look back/look ahead: uswnt musings against brazil, hopes for the future

The USWNT’s split with Brazil was a fascinating snapshot of a team under construction. There’s some wonky but fun roster decisions happening, and Brazil played their role in putting both young and veteran players under pressure. We’re still probably over a year before it’s worthwhile to nitpick at results, but performances—irrespective of results—are still important to review.

However, it’s important to take a longer view, which is quite easy in this case considering that the USWNT have a handful of matches coming up. They face China at the end of May, then Jamaica and Republic of Ireland (twice) in June, before facing Casey Stoney’s Canada on July 2.

So instead of hyper-focusing on the Brazil games, I’m going to look back on some things I saw, and look ahead to things I would like to see in the upcoming games.

phallon tullis-joyce, GK1

⏪️ look back
In my opinion, it’s always important to get your most in-form goalkeeper match time. Finally Hayes agreed and in the first match against Brazil, named Tullis-Joyce in the starting XI for her USWNT debut.

Hayes had previously pointed to Phallon’s quiet and introverted nature as a reason why she felt she couldn’t give her game time sooner. While it’s important for a keeper to be assertive and vocal enough to communicate and help organize the backline, Phallon went from Seattle, where she did that and performed well enough to be signed by Manchester United. At United, in a completely different country and league, she’s evidently done the same.

There’s still familiarity to grow and comfort to gain, but Hayes is also shuffling players in and out of the backline and midfield as well. Anyway. As expected, Phallon did her ‘several octopuses in a trench coat’ thing to keep a clean sheet, so hopefully this performance will raise her up the depth chart.

look ahead ⏩️
One of the other things noted, specifically for Phallon to work on, is distribution. Hayes noted that while at United, Tullis-Joyce often plays the ball long (which is hilarious given that Marc Skinner was in the NWSL insisting on ‘art’ and now he’s in England getting back to his roots).

Hayes isn’t wrong, according to FBref, Phallon is third in the league in ‘launched passes attempted,’ which are passes longer than 40 yards. The two ahead of her play for Liverpool (6th) and Crystal Palace (the very bottom of the table).

However, I’m not sure I’d read into this that playing shorter isn’t something Phallon can’t do. Several players are asked to do things they don’t do for their club teams, like Crystal Dunn playing left back. There’s also the question of whether the USWNT should always play out of the back anyway. In terms of player profiles, we (still) specialize in Scrappers and Lightning Bolts. While controlling games and limiting transitions is something that all good teams must learn to do, I’m not entirely certain that this as a starting approach is the best use of the talent available.

Also, how a team is pressing and who the keeper is expected to pass to is important. Against Brazil, the most technical available midfield is probably Sam Coffey, Lily Yohannes and Catarina Macario (Claire Hutton is close as well). Two of the four players are teenagers, but any midfield combination of these players never happened anyway. If playing out of the back is an important step for Phallon to take, the personnel must also match.

a fourth espresso is brewing

⏪️ look back
Across two games at opposite ends of California, Alyssa Thompson tore Brazil’s defense to pieces. Dynamic early runs in both games forced Brazil into panicked defending and mistakes, leading to each game’s first goal.

The first was a quick shift of the ball and burst into central space that made her defender fall down. She was patient and aware enough to then pick out Trinity Rodman’s central run with a perfectly weighted and timed pass. The second was an early run into the box that created confusion. Thompson was a bit indecisive and ended up shooting too late, but the speed at which it all happened led to miscommunication between Brazil center back Isa Haas and goalkeeper Natascha, which led to Macario scoring one of the easiest goals she’ll ever score.

In the second game, Thompson kept cooking until Brazil head coach Arthur Elias (a renown wild boi) into two (2!) first half (first! half!) substitutions. They worked, but it was a wild thing to see in an April friendly with the score tied at 1-1. Causing that kind of eruption from an opposing coach satisfies a qualification in Thompson’s espresso application.

look ahead ⏩️
Finishing is the next, and likely final, step for Alyssa Thompson to enter the stratospheric realm of The Espressos. She has the speed, timing and dribbling ability, and I loved how she was scanning and feeding nicely weighted passes to feet in the box while running at full speed. That’s impressive, and led to her assist on Rodman’s goal five minutes into the first match. Scoring on a more consistent basis is the only hurdle left.

I’m not sure how harsh of a grader Christen Press is, but assuming Thompson has been enrolled in her School of Shooting long enough to be grad level, it can’t be higher than a C. In the first match, Lorena—who’s been unreal so far with Kansas City—pulled out more madness-inducing saves to deny several shots.

In upcoming games we need to see Thompson getting the ball across the line more frequently. If she can, her espresso application is likely to be accepted.

cat macario’s holdup play is absurd

⏪️ look back
I’m a big fan of Macario just deciding to be a holdup monster. That’s not how she played pre-ACL, but elite players adapt. The question is whether this adaptation is driven by the role she’s being asked to play for club and country, or a result of the injury zapping her ability to create separation through short bursts.

For now I’m just happy to finally have Cat back on the pitch full time, but I won’t lie, if pressed to answer the question I would assume this is a result of lengthy and complicated rehab from her ACL tear. That’s not an awful thing, she’s still clever and talented enough to still pull off the amazing, and she’ll continue to develop in that style of play.

look ahead ⏩️
However, there was one moment when a deflected ball was rolling at pace toward the sideline and a determined Cat took off after it. In doing so, she hit a level of acceleration that I don’t think she’s hit since her return from injury. It’s a simple moment and not much came of it, but it could be meaningful to her, and the teams she plays for.

Don’t get me wrong, Holdup Play Cat has been a delight, and her touches while giving piggyback rides to center backs are tremendous. But if she’s gaining a bit of her old burst back, on top of her ability to hold the ball up, she’ll be even more dangerous than she was pre-injury. That’s a lot to ask, I know. But if that sprint meant as much to her as it did to me, then I’m so ready for what’s coming next.

let’s talk about vets

⏪️ look back
As much as the youth movement is extremely fun, particularly with this being the deepest generation in quite some time, veteran talents are still important. They not only have experience, and are often key leadership figures due to that experience, but they also help set an expected level or standard. Currently, the USWNT’s main veteran mainstays are Lindsey Heaps, Emily Sonnett and Crystal Dunn.

Only Emily Sonnett started the second match against Brazil, but all were subbed on by the 67th minute. Yet, the vibes did not improve and eventually Brazil bagged a stoppage time winner. In fact, all three had a role in the goal being scored. Heaps was standing in the semicircle at the top of the box when the first lobbed ball was struck. Sonnett pressured the ball but failed to get anywhere near it or prevent the pass out wide. Dunn was trailing behind the play and never caught up to Luany, who delivered the match winning assist.

These things can happen, especially given that the USWNT were pushing for a late winner of their own. However…

look ahead ⏩️
Hayes has already seemingly made decisions on which veteran players she will trust, and who will be leaders. With over two years until the next major international tournament, this feels premature.

Beyond Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox, fullback is a fairly threadbare position group. Hayes is giving opportunities to the right young players—Gisele Thompson, and now Avery Patterson—but has reportedly told Casey Krueger that her national team career is already over, regardless of performance. Ryan Williams is a USWNT-caliber talent who isn’t a veteran of the USWNT, but not yet over 30. Both are players Hayes shouldn’t shut the door on so quickly. Even if she doesn’t expect to field a 36-year-old Casey Krueger at the 2027 World Cup, she’s experienced the gamut of national team highs and lows, and has the versatility to play either flank, as well as center back.

The same goes for midfield, which struggles with stability without Sam Coffey playing 6,000 minutes and having the right midfield partner. With two years to go until the World Cup, providing a more solid platform for younger players to develop could be solved by Hayes turning to some ‘lost generation’ talents in the short term. I would love to see one of Vanessa DiBernardo, Danielle Colaprico, Lo LaBonta or Morgan Gautrat with the team for the next round of games.

the center back search

⏪️ look back
Tara McKeown’s story is amazing. She went from a standout forward at USC—a powerhouse school in woso, and squad that also featured Savannah DeMelo and Croix Bethune—to a switch to center back two years into her professional career. The move has worked out brilliantly for the Spirit, where her 1v1 defending has stood out.

While I’m eager to write the script as-is with no hyperbole or creative license and ship it off to Disney, her national team experiences have been up and down. It’s a tremendous feat that in such a short time she’s excelled to the point of being on the national team radar, but as a new defender there are still things that don’t yet come naturally, and can be exploited at the international level.

Unfortunately, against Brazil, she was dragged way out of position, then had a yakety sax’ish moment as she bulldozed teammate Claire Hutton while attempting to chase down Kerolin. Brazil’s press won possession high and created a quick transition that caught Gisele Thompson high up the pitch. McKeown overcompensated by chasing her marker into the middle third, only be turned. This gifted the right side of the USWNT defense to Kerolin, and forced a hesitant Emily Sonnett over to defend, which did not go well.

look ahead ⏩️
International play is quite different than the NWSL. As a result, McKeown is finding it more difficult to lean on her strength of 1v1 defending, and instead has to utilize skills which aren’t quite honed or sharpened enough for international competition.

The experiment has also kept Emily Sams, a natural defender, on the bench. Sams had an impressive 2024 season with Orlando, showing versatility along the backline and helping to anchor one of the stingiest defenses in the league. She capped it off with a Naomi Girma-esque defensive performance in the NWSL Championship which kept the Spirit goalless.

Without Girma, and now Davidson due to a torn ACL, there’s a desperate need to get Sams plenty of minutes in central defense.