"We Want the Hard Path": Hayes Brings a Building USWNT Into the Spain Test
The U.S. Women's National Team has a pressure-packed few months ahead of them. In early to mid-October, the Olympic gold medalists take on the reigning World Cup champions, Spain, in two home matches. While both of these games are just friendlies, there's no avoiding the pressure on the USWNT to perform well with the 2027 World Cup less than a year away. A win against the reigning champs would showcase to the world that the U.S. once again has a powerful chance to lift the trophy next summer. Even though the friendlies against Spain will have a meaningful impact on how the USWNT enters the World Cup, the team actually has yet to qualify for the tournament. They will play that deciding match in November.
About six weeks after their October friendlies, the U.S. will face El Salvador in the Concacaf W Championship quarterfinals. A win in this game will secure the USWNT's place in Brazil next summer. It's hard not to think of the U.S. as already qualified, considering a loss against El Salvador is highly unlikely. The USWNT currently sits second in the FIFA world rankings, while El Salvador is ranked 78th, a record high for the team. In the unlikely event that the USWNT does lose, their World Cup hopes are not over; they can still go through the Concacaf play-in match and FIFA's intercontinental playoff tournament to qualify.
As for the World Cup roster, head coach Emma Hayes may be giving us a look at who she could call up next summer in her announced roster for the Spain friendlies. Hayes has shown that she is always on the hunt for the strongest and most consistent players. Since taking over in 2024, she has capped 60 different players, 44 of them in 2025 alone. At least 30 of those were first-time caps, and her January 2026 roster had a 6.6 cap average among all players. Hayes has been testing out player dynamics and team structures, working to find the strongest team possible not only for the next World Cup, but also for the years to come after.
While this constant roster switch-up has slowed in recent months, with Hayes naming no uncapped players to her previous three rosters, the head coach is not afraid to still shake things up. Hayes named four uncapped players to her October squad: goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz, defender Evelyn Shores, and forwards Pietra Tordin and Trinity Byars. A fifth, Utah Royals defender Kate Del Fava, has since been called up to replace the injured Naomi Girma. While none of these players has earned a senior cap, they have already shown that they are powerful players. Shores, Tordin, and Byars have been impactful for their NWSL clubs, and all three have extensive experience with the U.S. Youth National Teams. Del Fava earns her first senior call-up at 28 after playing every minute for Utah since the club rejoined the NWSL in 2024. This is Silkowitz's third senior camp, though she has yet to see in-game action. These choices highlight how Hayes values the development of players. In her most recent press conference, she told reporters that "you can't always park the development of the generation that will be there for tomorrow." Hayes wants to build a long-lasting USWNT that can win even after her tenure is over.
Another surprise addition to Hayes' October roster is the return of forward Ashley Sanchez. Sanchez has not played in a USWNT game since October 2024 and hasn't been called up since January 2025. This NWSL season, she has scored 20 goals in 26 matches for the North Carolina Courage, tying the record for most goals in a single NWSL season. Hayes said the difference is her consistency: "I didn't see that last season nor the season before." She wants that quality on the national team, saying that "the next step for her is to maintain that consistency."
A not-so-surprising, but still exciting, aspect of Hayes' roster is the return of the famed 'Triple Espresso.' This is the second time the trio has been called up this year. 'Triple Espresso' was completed by Mallory Swanson, who returned to the USWNT in June for the first time since the birth of her daughter. Swanson had no game time in the USWNT matches against Brazil, but rejoined her fellow shots of espresso in training, making the trio whole again for the first time in almost two years. Hayes acknowledged that Swanson is "further behind" Rodman and Wilson in her return, but was clear about the goal: "My job is to get Mallory Swanson to the best available level by the time we reach the biggest games."
In her press conference, Hayes cited several players who are still on her radar. She mentioned Croix Bethune, Savy King, Jaelin Howell, and Jordynn Dudley as strong players who are progressing well and could be heading toward a spot on the national team. Dudley, a Milton native who starred at Cambridge High School and with United Futbol Academy before winning national titles at Florida State, drew one of Hayes' more pointed comments: "Let me go and see her do it at the [U-23] level." She'll get that chance this week, with the U-23s training side by side with the senior team at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center in metro Atlanta. The two camps are close enough that when Kate Del Fava was called up from the U-23s to replace Girma, she just had to switch hotels. Howell, whom Hayes called "a fraction unlucky not to be in," has since been called up to replace the injured Sam Coffey. Here again, Hayes speaks about the importance of seeing consistency from a player. The head coach also spoke about Jaedyn Shaw and Ally Sentnor, who have both been assigned to the U-23 team. Hayes said that she wants "to prioritize the development of players," having "less-experienced players" get minutes with the younger team instead of "always sitting on the bench and playing few minutes." She was clear that the move was not a demotion: "I don't think of this decision as being a negative." Again, this highlights how Hayes is thinking not only of the now but the future of the USWNT.
Injuries have already reshaped the camp, with Girma and Coffey replaced before the start of training. Catarina Macario and Olivia Moultrie have both been placed on the Season-Ending Injury list by their NWSL clubs. Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce has returned from injury, while goalkeepers Mandy McGlynn and Jane Campbell were left off the roster. Hayes said she wants more consistency from McGlynn in her club environment. As for Campbell, Hayes stated that she "is a tad unlucky to not be in."
No matter who makes that final roster, the 2027 World Cup in Brazil will set the stage for a USWNT redemption arc. While the national team has dominated in past tournaments, finishing in the top three at every World Cup before 2023, the last World Cup brought a devastating end for the USWNT. The team suffered a shock exit in the round of 16, losing to Sweden in a penalty shootout. While that upset still hangs heavy over the USWNT, a lot has changed in the last three years. The squad has changed drastically, with multiple legends of the USWNT having retired, including Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz, Megan Rapinoe, Kelley O'Hara, Crystal Dunn, and Alyssa Naeher. The Emma Hayes era has seen mass roster changes, including players from the 2023 squad no longer earning caps.
Not only have the faces of the USWNT changed, but so have the national team standings. The U.S. fell to a record-low fifth in the FIFA rankings in June 2024, but rose back to number one after winning gold at the Paris Olympics that August. They have solidly hovered between first and second place since then. The Paris Olympics also saw the fall of the 2023 World Cup medalists. In 2023, Spain took first, with England finishing second and Sweden third, but the World Cup champs fell short at the Olympics, placing fourth overall. The second- and third-place World Cup finishers failed to even qualify for the tournament. England is now ranked fourth, Sweden had dropped to eighth as of April, and while Spain has regained the first-place ranking, the Olympics proved that the team is not indestructible.
The high levels of skill and competition among the national teams will make for a very exciting 2027. The USWNT will be fighting hard to regain their championship title, while Spain will put up quite a battle to keep it. Both teams have star-studded players and have had wins and devastating losses in recent tournaments. The coming October friendlies will be a peek at the captivating soccer to come.
Hayes does not fear the coming games or World Cup qualifying. She said the USWNT is "not choosing easy" and that "we want the hard path." She wants her team to be tested against Spain, which she considers "the very best." Hayes also pushed back on calling it pressure: "As much as you call it pressure, most of us that are in this position don't view it like that." Instead, she said, "this is what makes us feel alive and want to be in the position where we're tested at whatever extreme that is." She is expecting a lot from her players. After all, she is working hard to make the USWNT champions next summer and in the World Cups that follow.
The first friendly against Spain will take place on October 10th at 2:30 pm ET at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. It will be broadcast on TBS and HBO Max in English and on Telemundo, Universo, and Peacock in Spanish. The second friendly will happen on October 13th at 7 pm ET at Subaru Park in Chester, PA. This game will be broadcast on TNT and HBO Max in English and on Universo and Peacock in Spanish. The Concacaf W Championship quarterfinal against El Salvador will happen on November 27th at 8:30 pm ET at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas. Concacaf's U.S. broadcast partners for the tournament are CBS Sports Golazo Network and Paramount+ in English and TelevisaUnivision in Spanish.
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