CHESTER — A day that started with a celebration of the past of the United States women’s national team seemed like it would turn into a party when Rose Lavelle scored only 35 seconds into the match, but after allowing two goals from corner kicks and the attack struggling to get on the same page the USWNT went on to lose 2-1. Losses like the one to Portugal will happen, so now the question is about how the USWNT respond to adversity, something that they don’t face often, but as teams around the world improve, is becoming much more common.
“We just haven’t played together for a long time, I didn’t recognize us,” manager Emma Hayes said following the match. “I felt that we rushed everything. We didn’t look like the team that we’ve been working on, but that’s what happens when you’ve got 113 days apart. I actually felt it the last two days in training. I felt there were so many missed connections, just taking a bit of time for us to get on the same page. So, sometimes you need a kick up the backside like that.”
Bumps in the road were expected during this camp, considering the length of time that the team has been apart, alongside the fact that Portugal also aren’t an easy team to break down. They were defensively sound, physical, and knew that set plays were a place where they can level the playing field. At their peak, even if a team knew how to beat the USWNT, even if they had a game plan to win, the United States wouldn’t allow them to execute that, but facing Portugal, mistakes were all too common.
Hayes acknowledged that this was the team’s worst performance under here, but also that it will improve. Some things will improve with time, but others will improve by who will come back into the fold from players who weren’t available for this camp. Naomi Girma, Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman, and Mallory Swanson are among a long list of players who would all be expected to be involved in the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup but aren’t in this camp. With Concacaf qualifying a year away, there’s more time for Hayes to figure out the direction that she wants to take the squad in, and she knows that.
“Our job is not to be completely polished in things like our set pieces at this stage. It’s great, the momentum built from the first half of the season, but it’s not a given. Just because we had a good first half of the year, it’s not a given. You can’t just show up,” Hayes said. “We’re scheduling European opponents in this passage, because we know the Nations League and the Champions League are improving teams across Europe, and I think it’s a good lesson for us today.”
With this being an extended break, the USWNT have a unique opportunity to face Portugal again on Oct. 26 in Connecticut before closing this camp out facing New Zealand in Kansas City. Those matches will provide time to work on the issues that happened on Thursday while also giving Hayes a deeper look at the squad.
Ahead of the second Portugal match, she’ll be adding a player from the U-23 squad to the senior squad, which is also something that shows the path and that anyone could be in contention for a USWNT spot if they are performing. Players don’t take this opportunity for granted, and as the pool gets deeper, competition gets tougher. That U-23 player could be the 50th player to earn their first appearance under Hayes since she took over in October of 2024, which shows just how much experimentation has been going on in the past year.
Losing, and breaking a five-match winning streak, players already want to set things right. Keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce mentioned wanting revenge in that game, and that’s just how you want the team to respond. Losing matches isn’t in their DNA, and this is a strong group of veterans who will be looking to set things right, while Hayes will also strive for the same.
“I was frustrated this evening because it felt like a game of whack-a-mole. It felt like I put something out, and whacking that something else popped up. That’s how the game felt for me as a coach,” Hayes said. “I’ve been doing this for so long, I hate them games, but we’ve got another one in a few days, thank goodness, because it gives us an opportunity to rectify the performance, not the result, but the performance.”
No one needs to tell the team that that was unacceptable; they already know that.
“Credit to them, they made it difficult for us, but as Emma said at the end. We didn’t play like a team,” Lindesy Heaps said. “I think [there was] a lot of individuality, but not in a bad way. I think we just needed to be more as a team, more energy as a team. You score that first goal and you want to build momentum off that, and I think it went in the opposite direction.”
Despite the performance, it wasn’t all bad for the USWNT, and if not for the defensive mistakes, this match may have at least ended in a draw. Lavelle seemed like she had turned back the clock, and the Lily Yohannes hype train is for real. As soon as she entered the match, the Lyon midfielder’s presence was felt. Yonhannes never stopped moving, causing trouble on the press and creating a few chances with her passing ability.
It’s clear that while the USWNT midfield is already in good hands, the 18-year-old brings a different dynamic, and her impact will be critical for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. In changes that can be made for the second Portugal match, Yohannes being included in the starting XI would help with breaking through their defense, that’s also where it’s good to see the same team twice.
For now, the loss can be taken as an isolated incident, but the pressure is on for Hayes and the national team to problem-solve and keep this as a one-off. These issues are good to have in a camp where Hayes wants to see what the squad is made of, but if they can’t work through it, more changes could be coming down the road to the roster.
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