At each opportunity to repeat the old company line that the standard for the U.S. women's national team is gold medal or bust, new head coach Emma Hayes has instead paused and offered a more calculated, nuanced answer.
Hayes has not said that the goal is anything short of a gold medal, and she also has not committed to that being the only acceptable outcome for a USWNT in the middle of a rebuild. She continues to navigate a culture around the USWNT where the expectation is to win everything when she knows they can't win everything anymore.