Photo: Amber Searls-Imagn Images
It’s no wonder Emma Hayes once said, “They don’t make players like Sam Coffey anymore…a gem.” Coffey has continued to justify that praise with another year of steady, standout performances — further solidifying her place among the world’s elite defensive midfielders.
Since her arrival in 2022, Coffey has become a midfield mainstay on the United States Women’s National Team. She anchors the team in a quarterback role, and her performances have grown in stature over the past few international windows, making every roster despite Emma Hayes’ ongoing experimentation with the squad.
So how has Coffey embedded herself so firmly in the midfield, and why does Hayes rate her so highly?
The role Coffey has taken up for the USWNT over the past year isn’t too dissimilar to her natural playing style. The Portland Thorns midfielder has been an all-round player capable of performing both offensive and defensive midfield duties without a drop in performance levels. Her earlier role was very much as a defensive number six, who’d get stuck into tackles and provide an outlet for the more advanced and forward-minded midfielders to attack. At the time of her debut in 2022, the team was looking to replace Julie Ertz who was the defensive lynchpin for the USWNT and trialed several players before Coffey made the position her own.
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