More than three months after their last match, the US women’s national team returned to the pitch in October, playing three games with varied results. In the first, an impressive Portugal broke down the Americans in a 2-1 win for the visitors. Emma Hayes played an almost entirely different, much younger lineup in the rematch, and the Americans returned the favor, 3-1. A somehow even younger lineup in the third game steamrolled a limp New Zealand, 6-0. The Portugal games offered many lessons; the Football Ferns were less scary than 11 jack-o’-lanterns would be, so that third match was more of a fun romp than a true test.
Here are some takeaways from the window:
The youth is ready now
The USWNT that played the first Portugal match lacked the qualities that have defined the team at its best: scrappy determination, physical dominance, and ruthless ball progression. All of those were much more evident in the second match, where the young starters played with a more traditional mentality than the more experienced players who played in the first.
This contrast was especially evident in the midfield. In the first match, the combination of Sam Coffey, Lindsey Heaps, and Rose Lavelle was no match for Kika Nazareth and the rest of the Portuguese side. Instead of playing with grit and dynamism, they were porous and uncreative (barring some hopeful combinations between Lavelle and attacking players Alyssa Thompson and Catarina Macario).
Lily Yohannes, Claire Hutton, and Jaedyn Shaw (18, 19, and 20 years old, respectively) were fantastic in the second match. The trio solved pressure and moved the ball quickly to accelerate the attack. Each had memorable plays – Yohannes splitting four defenders with precision, Hutton calmly twirling away from a defender to switch fields, Shaw sending a back-heel to assist Olivia Moultrie’s second goal – but the most notable aspect of the performance was more mundane. Simple pass sequences routinely broke lines of Portuguese players, stemming counterattacks before they could start.
Against New Zealand, it was the green attacking wingers, Michelle Cooper and Emma Sears, who made the biggest impression. Cooper ate up space and fed two assists to help Sears on her way to her hat-trick.
Former mainstays are invaluable for their experience and leadership, But it’s clear that sentimentality must not be a barrier to decentering them. If the retirement celebrations for Alex Morgan and Alyssa Naeher before the first game didn’t nail home the message enough, the performances show it clearly: a new generation is ready to push for spots on this team.
Naomi Girma is missed
Portugal’s high press exposed disorganized defensive units in both matches, emphasizing the absence of injured central defender Naomi Girma. The Chelsea ace has only appeared for the national team four times in 2025, as injuries have plagued her first year in the WSL. Hayes said that once Girma builds up more club playing time she’ll be called in for national team duty, and that day can’t come soon enough.
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A strong center-back pairing, and a strong stopper in front of them, frees up the full-backs to push up and provide width on the attack. We saw glimpses of this in the second game, where a combination of Jordyn Bugg, Emily Sonnett, and Hutton was strong enough to free up Avery Patterson (this time, on her favored right flank) and Lilly Reale to push deep into Portugal’s defensive third. Still, the defensive performance left a lot to be desired; the US were lucky to get away with conceding only once. (Considering the third game’s ultra-inexperienced back line would be apples-and-oranges here; Bugg and Emily Sams, playing in an unusual full-back position, were fantastic in the progression, but they didn’t have much to defend.) Girma’s return will bring a desperately needed steadiness and flowing connectivity to the back.
The ongoing question in goal doesn’t help matters. Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who is in stunning form for Manchester United, looked shaky in the first match despite making a few impressive saves. Claudia Dickey was fine in games two and three but was tested far less than Tullis-Joyce. No keeper has cemented their name between the posts, and even when they do, they’ll need time to build up national team experience before they can truly bring leadership to the back.
Aerial ability is a weakness
The US lacked aerial presence across the first two games. All three of Portugal’s goals came from high crosses – two from corners, and one from an arcing ball from Beatriz Fonseca. Going the other way, crosses only resulted in one of the US’s goals against Portugal: a low corner from Ally Sentnor that bounced once before Coffey hammered it home. The US got two goals from set pieces in the New Zealand game, but neither of them were aerial: a short corner played all the way around the box resulted in a goal for Macario, and Coffey floated a free kick into the box that was headed off the post by a New Zealand defender into Sears, who sealed her hat-trick with the tap-in. In all three games, too many quality balls through the air went unanswered.
Hayes told reporters that aerial prowess has more to do with timing than height, so that may point to future efforts to improve the squad’s ability in the air. If they can’t figure out how to be effective targets on offense, they’ll need to dial down the volume of crosses they send in and find alternative routes to goal. On defense, however, failure to strengthen their aerial presence will only make opponents look to exploit the glaring weakness.
The team needs time, but that’s no excuse
After the first disastrous match, Hayes emphasized that much of the team’s disconnection could be blamed on the long period of time since the last camp. It’s a fair point, and it’s safe to assume that had she put forward the same lineup for the second game they would have improved. But the second lineup didn’t need to play a whole game to build remarkable chemistry against a tough opponent.
Everyone on the team does need time to mesh with each other, but that can’t and shouldn’t be an excuse for poor playing for much longer. There’s no need for Hayes to keep forcing combinations that don’t work when there are better options that have natural chemistry.
After the youngsters’ excellent showing in the second game, Hayes told reporters that she sees them as the “present and the future for the program,” yet she is hesitant to throw uber-young players into senior international play without adequate preparation. That consideration is respectable, but it shouldn’t bar her from building her lineups to be the best they can be. The 2027 World Cup is looming ever closer, and it’s time to begin shaping the roster that she’ll take to Brazil.
