If the first 33 seconds were anything to go by, the U.S. women's national team were set to cruise. They'd gotten on the board in the blink of an eye, with Rose Lavelle seemingly setting a tone with a first-minute goal. Surely that would be a sign of things to come. Surely, like Spain and England earlier this year, the USWNT would use that goal to kickstart a rout of Portugal.
Not quite. In fact, not even close. Instead, it was the USWNT who found themselves on the end of a stunning 2-1 defeat at Subaru Park, one that served as a harsh reminder that, despite recent successes, this team still has a lot of work to do.
Not only had the USWNT never lost to Portugal - they had won 10 of 11 all-time meetings, with the two teams playing to a scoreless draw in the group stage of the 2023 World Cup - they had never even conceded a goal. After Lavelle's goal, the US held a 40-0 goalscoring advantage over Portugal all-time.
But that changed quickly. After Lavelle quick opening goal, the USWNT were outmuscled and, in truth, outplayed by Portugal. The two goals came off set pieces, one in the first half from Diana Gomes and a deflected effort from Fatima Pinto in the 72nd minute to seal it.
Boiling it down to just that would be unfair to Portugal, though. The visitors played toe-to-toe with the USWNT, having their share of the ball and fighting like hell to get it back every time they lost it. Portugal's performance was scrappy, yes, but it was also somewhat complete, unlike the one put forward by the USWNT, who generated little of note outside of the goal and a few near-misses.
With the 2-1 loss, the USWNT has now dropped three matches in a calendar year for the first time since 2022 - and this was much different than previous 2-1 setbacks against Japan and Brazil, as Portugal entered the match ranked 23rd in FIFA's world rankings. The USWNT is ranked No. 2.
Fortunately for the USWNT, they'll get their chance to respond in just a few days as these two teams face off in East Hartford, Connecticut on Sunday. This was the first game for Emma Hayes' side in 113 days, having last played in a 3-0 win over Canada on July 2. The rust was obvious, but Sam Coffey gave that justification no legitimacy, calling it a "cop out." She noted that Hayes called out the lack of team cohesiveness.
"Disappointment is the word," Coffey told TNT after the match. "Conceding on two set pieces? We pride ourselves on defensive set pieces and we did not live up to that standard tonight. Her biggest message was that we were just too individual. We didn’t play as the incredible team that we are tonight. We tried to do it as individuals, and that’s not who we are. The strength of the team is its numbers, the group itself. We did not show that tonight. That’s a huge learning for us."
Hayes was equally frustrated, saying of the 113-day layoff, "I aged 113 years on the touchline. Like, it was frustrating, of course. Listen, our team have been wonderful since I've been here. This, for me, is a moment for us to really lean in and say, ‘Look, there's a reason we set you up a certain way. And, you know, sometimes it doesn't happen.' And I'm frustrated because I know everybody wants to do well and we're disappointed... We scored a goal and we stopped playing."
If the U.S. wants to change the result, and the narrative, they'll need much better on Sunday.
GOAL rates the USWNT's players from Subaru Park.
