The USWNT had a busy October window with two matches against Portugal and one against New Zealand. Head Coach Emma Hayes rolled out three different lineups and went 2-0-1. Interestingly enough, the likely preferred lineup among this roster was the one that suffered the loss.

The US looked disjointed in the first match. Kind of as they hadn’t been together since July. That wasn’t the only thing that made this a tough watch. They appeared to be set up to face a team that might be sitting back more, but Portugal came out on the front foot willing to play a physical game. The Portuguese bullied the US off the ball and dominated the midfield making it difficult for the US to effectively get forward. Tactical adjustments came too late and substitutes didn’t make much of a difference unfortunately. Abysmal set piece defending led to a 2-1 defeat. It was honestly just a poor performance from the US and hopefully a valuable internal wake up call.

Hayes stayed committed to seeing different personnel and combinations throughout the camp despite the loss. A much younger lineup in the second game against Portugal was able to turn things around in a 3-1 victory. Portugal also made a lot of changes to their second matchday lineup, but they came out with a similar structure. Throughout the match they receded because the US midfield of Lily Yohannes, Claire Hutton, and Shaw were able to get stuck in, maintain possession, and create interesting opportunities which allowed for other players to get free and forward.

It was great to see a window in which Olivia Moultrie’s club form realized at the international level. The young player scored a brace in the Sunday match. Portugal allowed her to essentially score the exact same goal twice, which was fun to watch both times.

An even greener line up came out against New Zealand on Wednesday. It was good to see some players who haven’t seen a lot of time see the pitch. I’m not sure there was much to learn from this game but an old school US goal fest is still fun. Emma Sears scored a hat trick, Cat Macario scored a brace, and Rose Lavelle scored a banger.

So what should we take away from this window? For me, it’s that I’m glad that Hayes is committed to giving younger players live experience and the opportunity to build chemistry. More than a handful of them have shown that they’re ready to take the leap. 

I think that the first Portugal match should be taken seriously. The result can be chalked up to rustiness and poor game plan, and I don’t think that fans need to freak out. However, I think it should just serve as a reminder that this team needs to come out on the front foot against all opposition. The USWNT has been without some or all of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman, and Naomi Girma for most of 2025. I think players like Macario, Alyssa Thompson, and Michelle Cooper have really stepped up to challenge for a spot not just on the plane to Brazil in 2027, but on the starting lineup. 

The defense and midfield, however, continue to have questions swirling around them. Without both Girma and Tierna Davidson, the center back picture isn’t really clear. If neither are there, Emily Sonnett is obviously the one to be stepping up. Who stands besides her, though, seems pretty up in the air. 

There is still no heir apparent to Crystal Dunn at left outside back. While Avery Patterson showed that she can play on both the right and left in this camp, she looked better on the right. Obviously that can change, but it’ll take time. The Houston Dash has seemed open to playing her on either side, so perhaps she’ll increase her minutes there.

The midfield continues to be plagued by the question of whether Captain Lindsey Heaps and Lavelle can play well together. Coaches seem unwilling to bench the captain, but how can you leave a player like Lavelle on the bench? More often than not, when they’re on the pitch together things get messy because of their tendency to occupy similar spaces. Add Macario in there playing as a false 9 and the log jam gets more intense. The good news is that Yohannes and Hutton appear to be developing a great relationship, and Yohannes has previously played well alongside Sam Coffey. Finding the best combination when there is an abundance of exciting attacking midfielders just seems to be a work in progress.

The USWNT will end the year with a pair of friendlies against Italy, a team that had a fun run during this year’s Euros. It should be a good matchup and hopefully an opportunity to answer questions and learn a little bit more about this team before going into World Cup Qualifiers next year.

**Images from USWNT