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The first task for Emma Hayes as head coach of the United States women’s national team was to transition from the golden generation of legends like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn into a new one that’s brimming with potential. Hayes has embraced this challenge with a focus on nurturing young, fresh talent.
The recent retirements of Morgan, Sauerbrunn and Alyssa Naeher in 2024, following Rapinoe’s farewell in 2023, opened the door for a new wave of players to enter the spotlight. Among them is Portland Thorns’ forward Sophia Smith, who has drawn comparisons to Morgan herself.
“She does what she needs to do … I feel like Soph is a little bit ruthless in terms of how she plays, but she does it super gracefully, and she’s pretty fun with it. So I could see a little bit of myself in Soph,” Alex Morgan told TODAY earlier this month.
What qualities make Smith such an obvious target of comparison to Morgan and why can she be even more influential than Morgan to Hayes’ brigade?
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