The USWNT gives Emma Hayes a big problem to ponder after routing Canada | OneFootball

On a warm Wednesday night in Washington, the U.S. women’s national team welcomed Canada to a sold-out Audi Field for the final friendly of the international window.  The Stars and Stripes had already beaten Ireland twice, winning 4-0 in both matches.  They wanted to finish with a sweep, but to do that, they had to defeat one of their main rivals.

The USWNT did just that, defeating Canada 3-0.  And even while their performance did not quite live up to the standard of those Ireland games, they still substantially outplayed Canada and had numerous superb attacking sequences.

Two of the Stars and Stripes' three goals were from set pieces.

Sam Coffey scored the opener in the 17th minute. The second came from Claire Hutton, who joined the three other players who scored their first international goals during this window when she headed Rose Lavelle's beautiful corner kick corner downward off the turf before it bounded across the line.

Similar to the Ireland games, the USWNT continuously attacked with ferocity, from all angles and through many different players.  There were many opportunities to add a third, including Lynn Biyendolo's fantastic late effort.

The third finally came through substitute Yazmeen Ryan, who slotted home the dagger in the 89th minute.

So what's Emma Hayes' big problem?

After all three matches, it is clear Emma Hayes has a good problem on her hands, and that is player selection.  At the moment, the USWNT doesn't have established starters at most positions because so many players have made the most of their chances under the English manager. So how will she handle it?  Will rotation be a common theme?  Does she actually have too many options?

Of course, the answer to the last question is no.  It is never a bad thing to have multiple options, especially when they can compete at a high level, given the unpredictability of form and injuries. If Hayes can choose from three or more players in every position, and each player can compete against the top players from other top countries, then she can breathe easily.  That is the hope of every national team.

Whether the USWNT has that already is yet to be seen, but it feels like that's where this team is heading.  Another potentially related issue could be not only figuring out her best XI by merit but also what players play the best together. So far though, each lineup put out in the games during this window worked well, with no evident chemistry issues.

Needless to say, what happens when the European-based players are back remains a question.  Then, there are some USWNT players out due to injury.  Nevertheless, this is a good problem to have, and Hayes can ponder this throughout the summer.