Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson gave the U.S. an early 3–0 lead as new coach Emma Hayes earned her first major tournament win with the team.
The U.S. women’s national team shook off any lingering Olympic bitterness, defeating Zambia 3–0 in its first outing of the Paris Games on Thursday. After disappointing appearances in the Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Cup, the U.S. needed to set the tone with a powerful statement out of the gates. In Nice, the team did just that. It was a sturdy performance from a young USWNT group eager to carve out a fresh identity under new coach Emma Hayes, who has only been with the squad since May.
The Group B opener was not only an Olympic introduction for Hayes, but for many of her players as well. Five first-time Olympians were featured in Hayes’s starting lineup against Zambia, including Trinity Rodman, who wasted no time leaving her mark on the game, and the tournament. The substitutes kept coming in the second half, with Hayes showing she is not afraid to look down her bench. With the changes, Crystal Dunn, who started on the backline moved up the pitch to the wing, while Jenna Nighswonger, typically an outside back, joined the forward line. This revealed another fundamental truth about Hayes's approach: a commitment to flexibility.
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