Emma Hayes will visit San Diego later this month, and — along with her son, Harry — she plans to hit many of the popular tourist spots: the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld and Balboa Park’s Air & Space Museum.
But Hayes has another, more pressing reason for her visit.
As coach of the United States Women’s National Team, Hayes sees the American soccer squad’s Feb. 26 trip to Snapdragon Stadium as an important first step toward the 2027 Women’s World Cup championship.
“This isn’t just about (the) SheBelieves (Cup),” Hayes said of preparations for the tournament. “This is about competing for a World Cup.”
The SheBelieves Cup is a four-team, round-robin tournament that pits the USWNT against Australia, Colombia and Japan in a three-city tour. It begins on Feb. 20 at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, moves to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 23 and concludes three days later in San Diego.
The USWNT will take on Japan at 7:30 p.m. following Australia’s 4:30 p.m. match against Colombia.
Japan’s national team features Hinata Miyazawa, a midfielder for Manchester United in the Women’s Super League and the leading goal-scorer at the 2023 World Cup.
The USWNT edged Japan in a dramatic 1-0 quarterfinal victory at last summer’s Paris Olympics, Hayes’ first competition as the American coach. The USWNT also beat Japan 2-1 in last year’s SheBelieves Cup.
This year’s SheBelieves Cup comes with plenty of San Diego flair.
San Diego Wave defender Kaitlyn Torpey is set to represent her native Australia, and the event could mark an unofficial send-off for former Wave stars Jaedyn Shaw and Naomi Girma.
The Wave traded Shaw to the North Carolina Courage last month, while Girma netted the Wave a $1 million transfer fee from Chelsea in the WSL, a record-setting deal.
Girma has yet to debut for the English club while recovering from a calf injury that could also sideline her in the SheBelieves Cup.
The USWNT roster will be released next week, and if Girma is healthy, she could play a role.
She has a fan in Hayes, who once referred to Girma as the best defender she had ever seen.
“I already feel like I did her a bit of a disservice by placing so much pressure on her,” Hayes, a former Chelsea coach, said.
“I want to wind my neck back in for Naomi’s sake more than anybody else. Beyond the million standout qualities she has, humility and hard work, as well as having the best smile on the planet, are central to who she is.”
Regardless of whether Girma is available, the SheBelieves Cup promises to be a sample of what Hayes expects from the USWNT over the next two years.
With eyes on 2027 and the World Cup in Brazil, Hayes faces a much different timeline for her next major international tournament compared to her first time helming the USWNT. She was named coach in November 2023 but was only able to begin working with the team in spring 2024.
The USWNT’s 1-0 defeat of Brazil in the Olympics’ gold-medal match was just Hayes’ 10th time overseeing the squad.
“My job is to put the framework into place. I want the bricks and the mortar to be solid across however many players come (to the USWNT),” Hayes said. “The last six months have been about really drilling that. … You have to do that from a defensive perspective; you have to do it from an attacking perspective.”
“The next phase is now everybody understands that framework,” she added. “Now, how do we coach that next layer of detail in whatever capacity that might be?”
The three matches awaiting the USWNT in the SheBelieves Cup factor into Hayes’ mission, making this more of a work trip than a vacation — even if she does get to take her son to the zoo.
