Since her arrival, Hayes has been adamant about reviewing the extended pool available to her to truly understand the squad’s depth and quality of players available to her. The strongest eleven speaks for itself but it’s the bench and second eleven that she needs to choose that can help make a difference in big games.
The announced tournament’s roster has brought some interesting names with a mix of regulars and debutants. There are some interesting choices but one area of particular interest is in the defense: Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson are Hayes’ first-choice center-back pairing, but it’s the positions behind them that remain wide open. Hayes has chosen a variety of players to operate there since the Olympic tournament till now such as Emily Sonnett, Eva Gaetino, and Emily Sams. This time the former Chelsea head coach has called up Tara McKeown alongside Sams. With Girma nursing a calf injury, it’s a chance for Hayes to play Davidson alongside a new partner.
