Lynn Williams was beyond determined to feature in the Paris Olympics after having to settle for a bronze in Tokyo. While Williams was still battling an injury, coach Emma Hayes snubbed her from the 18-player Olympic squad for the USWNT. Williams even told Hayes via a phone call to never write her off. Finally, the day came, and Coach Hayes summoned the 31-year-old to the USWNT camp. Nevertheless, it was a rather bittersweet experience for Williams, as she joined the USWNT as a replacement for the injured Catarina Macario.

Lynn Williams is quite familiar with the “cut-throat” reality one should face while playing for the national team. According to Williams, it is anyhow bittersweet as she has to compete with her close pals for the roster spot. Mixed feelings doubled up when she took the roster spot in place of an injured teammate. “I feel about especially this country is like you know somebody is always going to be there is like if she gets hurt if something happens, I’m going to step in um for Cat like I felt so bad for her because we know how much goes into it,” said Lynn Williams during her recent appearance on the Women’s Game podcast.

She then iterated the struggles of competing with her teammates, who are the only ones who know what everyone is going through. Speaking about Macario again, Williams said she couldn’t help but empathize with her. “I’m sure she was devastated. You never know what the future is going to hold for you. I think that so many people are like oh it’s just like the next Olympics.”

Lynn Williams had a hard time figuring out how she would replace a different player like Macario

Speaking on the same podcast, Lynn Williams revealed that she wasn’t very excited to speak to Catarina Macario. Firstly, Macario was hit badly, as an injury ended her Olympic dreams. Then, Williams kept herself busy thinking about how she could replace Macario. “I think that me and Cat are two different players and so I’m like this is a different style of player going into the Olympics. And there are so many different thought processes that have to go in like how are you going to use me versus how you were going to use Cat,” Williams added.

Though a natural midfielder, Lynn Williams had to don the forward’s hat to make up for the Chelsea striker’s absence. And she did that with quite the finesse. Williams scored against the Netherlands to help the USA secure a late win in a group game. Thereafter, Williams came off the bench and stood her ground in the final when the USWNT beat Brazil to bag its record fifth Olympic gold medal.