Soccer Monday: The USWNT fumbles … then recovers

The USWNT lost 2-1 to Portugal on Thursday in Pennsylvania, the first U.S. loss ever to that team. It was the third time the Americans had dropped a game under coach Emma Hayes, with the other two coming earlier this year against Japan and Brazil.

Then, the team turned around and beat Portugal 3-1 in East Hartford on Sunday night.

Let’s face it, this international window has been kind of weird so far. The team had an unusually long 113 days between games. It came at the final stretch of the NWSL regular season. And there were a lot of key players either injured or out on maternity leave. Choosing to start a family this year makes sense because this is the non-Olympic, non-qualifying, non-World Cup window.

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Sam Coffey, somber after Thursday’s loss, was asked afterward if she thought the team was rusty.

“I mean, I think we can use that as an excuse, but I think that’s a cop out. I think we’re too good for that. And ultimately, tonight was just not acceptable. It was not our standard. I think we were really individual. And there’s a lot of weight that comes with wearing this jersey, and that’s weight we just take so seriously, and it’s the best responsibility in the world, and I don’t think we did a good enough job honoring that tonight. With that being said, though, it is a bump in the road, and I know this team and we’re going to respond in the best way possible, and we have the gift of another opportunity on Sunday, and I know that we are going to be absolutely ready for that.”

Hayes said, “I didn’t recognize us.” The team has lost three games in a year just four times in its history.

Then Hayes made eight roster changes and tweaked a few things and the team looked completely different on Sunday. The Portland Thorns provided all the scoring, with Olivia Moultrie getting her second brace for the national team (with her first goal coming in the first 45 seconds) and Sam Coffey getting the final goal some four minutes after coming in as a late sub.

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Hayes suggested that after so much time off, things were bound to be a bit disjointed. And then there’s the big picture. Kind of like how the USWNT lost to Mexico early last year, then still won the Olympics.

“Sometimes I think we always turn and we amplify a loss, we catastrophize it, externally as well as internally. And I know you get paid to do those things, so I respect that, but sometimes it’s just like, I don’t know, how are you when you’ve had a month off over the Christmas break and you’ve gone back to work with your colleagues, and sometimes you just take a little bit to get into that. I think we’ve never had a 113-day break between international games and for us, it just felt like we couldn’t’ get a rhythm going. So what I did is return the team to basics … all of those really little things. I think that’s why the performance looked like that, because it just reminded us of our play again, each player had to go from their club to like, `Aha, alright, these are our principles. It just took us a bit of time. It’s not a disaster.”

And then there was what the team was missing. Trinity Rodman, out with the MCL injury. Naomi Girma, out with a calf injury.

And then there’s the USWNT Baby Boom: Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson, Casey Krueger, Andi Sullivan, Abby Dahlkemper and the latest, Lynn Biyendolo, who announced that she is expecting on Saturday.

One last thing: Congrats Alyssa Naeher, for an amazing career. You saved the Olympic gold medal: There was a reason Mal Swanson ran first to you at the final whistle in Paris.

Naeher’s teammates from the Chicago Stars showed up for the ceremony honoring her career on Sunday. Her contract is up at the end of the season, which for the Stars is Sunday. She has not said whether she’ll return.

On a personal note, apologies this post is late. I’m flat out exhausted. It happens when your NBA coach is arrested by the FBI in connection with a sprawling gambling scheme.

But also, I was working on a deeply personal project for The Associated Press that was posted this morning. I worked with a photographer and a videographer in Casablanca on a package about a friendly tournament that FIFA has put together for an Afghanistan women’s refugee team. The national team was banned in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in 2021. While the players are not officially recognized as a national team, the refugee team is a first step. Here is the story. Please click!!!

LINKS

Jonathan Tannenwald sent me three links to highlight his work in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

• Story on goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce
• An update on Tiena Davidson’s rehab
• And finally, his story on Alex Morgan’s retirement

The AP’s story on the US, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica joint bid for the 2031 World Cup

ESPN ranked the 10 greatest teams in NWSL history.

All For XI with everything you need to know about Decision Day

Nice story on Kennedy Wesley

Emma Hayes said she’s optimistic Rodman will return for the NWSL playoffs

Fun story on Laila Harbert

Al Jazeera with a nice story and photo gallery on women’s football in Nigeria

Loved this from The Athletic: Players leaving for Europe show the evolution of the game.

Related: Alyssa Thompson expected her move to Chelsea to be more scary

USSF is developing a plan to support pregnant players