for the semifinals (Daniela Porcelli/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Rodman expected more of the same in the semifinals. The team will have to rely on its support staff and their recovery tools, as well as their mental acuity, to pull through again. Rodman’s overtime goal showed that the team is ready to step up in big moments in knockout games under Hayes, but it was also a reminder that any of the USWNT’s front three can be the player to step up.

Midfielder Sam Coffey, who returned from her yellow card suspension heading into the semi-finals, was asked on Monday to describe the team’s attacking line.

“They’re like the big three, but they’re all Michael Jordan,” she replied. “They’re incredible and their chemistry is so amazing to watch.”

Coffey also said the chemistry throughout the starting lineup is improving, especially since Hayes has committed to the same group of players and minimal changes unless forced to.

“Obviously there’s a challenge in the fatigue element, but it’s great that we’ve been able to keep building through the tournament and the ups and downs. We’re learning a lot about each other and what it means to play together and be a tight group,” Coffey said. “I think that’s only going to continue tomorrow.”

(Top photo: John Todd/ISI/Getty Images)