US Female Unrecognizable: Hayes Criticizes Defeat to Portugal

Emma Hayes: “I didn’t recognize my team” after the defeat against Portugal

The coach of the United States women’s team, Emma Hayes, expressed her frustration after the 2-1 defeat against Portugal at Subaru Park. Hayes described the team’s performance as “unrecognizable”. “We didn’t recognize ourselves,” Hayes declared. “We rushed everything, we went direct. We don’t look like the team we’ve been working on, but that’s what happens when 113 days have passed apart.” This defeat represents the third of the year for the American team, a situation that has only occurred on four other occasions in the history of the program. The previous falls occurred against Japan and Brazil, while Hayes was experimenting with the incorporation of young players. Hayes described Thursday’s defeat, the first against Portugal in 12 meetings, as the most irritating of her 18 months in charge, due to the way the team played.

“I felt frustrated tonight because I felt like I was in a game of whack-a-mole,” Hayes explained.

Emma Hayes

The coach added that the team failed in defensive synchronization “from start to finish” and did not win duels. In addition, Portugal’s two goals came after corner kicks, something she attributed to the almost four months that passed between international windows. Midfielder Sam Coffey took a different stance, not wanting to use the lack of playing time as an excuse.

“There are a million excuses we could make, and we won’t,” Coffey stated. “To say we haven’t been together or that we’re young, I think that’s a cheap excuse. The standard of this team is to take responsibility when you’re not good enough and you’re not playing up to the badge. There’s a standard of winning, and it overcomes all those things.”

Sam Coffey

The Americans started well, with a goal by Rose Lavelle at 35 seconds into the match, although apparently offside. However, Hayes noted that the team did not maintain the pace and failed to generate momentum. “It seemed like a team in preseason, so we have to let it go,” Hayes commented. “But as I always say, don’t make it a habit. How we show up tomorrow is important.” Their players shared that opinion. Lavelle and Coffey mentioned the individual efforts excessively, while captain Lindsey Heaps added that “sometimes we felt like we were on islands.” Hayes praised Portugal and reminded her players not to underestimate European teams, which have more experience in tournaments and “know how to close out games.” The US team coach also considered that her team failed in several aspects on Thursday. “The reality is that it’s not enough for the team, nor for any individual player,” Hayes stated. “I thought the team was bad tonight, and I told the players afterwards that everyone wants to try to fix a difficult match when things aren’t going well. The problem with that is that the team wins matches.” The US team will have the opportunity to redeem themselves against Portugal on Sunday in East Hartford, Connecticut, according to goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. Despite Thursday’s poor performance, Heaps believes they should not get carried away with negativity. “We haven’t been together in four months, you have to remember that,” said Heaps. “We’ve had two days of training, you have to remember that. You mustn’t be too negative right now, because you’ll sink.”