The U.S. women’s national team went to Brazil for a challenge abroad in a hostile environment. And that’s what they got.
The 2-1 loss in the first of the two games against Brazil certainly wasn’t the outcome that any of the U.S. players would have liked. But the team’s ultimate goal there was to “learn, to grow, to improve,” in the words of head coach Emma Hayes.
“Both of us are top teams. We both played in the Olympic gold medal final, it’s going to be very close between us,” Hayes said. “So it was a fun game, but also at the top level it’s about details and I am so happy for the experience because if we want things to be easy we stay home and we play in L.A. or somewhere else. But we don’t choose easy.”
Hayes and all of the players have been very careful throughout the week ahead of the match not to say that this is what the team will face next summer at the World Cup. After all, the United States has not qualified yet. But let’s face it, the United States will likely earn the trip.
Brazil’s team, meanwhile, will be looking to raise the trophy on home soil. And it will be likely be Marta’s last chance at a title, should she play.
Brazil’s fans provided the boisterous atmosphere in São Paulo, while their incredibly deep squad provided the physical play. The Brazilians have always proven to be a challenging opponent for the United States, but now they’ve won two straight against the Americans.
At first it felt like it was going to end differently. Sophia Wilson scored within the first two minutes, for her first goal back since pregnancy leave. But then Brazil jumped with two quick goals within the game’s 15-minute mark from Tainá Maranhão and Bia Zaneratto. The match was scoreless the rest of the way.
“What an incredible experience a little more than a year out from the World Cup. This is what you’re going to experience, and having fans against you like that, the whistling, the not being able to hear anything,” Lindsey Heaps said. “But at the end of the day, I think you look at the game as a whole. Second half, we came out and we created opportunities, could have scored. I think there are parts of the first half, maybe the first 15 minutes, it took us a little bit to grow into the game, but I think that’s getting used to this and having all these players that maybe haven’t experienced this as well get that kind of experience. So it’s great because we have a second chance, we have a second game here, and what better opportunity to go play Brazil in their home country.”
While the United States improved in the second half, it was clear the team was missing Naomi Girma and Sam Coffey, who are both injured. Again, the score wasn’t really the point, the experience was.
“Listen, there’s no doubt the history of this team winning tournaments, has big expectations. We all accept that, but I also think everybody in the world knows that the game globally is much more equal than it was five years ago, 10 years ago, so my job is to respect every opponent and know that there are a lot of top teams in the world, so we have to be prepared to grow and evolve as a program, because winning the way the U.S. won in the past is simply not possible in the modern game.” Hayes said. “So we have to keep improving in line with where the game is going. I still have a lot of young players out there tonight, it’s their first experience doing that, so I think we will be much better for this experience.”
The U.S. will get another crack at Brazil on Tuesday.
One final shout out to Tierna Davidson, who said this about playing while wearing the Pride jerseys in Brazil: “I think it’s great to spread a message of love and unity and joy, not just in the U.S., but internationally. So it’s something that I’m always personally very, very happy to do come June, and I think our team loves being able to spread that sort of message to the queer community.”
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Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
