Amanda Gutierres scored in the 95th minute to lift Brazil to a 2-1 victory over the U.S. women’s national team late Tuesday night at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif.
It wasn’t how the Americans wanted to end this April window, splitting the doubleheader 1-1. But while coach Emma Hayes wants to win every game, she’s been saying for months that she’d rather hoist the 2027 World Cup trophy than beat teams in friendlies right now.
The USWNT got off to a hot start when Catarina Macario scored in the first minute. She and Alyssa Thompson were bright spots in the attack and dangerous on a number of occasions in the first half. In fact, their connection was so lethal that Brazil had to make an early defensive substitution to account for Thompson’s speed.
But more than anything, there were growing pains. Hayes went with seven changes in the starting lineup, including goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn who made her third start. Avery Patterson, who had her debut in Saturday’s 2-0 win, and 19-year-old Gisele Thompson played outside back, while Tara McKeown and Emily Sonnett were the choices at center back.
With an inexperienced back line that had never played together before, naturally, there were breakdowns. On Kerolin’s dazzling equalizing goal in the 24th minute, for example, there was miscommunication between Claire Hutton and McKeown, who collided outside the box, leaving the Brazilian star wide open. According to the broadcast, at halftime Hayes addressed needing to be better in the buildup and wanting McGlynn to be stronger in her decision-making. The second half featured a number of changes which impacted the rhythm of the game, and players on both sides were sluggish.
That was until the final minutes of stoppage time, when Brazil got the last word.
While the USWNT won the first match of this back-to-back on Saturday, Tuesday’s win has to feel like a bit of revenge for Brazil after losing to the Americans in the gold medal match at last summer’s Olympics.
Even so, this was the kind of game Hayes needed to see. As she develops the player pool with sights set on 2027 and 2028, she’s acknowledged how important it is for younger players to get these opportunities against quality opponents like Brazil.
Here are takeaways from the match:
Play of the game:
Similarly to Saturday, when Trinity Rodman scored in the first five minutes, the U.S. came out flying and scored in the first 35 seconds. Alyssa Thompson wiggled loose near midfield, sprinted down the left flank and hoped to take a shot herself before getting tackled in the box. Brazilian goalkeeper Natascha Honegger bobbled the ball, though, which allowed Macario to swoop in and finish.
This was Macario’s second goal of the year (and 10th overall for the national team). She had most recently scored against Colombia during the SheBelieves Cup in February, which was her first goal for the USWNT since 2022.
Turning point:
The match looked like it was heading for a draw until the USWNT got caught in transition. Crystal Dunn and Gisele Thompson were too high up, allowing Luany to get in behind and slip a perfect pass across the penalty box to Gutierres for the easy, winning goal in stoppage time.
The U.S. tried for a last-second equalizer to no avail.
Key stat:
According to U.S. Soccer, the starting lineup averaged 17.9 caps, which was the lowest average of caps per player in the last 24 years.
The most-capped player in the starting XI was Sonnett with 106. The rest of the lineup combined had just 81 caps. Additionally, seven starters (McGlynn, McKeown, Patterson, Hutton, Gisele Thompson, Michelle Cooper and Lily Yohannes) had six or fewer international appearances for the USWNT.
What’s next for the USWNT?
The squad’s next training camp is at the end of May, which will include two matches against China. The first is May 31 at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minn. and then on June 3 at Energizer Park in St. Louis.
While Hayes has promised to keep experimenting with lineups and combinations and giving younger players more opportunities, keep an eye out for the return of some veterans. If healthy, perhaps Naomi Girma, Rose Lavelle, Mallory Swanson and/or Lynn Biyendolo could be back in the fold.
It will also be interesting to see which goalkeepers get called in next month. Hayes has said those who haven’t been involved in recent camps, like veteran Casey Murphy, are still in the mix. But time will tell.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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