United States head coach Emma Hayes says her side does not have time to talk politics as the former Chelsea boss returns to England.
The United States women’s national team (USWNT) is in its first international window since Donald Trump won a second term in the 2024 United States presidential election on November 5. Hayes’ team will face England at Wembley on Saturday, November 30 and then will travel to face the Netherlands on Tuesday, December 3.
When asked whether there had been time in camp to discuss the election since the players gathered, Hayes said: “No, we don’t. We definitely do not have time for conversations like elections.
“I’m sat next to one of the most competitive people I’ve ever met (Lindsey Horan). Lindsey will tell you about not winning on a couple of occasions this week in some of the (Cluedo) games we’ve had, including the league board. You can see in what she does that Lindsey’s all business.
“She only has time for things like that. She doesn’t want to sit and talk about things like politics with me.”
The question to Hayes on politics comes after USMNT star Christian Pulisic sparked controversy during his team’s 4-2 win over Jamaica on November 19 by following the Trump dance trend, moving his arms and hips similarly to the signature move of the president-elect.
Pulisic, 25, said after the match that the dance was not a political gesture. “It was just a dance that everyone’s doing. He’s the one who created it. I just thought it was funny,” the AC Milan forward explained.
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Meanwhile, the England-U.S. friendly is set to be played in front of a bumper crowd at London’s Wembley Stadium. England confirmed on its Instagram page three weeks ago that more than 70,000 tickets had been sold.
It will be the first time the U.S., the 2024 Olympic gold medalists, and England, the 2022 European championship winners, have played each other since a previous friendly at Wembley in October 2022, which the hosts won 2-1 to secure only their fifth victory in 19 meetings. That game saw 76,893 visit Wembley, which broke the record for the highest attendance at a USWNT friendly.
“I think we need to celebrate how far we (women’s football) have come and having over 80,000 paid fans to watch a great match-up is not just a sign of progress but shows that the Lionesses are sustaining support,” Hayes added. “So we can celebrate both countries and all that has been done.”
(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
