USWNT clinches Olympic quarterfinals with 'devastating' attack - ESPN

MARSEILLE, France — After watching her players complete what she called a «mature performance» in their 4-1 victory over Germany here Sunday night, new United States women's national team coach Emma Hayes was typically blunt in describing how she felt.

Her biggest positive? The team's attack, with Sophia Smith scoring twice, Mallory Swanson adding another for her third in two Olympic matches and substitute Lynn Williams closing the scoring to completely stifle any hope of a German comeback.

«I think we were absolutely devastating when we needed to be,» Hayes said, after the U.S. win booked her team a spot in the quarterfinals.

Biggest negative? Some poor decision-making that led to Germany having more chances than they might have deserved, with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher bailing out her teammates after some critical turnovers.

«I thought that we were our biggest problem,» Hayes said, adding that six matches into her tenure, «There's still things that irritate me about us, but that's for me to fix.»

Hayes then continued that her biggest concern — beyond the knee injury that forced off Tierna Davidson, who will be evaluated again Monday — is the emotional recovery that's required in a compressed tournament like this one.

The USWNT plays its final group stage match against Australia on Wednesday, and Hayes is planning to give the team a full day-and-a-half off before returning to the practice field.

«Can you imagine the adrenaline?» Hayes said. «You get so high, the comedown is like any hangover.»

Colorful phrases aside, it has been a whirlwind start for Hayes, who only took over the team in June, but now has them into the knockout rounds of her first major tournament. There is still a learning curve, she said, both between