World Cup

When Emma Hayes took the reins of the women’s national soccer team in 2024, one of her first goals was to plumb the depths of the team’s talent pool. She knew what she had on the surface with veterans such as Rose Lavelle, Naomi Girma, Lindsey Heaps and Trinity Rodman. But what about the players under them? Who could step in in case of injury, absence or a lack of form?

Twenty months later, Hayes still hasn’t reached the bottom of that pool, making this month’s training camp in Carson an important one with World Cup qualifying looming in the fall.

“Some of the pool players are going to get an opportunity to shine,” she said. “Some are high-potential prospects. I think about Hal Hershfelt or Croix Bethune, players who have not had a lot of opportunity with us. I get a chance to really see where they’re at.

“My message is these players really have to take these opportunities because they will become few and far between.”

Hayes has given 27 players their senior national team debuts and has used 50 different starters in her 30 matches as coach. No other U.S. manager has named more than 36 starters over a similar span. And the number of debutantes could grow since three of the 26 women called up are still looking for their first international cap — something they could earn this month since the training camp will end with friendlies against Paraguay on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park and Chile at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 27.

Saturday’s matinee will include a pregame tribute to Christen Press, a two-time world champion who announced her retirement last fall.

But as valuable as the continuing auditions may be, the decision to call up a roster of young, NWSL players was made out of necessity, not design. Because the camp falls outside a FIFA window, Hayes was unable to summon European-based players such as Girma, Heaps, Alyssa Thompson, Crystal Dunn and Catarina Macario. Also unavailable were Jaedyn Shaw, Jaelin Howell, Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett and Lavelle, U.S. Soccer’s women’s player of the year, who will all be playing for Gotham FC in next week’s FIFA Women’s Championship Club in England.

U.S. coach Emma Hayes, center, speaks with players after an international friendly match against Italy in December.

(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)

“If the European-based players and the Gotham-based players were here, this would be a completely different roster,” Hayes said. “But that’s not the case.”

It’s also nothing new. The coach hasn’t had what she considers her first-choice roster since taking over the national team.

Injury kept Macario off the team that struck gold in the Paris Olympics, Hayes’ first tournament as coach, while forwards Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson have been on maternity leave since the Olympics. Injuries have limited Rodman, another forward, to one game over the past 18 months.

Despite that, the U.S. has lost just three of 20 games since climbing off the medal stand in Paris. So while she would prefer to start the new year with the veteran core of her 2027 World Cup roster in uniform, that didn’t happen. Instead, the 26 invited players — among them Rodman, Angel City defender Gisele Thompson and Santa Clarita’s Olivia Moultrie — average 24.1 years of age and 6.6 caps of senior-team experience.

“What I’ve learned since the Olympics is I can never, ever pick the best roster because I’m always going to be without players,” she said.

With the World Cup a year away, the tryout period will soon be ending. Hayes said she and her staff have mapped out how they’d like to see 2026 unfold, and that plan includes narrowing the potential player pool to about 35 women ahead of the SheBelieves Cup in March.

“Once we get to SheBelieves, if everyone is available to me, it will be the group that are strong candidates to be [part of World Cup qualifying],” she said. “It will be an extremely competitive roster.”

Yet it will be one that still won’t include Wilson or Swanson, who combined for seven of the team’s 12 goals in the Olympics. Wilson gave birth to a daughter in September, two months before Swanson did the same. Hayes, who had a son in the spring of 2018, doesn’t plan to rush back either player.

“I know how long it takes to recover after having a baby. That’s why I don’t like putting time frames on it,” she said. “Hormones play a big part of it. And you don’t actually realize that until you’ve had a baby.

“For some the recovery is quicker than others. Depends on your age, depends on type of birth, sleep. Loads of things.”

In the meantime, Hayes will keep dipping into the talent pool she has.

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

On June 12, Peggy Orenstein’s inbox flooded with booking requests for her Inglewood Airbnb.

The date seemed random, but after a quick search, the influx of interest became clear. It was exactly a year before one of the biggest events in American soccer history, when the U.S. will kick off its World Cup in a match against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, and Orenstein had set up the system to only accept booking requests up to a year in advance.

Orenstein’s rental sits just across the street from the venue. Suddenly, her Airbnb became one of the hottest homes in the Southland.

She hadn’t adjusted the prices yet to reflect the rabid demand, so she declined the requests and tweaked the rates. Typically, a two-night stay at the house would cost around $1,000. For a two-night stay during the Americans’ opening match June 12, it’ll now cost more than $10,000.

Roughly 6.5 million people are expected to travel to North America during the 2026 World Cup, and many of them will be heading to L.A., where SoFi Stadium is hosting eight games, including two U.S. matches during the group stage. Airbnb hosts are viewing the games as a gold mine, hoping soccer fans will shell out thousands to stay near the stadium.

The World Cup rental market will serve as a test case for the 2028 Olympics, when an estimated 15 million people are expected to visit Southern California.

For the night of the opening match June 12, more than 70% of short-term rentals in Inglewood have already been booked, according to data site Inside Airbnb. That’s a 58% increase compared to typical reservation rates on normal days.

Rates are rising as well. On June 1, the average booked rate for an Airbnb in L.A. is $245, according to data platform AirDNA. On June 12, when the U.S. plays Paraguay, it’s $382 — a 56% jump.

In Inglewood, prices are even wilder. Homes that normally rent for hundreds are listed for thousands. The nightly price for a one-bedroom apartment a block from SoFi is typically around $400. On June 11, the day before the game, it’s $713. On June 12, the day of the game, it’s $1,714.

“It’ll be interesting to see how much people will pay,” Orenstein said.

Some hosts use an algorithm to determine their nightly rates, but Orenstein sets the prices herself. She arrived at the $10,000 number by looking at nearby hotels, which are mostly sold out for the nights of the eight World Cup matches.

“The Lum Hotel had a suite available during the World Cup for $1,943. Meanwhile, our house can accommodate eight guests with four bedrooms, plus a kitchen and yard,” she said.

There are classic amenities such as a grill and hot tub, but the biggest amenity is proximity. Orenstein is banking on visitors ponying up for the convenience of parking at the property and walking to the stadium while everyone else navigates traffic jams and long rideshare waits.

“It gets crazy out there,” she said. “I’ve had people offer to pay me $40 to use the bathroom while walking by during a Taylor Swift concert. Our neighbor sold parking spots for $1,000 during the Super Bowl.”

David (pictured) and Peggy Orenstein, run an Airbnb across the street from SoFi Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Colin Johnson has been renting out his home near SoFi Stadium for two years. It’s his actual residence, meaning when someone stays there, he has to book a hotel or crash on a friend’s couch. But he said the payouts are worth it.

“There are so many events and venues around us, why wouldn’t we take advantage?” he said.

A typical two-night stay in the three-story townhouse runs about $600. For the U.S. opening match, it costs more than $3,000.

Johnson said demand is roughly 60% Americans and 40% foreigners, but he expects foreign interest to pick up as the games get closer.

Demand isn’t limited to Inglewood. Luxury rentals across Los Angeles are being booked for eye-popping numbers, according to Mokhtar Jabli, founder of luxury rental platform Nightfall Group.

He’s booked two so far. The first was rented by a Florida client coming to Los Angeles to see Iran play two matches at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand and Belgium. The modern home in Hollywood Hills, complete with an infinity pool overlooking the city, rented for $33,000 for seven nights from June 15 to 22.

The second was booked by a New York client coming to see the U.S. play Paraguay. The 7,000-square-foot mansion in Malibu comes with a movie theater, butler, security and full-time staff. For 10 days, it rented for $100,000.

Jamie Lane, chief economist for AirDNA, expects a surge across L.A. County — not just in demand, but in supply.

“There’s a lot of interest right now in what you can make as a host,” Lane said. “In most cities, there won’t be enough lodging, so that pushes rates higher.”

He added that since Airbnb is the official “Alternative Accommodations and Bookings Platform” of the World Cup, the company is urging people to host. AirDNA has hosted multiple bootcamps around the country for people interested in renting out their homes during the World Cup, teaching them how to furnish homes, how to set prices during the games and more.

Lane expects a boost in listings early next year, which would mirror Paris in the months leading up to the 2024 Olympics, when active listings soared by 40%.

It’s unclear how proactive Southern California cities will be in cracking down on illegal listings as homeowners look to make a quick buck by renting out their rooms. Many cities have strict short-term rental regulations, but haven’t taken the steps necessary to enforce them.

Last year, the L.A. Housing Department estimated that 7,500 short-term rentals were violating the city’s Home Sharing Ordinance, but the city only issued 300 citations.

Orenstein said it won’t be easy in Inglewood.

“You have to jump through hoops to have an Airbnb,” she said. “Apply for permits, do inspections, pay your taxes every month. It has to be done right.”