Over the past 40 years, the U.S. Women's National Team has been home to a large number of strong leaders and recognizable stars. Many iconic players have played in generations, with 14 accumulating 200 or more blocks and three eclipsed 300 points. However, today’s USWNT is marked by young experiences, with head coach Emma Hayes experimenting with deciding who will join her path to the 2027 World Cup.

Hayes started the youngest USWNT roster in 24 years against Brazil last month. She has encountered 23 first calls since being hired in November 2023. The 15 players in the current roster have 10 or fewer blocks, while the three goalkeepers have 4 blocks in total.

All of this highlights this shift over generations, a shocking moment in USWNT's history: For the first time in a long time, teams or spokespersons of large groups have no obvious faces.

Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn have played these roles prominently over the past decade, leading to USWNT back-to-back World Cup champions and standing on the frontlines of the battle, fighting for an equal salary. All three have retired in the past 18 months.

For any team, transitioning generations is natural and necessary, so is this a big deal? Well, yes, given the unique high standards of the USWNT program, the program won four World Cup and five Olympic gold medals – both world records. This is not the first time the new generation must receive at the location where its predecessors left, but the player turnover that takes place during this cycle is arguably unprecedented.

“Sometimes we just assume that everyone knows what the demand or standard for the U.S. women’s national team players are,” Hayes said recently. “But as I mentioned, we have a lot of new players who lack a lot of experience. We have to transfer that experience, we have to transfer the right way.”

Last year, clear evidence was provided that USWNT's Guard changes were going smoothly. Hayes officially took over the job in late May, and by mid-August, the team won the Olympic gold medal. Hayes said at the time that she didn't have to worry about her lack of time - her focus was on short-term in the Olympics. Only in the past eight months did she have time to plan her own vision of success.

During the Shebelieves Cup in February, Hayes sat down with Lindsey Heaps, Crystal Dunn, Emily Sonnett, Lynn Biyendolo, Tierna Davidson and Sam Coffey to discuss whether they see themselves as leaders—and that may not matter, she said, because their teammates see them as leaders anyway. The following weeks of conversations were held between players and employees, focusing on how to transfer the “non-negotiators” of work ethics and efforts (and she often calls “American DNA”) to a new group of players trying to establish their own identity.

"Their insights are priceless and I tend to learn from them to help the process," Hayes said of her experienced players. "At the moment, it will be a little unfamiliar, but I think we'll go to the next place. I'm sure of that."

The heap is the captain and most experienced player of USWNT, with 165 blocks. As Hayes pointed out after the Olympic victory in August, she is a passionate leader who organizes the team behind the scenes.

Heap is one of the few (or at least healthy) bridges left by players of the past generation. She entered the scene before the 2016 Olympics and was part of the 2019 World Cup champion team. There are only two other players on the team in 2019 in the current roster: Sonnett and Dunn.

Hayes confirmed last week that Naomi Girma was the deputy captain. Both Girma and Heaps have to grow into more voice characters.

“I think it only takes time,” Sauerbrunn told ESPN. “If you look at some of the personality of retirement in the team, it took us a while to get into Abby Wambach’s retirement and Shannon Boxx’s retirement (after the 2015 World Cup).

"You just learn something from the people ahead of you and then you have to learn it alone when you figure out what you're happy with. Some want to be a spokesperson, some are behind the weed."

However, USWNT does not live in the weeds. It is the most famous women's sports team on the planet and the most successful women's soccer team in history.

Sauerbrunn's generation had to publicly fight the American Football Federation and U.S. President Donald Trump as part of his years of seeking equal pay, which increased focus and scrutiny on USWNT. Sauerbrunn said she hopes the next generation doesn't have to take that much burden - but she also says it's not the real option.

"Even if they are willing to (handle these things), that's not because I think they have a responsibility to this platform," Sauerbrunn said. "But it's the kind of comfort they do within that platform."

Coffey, who has 33 hats, is the captain of the Portland Thorns Championship and one of several emerging leaders at USWNT. She said her leadership skills vary every day based on USWNT's needs, but she told ESPN that "we have trouble when we are quiet", which means she is often a source of positive reinforcement.

Coffey has hardly played with the previous generation of stars, but she still often sought advice from her former Thorns teammate Sauerbrunn, who she called "the gold standard of what it means to be a leader."

Sauerbrunn is the captain of USWNT during the past two World Cup cycles. Rapinoe and Morgan are the faces of the team that have become global superstars. Wambach previously served as a spokesperson and Star role, while Mia Hamm (including) before that.

Girma was clearly the pile-up leader when she was 24 years old and was already the vice captain. Girma already took on some of these responsibilities, but for simple reasons, there was a lot of experience around the team: injuries and other absences.

Girma became the first player to get a $1 million transfer in January and actually missed the last three USWNT camps due to injury. Davidson started attending the Brazilian Games a few days ago in March. Biyendolo missed the April game due to injury. Dunn missed the club and the country last fall for personal reasons. Rose Lavelle was eliminated all year round.

All three forwards leading USWNT to Olympic gold medals since the gold medal game - Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson (Nee Smith) - in addition to a cameo appearance with Rodman scoring in April. Wilson and Swanson are on maternity leave and Rodman is eliminated again due to a chronic back injury.

Rodman, 23, is becoming a star who goes beyond sports pop culture and is what Sauerbrunn says can reach Rapinoe's star status. "So, I think when you're also a face of the team, she's going to be responsible for being a team spokesperson," Sauerbrunn said.

Rodman is electric when on the court, and the media attention she attracts shows she has become USWNT's next Big Thing™. Staying healthy is her biggest challenge right now. She said earlier this year that she doesn't think her back will be 100% healthy.

There is an argument that Hayes is the biggest personality in the team, which further reflects the turbulence of the player pool. Last year, she won the first Ballon d'Or female coaching award, and she immediately caught people's attention whether in the locker room, board or packaging hall.

Hayes seems to have used her platform to absorb and deflect an external pressure on young, talented players such as Rodman, Jay Shaw and 17-year-old midfielder Lily Yohones. When the group discovered her identity, she preached patience.

"I think you see this inexperienced team growing," Hayes said after defeating Brazil 2-1 on April 5.

Who will be one of the next faces of USWNT? For a team used to having one, the lack of direct answers is an unfamiliar, uncomfortable location but not necessarily a problem that needs to be solved. This is a natural step in the transfer process.