USWNT's attacking woes ahead of Summer Olympics; England kick off coaching carousel that could impact USMNT

Hey there! The Euros and the Copa America might be in the rearview mirror but there's much to discuss with the Olympics right around the corner and a brand new coaching vacancy. I'm Pardeep Cattry with a midweek check-in.

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⚽ The Forward Line

🇺🇸 USWNT go scoreless in Olympics tune-up

The U.S. women's national team wrapped up its pre-Olympics schedule with a 0-0 draw with Costa Rica on Tuesday, a performance that leaves some question marks about the team's offensive effort with about a week to go until their opening match against Zambia.

There was a lot the U.S. did right. Head coach Emma Hayes read aloud a social media post from Opta in her post-match press conference, noting that the team had 26 shots, 12 on target and 67 touches in the box -- the most the USWNT have posted in a match in which they failed to score. For all that effort, though, the U.S. churned out just 1.82 expected goals, fewer than the 2.28 expected goals in their 1-0 win over Mexico despite posting just 17 shots and only six on frame.

The team frequently looked disjointed in the final third on a hot and humid day in Washington, D.C., either misplacing important passes or failing to put impactful shots on target. Hayes is practicing patience even as the scoring issues that plagued the team during their disappointing run at last year's Women's World Cup have not magically disappeared, even with the personnel changes on the pitch and the touchline.

• Hayes: "If you play a game of percentages or law of averages, we're creating more and more high-quality chances and we're getting more numbers into the key areas. We're getting more touches in the key areas. The last part's the hardest part. I'm really patient because I've coached teams that have to break blocks down and it's the hardest thing to do in coaching. If we didn't create situations tonight, yeah, I might say something different. But I really love the intent of the team. They kept going with it."

Hayes also reflected on her first four Games in charge of the USWNT now that she's completed the small batch of friendlies before the Olympics, arguing that they offered important tests before the Olympics thanks to each team's different style of play. The head coach was also quick to suggest that it might be too early in her tenure for the team to actually be firing on all cylinders.

• Hayes: "If we went into Zambia perfect, I'd be worried. I feel the opposite. I think we've had in the Korea game, the Mexico game, the Costa Rica game, four very different exercises. One, as I said earlier, breaking down a mid-block. Two, breaking down an aggressive mid-block. Three, breaking down a team that beat us in the Gold Cup with more man-for-man marking. Four, breaking down a low, low block."

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🔗  Midfield Link Play

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Gareth Southgate's exit kicks off the coaching carousel

After nearly eight years in the job, Gareth Southgate officially ended his spell as the England manager on Tuesday, two days after the team lost in the final of the Euros. It comes as little surprise since Southgate himself admitted he was unlikely to stick around if the team did not win the trophy this summer, even though the FA was reportedly ready to offer him a new deal.

His exit means the speculation period is officially underway about England's next manager, who will be expected to build upon Southgate's impressive track record even as a nearly 60-year trophy drought looms large over the team. England technical director John McDermott has previously said the new head coach should be someone "immersed in the English game," and as James Benge writes, that's why several names familiar to the Premier League are in the mix.

• Benge: "English names will almost certainly figure prominently in consideration, in particular Eddie Howe and Graham Potter. The latter has the attraction of being available and has certainly demonstrated himself to have the same soft skills that won Southgate so many admirers. At Brighton, he proved able to coax swift development out of young players and to react when key players such as Ben White departed … Howe most recently said he is 'totally committed to Newcastle and always have been' and there has been no suggestion that his club do not feel the same after two seasons of success under the 46-year-old. However, this has been a tumultuous summer at St. James' Park that has seen Amanda Staveley and Dan Ashworth leave the club. Given that turbulence, it was notable that club CEO Darren Eales offered a swift warning to the FA that Newcastle would fight to keep their manager."

There is just as much speculation about where Southgate will end up. He was linked to the Manchester United job before the Euros as the club contemplated firing Erik ten Hag, and though United opted to keep the Dutchman around, his employment status still feels like a short-term thing rather than a long-term one. There is also the vacant U.S. men's national team job, which has already attracted enough attention that representatives for Spain's Luis de la Fuente reached out to U.S. Soccer just two days before the final of the Euros -- even if it was likely just an attempt to get more money out of his current employers.

U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker said the process is already underway to find a new head coach after firing Gregg Berhalter last week, and Southgate may be the highest-profile name available for the job. Hiring Southgate would achieve the aim of appearing ambitious ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil, but it also helps the ex-England manager's case that he and Crocker have already worked together.

Crocker was the head of coaching and player development at the FA from 2014 to 2020, first while Southgate was the U-21 head coach and then after his promotion to the senior team in 2016. The pair, alongside then-FA director of elite development Dan Ashworth, collaborated on the "England DNA," which fleshed out a style of play in which the England youth and senior teams dominate possession and encouraged teams to improve their tactical style by playing against opposition from all around the world. Though working on the former would be a long-term project for Crocker, the latter could serve as inspiration as U.S. Soccer arranges the USMNT's friendly-heavy schedule before the World Cup.

It is unclear how interested Southgate would be in the job, but at the early stages of U.S. Soccer's search for Berhalter's successor, the possibilities are seemingly endless.

🔗  Top Stories

❌ Racism investigation: Chelsea are investigating Enzo Fernandez after he and several Argentina players were seen allegedly singing a racist song about the France national team on Instagram Live shortly after winning the Copa America.

🇪🇸 Mbappe in Madrid: Kylian Mbappe was officially unveiled as a Real Madrid player on Tuesday, setting high expectations for a new era of excellence for the Champions League winners.

🩹 Messi's fitness: Lionel Messi will miss at least the next two games with Inter Miami after picking up an ankle injury in the Copa America final, forcing the question: How fit will he be in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup?

🏟️ Copa America chaos: Here's an explainer on the chaos in the latter stages of the Copa America, including the arrest of the Colombian Football Federation president on three felony charges of battery, and how it marred the 2024 edition of the tournament. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Southgate steps down: Here's more on Gareth Southgate's exit from the England job, as well as the qualities the FA should look for in his successor.

🇦🇷 Lessons from Argentina: After Lionel Scaloni led Argentina to yet another trophy, here's what U.S. Soccer can learn from his tenure as they search for Gregg Berhalter's successor.

🔴 Arsenal's transfers: Arsenal are being linked to Real Sociedad's Mikel Merino and Bologna's Riccardo Calafiori as they aim to upgrade after last season's second-place finish in the Premier League.

🥇 McGuire on Olympics: U-23 USMNT player Duncan McGuire stopped by Morning Footy to talk about the team's preparation before they play their first game at the Olympics in 16 years.

🏆 Eyes on 2026: With the countdown to the 2026 World Cup officially underway, here are way-too-early power rankings for the competition, a look at the Copa America team of the tournament, Colombia's strengths after their run to the final and France's weaknesses after their Euro semifinal exit.

❓ Weirdest transfers: With the transfer market set to heat up after the first round of summer tournaments came to a close, here's a look at the strangest transfers in recent years.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• Olympics women's soccer: Tournament winners
  💰 THE PICK: Spain to win gold medal (+200) -- The USWNT might still be the oddsmakers' favorites at +175, but a bet on a team that's at such an early stage of its transformation feels like a risky one. That's not to suggest that the U.S. are out of the running in the long term but even if their scoring problems do not linger in France, this gold medal is still Spain's to win. Expect the first-time Olympians to keep up the great work on the field for another year running and become the first team to win the Women's World Cup and the Olympic gold medal in consecutive years.
  

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