Emma Hayes made her own luck with the USWNT at the Olympics | Beau Dure

The English coach benefited from a degree of fortune at Paris 2024 but she had the skill and pool of talent to exploit it

In evaluating any athlete, team or coach, the danger is always in drawing broad conclusions from results determined by the width of a toe or a bit of luck.

So many crucial moments in the history of the USWNT could have gone the other way. Kristine Lilly clearing a goalbound shot in extra time of the 1999 World Cup. Carli Lloyd's long-range shot in 2008, which many goalkeepers would have saved. Questionable penalty kicks all through the 2019 World Cup knockout rounds.