USA motivated to prove gold standard in Wembley ‘chance of a lifetime’

Lindsey Horan’s nails are painted gold and she laughs embarrassedly when asked if they are a celebration of the US team’s Olympic gold in Paris, a statement against Saturday’s opposition over their status. “No, it had to be brown chrome,” she says, turning a little red. “It was a translation problem.”

Her manager, Emma Hayes, who sat next to her at Tottenham’s training ground before the match against England at Wembley, says: “She has the most incredible necklace though.” The five Olympic rings hang in gold around Horan’s neck and the captain promises she will get one for Hayes.

Olympic gold was secured 72 days after Hayes’ first training session, with the team ruling themselves out of 2023 World Cup contention under Vlatko Andonovski. Now they’ve had Hayes for six months.

“Has it been six months? That’s strange,” says Horan. “It was incredible. I’m not just blowing smoke now. For us, going into the Olympics, the poise, the calmness and the confidence that we have had and continue to have is directly related to how our manager is and how she is on the sidelines and how she is in meetings.

“I have a lot of respect for that because it gives me peace. That is really special with a leader.”

The maximization of time spent in international camps has also been significant. “We only had a little time to prepare for the Olympic Games,” said the Lyon midfielder. “The learning moments are so crucial in these camps.”

Is it easy to get back on track after a big tournament win or do they need a lot of motivation for a match like Saturday?

“We shouldn’t do that,” says Horan. “It’s very difficult though; we are all in different scenarios. We have NWSL [National Women’s Soccer League] players coming to the end of their season. You have me who is currently in the middle of the season, and a few European players who are like that. After the tournament itself it’s hard to get back into your environment and get back up there, but I think all the players did a really good job.

“When I came into a game like this, my message to the players was: this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Obviously we’re getting more and more of these opportunities in women’s football, but we’re going to play England at Wembley. You don’t have to motivate yourself for that.”

For Hayes, it’s not really an opportunity in her life; she has had many big moments at Wembley as Chelsea manager. “This is another moment to be there,” she says. “I wouldn’t say this is the opportunity of a lifetime. Coaching this team in every game is that for me: it just happens to be tomorrow at Wembley.”

In terms of what to expect from the Olympic champions, Hayes has the chance to experiment, with powerful front trio Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson rested at home with ‘nagging injuries’ after a long season. What they hope to learn, still early in their journey under Hayes, is broad.

“I enjoy making the tactical developments from camp to camp to help us continue to improve on both sides of the ball,” said Hayes. “So I always want to see that first and foremost. If you don’t get a lot of time, you need to maximize it with the right things during training. Ideally, we’ll see some of that progress first.

“Secondly, just the development of our talent pool. This is not an easy environment to get into and for some players this may be their first, second or third camp. I want to see them get more comfortable and comfortable with the way we play shows, whether that’s from a starting position or from the bench.”

The goal is the 2027 World Cup. They have to qualify, but everything is about building up to that tournament. Noting the “very limited” options she has in her squad, Hayes said: “It will always be difficult to find the right balance between playing a team that knows how to work together and how to play at the highest level have to perform versus developing players who don’t know that yet.

“I think 2025 will be about doing those things while always striving to win. There is no need to talk about that. That’s what we do every day.”