Emma Hayes comments on her behavior as eight red cards shown in USWNT win over Brazil
· Yahoo Sports
In front of a rapturous crowd of almost 56,000 fans at Arena Castelão in Fortaleza, Brazil, Emma Hayes’ U.S. Women’s National Team bounced back from their recent 2-1 loss in São Paulo to win 1-0.
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While the sole goal of the night went down as an own goal by Isabela after a heavy deflection, the plaudits should go to Sophia Wilson, whose determined solo run and subsequent effort ultimately found its way past Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena, who was in excellent form.
The game, however, won’t be remembered for Wilson’s run, Lorena’s remarkable double save, nor the horrendous pitch conditions. Ultimately, this will be remembered as a game in which the warm climate saw tempers boil over both on and off the pitch, with eight red cards shown in all.
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Brazil boss Arthur Elias was the first to be sent off in the 78th minute, followed by a further three members of their staff as the second half wore on, for what U.S. Soccer described as the use of “foul and abusive language.”
Come added time, Bia Zaneratto was the first player shown a second yellow for shoving Emily Sonnett, after which the red cards came thick and fast, with Kerolin dismissed after she appeared to elbow Wilson in the face, while Tarciane and Ludmila were also sent off after they confronted the referee.
After the final whistle blew, the officials were quickly surrounded by security staff, as the Brazilian staff quickly ushered their players away from them.
Meanwhile, a furious Marta had some harsh words regarding referee Paola Cebollada López in an interview with SporTV, saying, via The Guardian, “She’s the one who wanted to be the main character of the show.
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“A crowd like that comes to watch a game, only for her to pull a stunt like that. I’m sorry, but this kind of officiating simply cannot happen – especially in a match between Brazil and the United States.”
All the while, the USWNT and head coach Emma Hayes went about their business, leaving the Briton with plenty to address post-game.
“My job is to have respect for the officials. My job is to make sure I stay in my technical area,” she said. “There is only one person allowed to stand. And my job is to be a role model for my players to display the behaviours to them that I want from them.
“And so I can only talk about my behavior, and I thought my behavior was good. And I thought my behaviors with my players in a very, very fantastic environment with a very noisy crowd, they bring a lot of energy, and I am very happy with the way I behaved today. So I can only speak to that.”
Going on to label the night “an experience I will never forget,” Hayes said, “I love the pressure and my players love the pressure because otherwise why play if you cannot take responsibility to be in these situations, to thrive, to cope with the demands and everything that come with that.
Marta laid into referee Paola Cebollada López in a post-game interview -Credit:Brad Smith/USSF/Getty Images“To find joy from the beautiful crowd, from the noise, from Marta, a real legend, so great always to be close to her. And to stand there as a coach with such pride for my players, proud of everything, to deal with everything that comes with this situation, to win duels, to create chances, many chances, to score the only goal, to keep a clean sheet, to keep 11 players on the field, to keep coaches in the technical area.
“All of these things I am so proud because we are still a team that are coming together, and we had a lot of players who've never experienced this before. So this is what can happen when you have a growth mindset, and this is what can happen if you're not focused on the result, we're growing, and I loved it.”