EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – The U.S. women’s national team are undeniably in a period of transition both by necessity and by design, a natural product of the international calendar allotting them two years of friendlies before the Women’s World Cup qualification tournament and almost three years until the big event itself. Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Portugal, though, was a surprising embodiment of that very fact, unrecognizable to head coach Emma Hayes’ eye in a disjointed outing that marks her biggest setback since taking the job more than a year ago. As the USWNT prepare to face Portugal for a second time in three days, though, time is on their side again – in the opposite sense.
“I think there’s no time to be negative but how do you take learnings in, obviously, very quickly and try to apply,” defender Emily Sonnett said on Saturday, the day before their next friendly. “Having the short turnaround allows us to basically layer in [learnings], have the film sessions and hopefully turn around in two days’ time and put something together.”
There were several takeaways from Hayes’ third loss in her 25-game stint in charge of the team, some the head coach was quick to point out on Thursday. That was the USWNT’s first game in 113 days and for the nine players who are part of this month’s games but were not on the roster for the team’s friendlies in June and July, the time away from the group was even longer. The disconnection was clear as Portugal scored twice on set pieces, outdoing their 0.85 expected goals tally by capitalizing on the lack of chemistry between a defensive group that had its fair share of veterans and newcomers. It created a discordant game state for the attack, especially as the U.S. went down 2-1 with 18 minutes plus stoppage time left on the clock.
How to watch USWNT vs. Portugal
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 26 | Time: 4 p.m. ET
- Location: Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field — East Hartford, Conn.
- TV: TNT
“I think to keep the ball more,” midfielder Lily Yohannes, who came on in the 70th minute, said about the instructions she received as she entered Thursday’s match. “It was a bit chaotic at times and I think we didn’t dominate possession how we would’ve liked to so coming on, just trying to keep the ball more for the team. Obviously, once they scored, it became a bit chaotic, [the] ball was going out a lot and a lot of long balls and whatnot, so we just tried to push it to the end and get a result.”
How Hayes solves the midfield issue, as well as the attack’s underwhelming results, will be a point of intrigue on Sunday as the USWNT get a re-do against Portugal. Thursday’s starting trio in attack failed to break through Portugal’s organized defensive block, Alyssa Thompson generating just 0.12 xG from three shots while Catarina Macario took one shot worth 0.08 xG and Michelle Cooper failed to take a single shot. The good news for Hayes is that even as disappointing as the performance was on Thursday, it does little to disrupt the adjustment period she has designed for a fresh new group of players. Just seven members of the roster that won Olympic gold in Paris last year are currently with the team, creating a learning curve that Hayes is bothered by.
“Teaching is the part of my job that I enjoy the most so whether we win, whether we lose, whether we play well, we don’t play well, the teaching part is the consistent part,” Hayes said, revealing that she broke the team up into small groups to go over film from Thursday’s match. “We had three really good meetings this morning after a travel day yesterday.”
The quick turnaround before facing the same opponent allows the USWNT to put those lessons into motion, Hayes taking a practical approach about one performance in a friendly roughly two years before a World Cup.
“You can feel multiple things all at once,” Hayes said. “Of course, we are disappointed but we are extremely optimistic because we don’t want to get to a major qualifying game and there becomes a situation that we haven’t faced and I felt that there were challenges in that game that we haven’t faced yet so I’m really pleased we get the chance to address those things. Second of all, we’re a great team and as I keep reminding the players, whenever things get challenging, lean into the team in every way, shape or form, whether that’s the game model, whether that’s outside of the field. Let’s lean into each other and I’ve said before, healthy culture, great people always is going to represent great progress.”
Eva Gaetino earns promotion from U-23s
Hayes, always with one eye on the future, made the call to bring defender Eva Gaetino into the fold for both Sunday’s match against Portugal and Wednesday’s against New Zealand in Kansas City, another signal of the unique role the U-23 national team plays in her plans for the World Cup. The U-23s now regularly hold concurrent camps with the senior team, the latest taking place last week in the Philadelphia suburbs before Thursday’s defeat to Portugal, with Gaetino earning a promotion after Hayes observed multiple days of training.
“Eva’s a great example of what happens to you when you’re doing the things you’re doing when no one’s watching,” Hayes said about the Paris Saint-Germain center back. “She had things to work on within her game. She’s been working on those things and, in the U-23 environment, was the standout player. Now, granted, I say this to all of our players – don’t assume that just because you’re next in line that you’re going to get that step up. You have to earn the right to play in this team. You have earned the right for the opportunities here and she deserves that opportunity.”
Hayes poured cold water on the idea that Gaetino could start against Portugal on Sunday since the team had a travel day on Friday and only trained Saturday before their next friendly, an inadequate amount of time for a fresh face to integrate into the team. The head coach also shot down the notion that Gatino earned the promotion because she stands at 5’11”, making her one of the taller members of the squad this month.
“I think with regards to height, being great in the air has nothing to do with height,” Hayes said. “It’s all about timing and timing for us as a team was off [on Thursday], not regarding the back four.”
Even if the 22-year-old Gaetino plays a limited role on the field over the next two games, Sonnett said there is an inherent value to a player in the early stages of their international career.
“I was actually a player that did a [U]-23’s and I got to come up with the full team. I think it was maybe like 15 minutes but it’s still one of my best memories,” Sonnet said. “I think it’s great ’cause you have access and they can see how the environment is it just comes down to how you’re creating a bigger player pool and having learnings across not only the first team but the U-23s and so on.”
Gaetino’s inclusion on the senior team’s roster, though, offers a reminder that the USWNT are still in the middle of their evolution under Hayes both from a tactical and personnel standpoint, as the head coach aims to collect as much information on her team before next November’s World Cup qualification tournament.
“I’m still, quite rightly, working through where our players are in those stages but I’ll say it again – I want to learn these things now,” Hayes said. “I made it clear I wanted to play with Avery [Patterson] at left back to see if she could do that. I want to be clear, I want to look at different situations to be able to see where the players are leveling up and I’d much rather have the situation that happened the other night happen now and learn what we learned than do that in 12 months’ time, though, let me be clear, learning never stops and with development.”
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