England coach Emma Hayes leaves Team USA captain in tears after leading them to Olympic gold as star says ‘what the hell’

EMMA HAYES left her Team USA captain in tears after leading the team to Olympic gold.

Lindsey Horan burst into tears during the post-match press conference after the US defeated Brazil 1-0.

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Her manager Hayes was very complimentary about the Lyon Women’s star player, describing the forward as “a pleasure to work with”.

Hayes said of her captain: “With this leader next to me, you don’t see all the work she does off the field, you don’t see all the conversations she has, whether it’s nurturing a young player, calming nerves or reminding people to have confidence.

“For her, performance comes first, for her, winning comes first. And yes, we’re competing in the Olympics, but at no point on our day off did we do unnecessary things or things that jeopardized the team’s performance.

“She made tough decisions with the players and I admire that a lot about her. Not only do I see why she is the leader of this team, but she also made my job a lot easier because she was strict with everyone, but also very fair.

“I’m really happy for Lindsey because she deserves it and doesn’t always get the recognition she deserves. It’s an honor for me to work with her.”

Horan, 33, began to cry when she heard Hayes’ words. After her manager finished speaking, she responded, “What the hell is going on?” before laughing.

Hayes put her arm around her captain’s shoulder and reassured Horan, saying, “I mean it, you know I mean it.”

Horan wiped away her tears and told reporters, “Don’t ask me any more questions.”

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Hayes has only been USWNT manager for two months and her first match as manager was against South Korea on June 1st.

She got off to a strong start, winning nine of her ten matches and leading the US to its first gold medal since London 2012.

Hayes left Chelsea Women at the end of last season to join Team USA.

She was manager of the Blues for 12 years, leading the club to seven WSL titles and five FA Cup wins.

Hayes also won the League Cup twice and led Chelsea to the Champions League final in 2021, which they lost to Barcelona.