COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Emma Hayes has been on the job less than a week yet she’s already learning some valuable things about the players she’ll be coaching with the women’s national soccer team.

“Well, their names, for starters,” she said.

Saturday she got to match some of those names to performances for the first time, with the U.S. beating South Korea 4-0 in Hayes’ international coaching debut before a sun-splashed overflow crowd of 19,010 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver.

Hayes auditioned 17 players and many gave favorable first impressions, with Mallory Swanson getting two goals and an assist, Tierna Davidson scoring twice, and Sophia Smith, Catarino Macario and Rose Lavelle adding assists of their own. Jane Campbell, making her sixth international start in goal, earned her fifth shutout.

And every bit of that knowledge is useful since Hayes has just a month and one more dress rehearsal — Tuesday’s friendly with South Korea in St. Paul, Minn. — before she has to decide on an 18-player roster for next month’s Olympic Games in France.

“There’s no denying there is an unbelievable talent pool in this country. And selecting a group of players to represent this country is going to be a difficult one,” said Hayes, who pumped her right fist in celebration on the sidelines after each goal. “This is an opportunity to learn about the players.”

To accomplish that, Hayes’ first national team training camp has been filled with one-on-one meetings with each of the 27 players called in while practice sessions have been heavy on introducing the structural and tactical principles Hayes plans to employ.

Time, however, is short because Hayes, who was named national team coach last November, couldn’t assume the job until her contract with Chelsea of the Women’s Super League expired last month. That leaves her with a woefully short run-up to her first world championship tournament.

And revitalizing a flagging program that has gone nearly five years without a World Cup or Olympic title will require more than a quick fix. So Hayes is refusing to be rushed, insisting on installing a foundation before trying to construct a roster.

“It’s been about building trust. It’s been about making sure everybody understands what the expectations are,” said Hayes whose contract, reportedly worth $1.6 million annually, is the richest ever for a women’s soccer coach. “It’s a process and we’ve got to go one step at a time.”

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