U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes will continue to explore the wider player pool in the team’s friendlies against Brazil next month but is still counting on a handful of veterans to introduce the newcomers to the expectations of playing in the group.

Hayes has used the post-Olympics period as an opportunity to expand the player pool, calling in 11 players with 10 or fewer caps and another six with less than 30 international appearances for the April friendlies. Some of her roster decisions can be attributed to the fact that some major players are unavailable – defender Naomi Girma, for example, has not played since getting injured in her Chelsea debut this month, while forward Sophia Wilson is currently on maternity leave. Hayes, though, has been happy to take advantage of the two-plus year time period between the Paris Games, where the USWNT won gold and the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Furthermore, U-23 players will have their opportunities during the April camp alongside the senior team, which will train at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. ahead of the April 5 friendly against Brazil.

Hayes has tasked a group of six players, including Lindsey Heaps, Lynn Biyendolo, Sam Coffey, Tierna Davidson, Crystal Dunn, and Emily Sonnett to help bridge the experience gap during these camps.

In a recent press conference, Hayes emphasized, “In the last camp, we sat with about five or six players at the beginning of camp to talk about where we are in the journey and talk about whether we see ourselves as leaders or not is sometimes largely irrelevant because other people see you as that so how you support that. It’s important that we roadmap what that looks like so that they can support it where possible but also focus on their own performance where needed.”

The head coach hopes the players can translate those lessons into their performances on the field, as well as show growth after February’s 2-1 loss to Japan in the SheBelieves Cup.

Dunn shared thoughts on the young players feeling comfortable asking questions and how the environment challenges them for improved performance, stating, “I really love when the young ones come up to us and ask a question and don’t feel too nervous or scared to do it because I know that feeling. The young ones have to see how hard it is to be here. We don’t take any moment we’re in this environment lightly.”