‘Unrecognisable’ US women’s national team suffer historic defeat against Portugal

The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) were on the wrong end of football history in their latest international outing, falling to Portugal for the first time ever.

Thursday (23 October) saw Emma Hayes’s side return to action in the first of two games against the European nation, in what was the 12th time the pair have locked horns.

Rose Lavelle’s quick-fire opener inside one minute in Pennsylvania looked as though it would be business as usual for the recently crowned Olympic champions, yet it was anything but.

A resilient display from Portugal would see them pull one back ahead of half-time, followed by a second-half winner cemented their emphatic 2-1 victory over the United States.

Both goals coming from set pieces only added to the frustration for the Americans, the first finished off by Diana Gomes before Fatima Pinto’s deflected effort found its way into the back of the net.

It was a puzzling night on the touchline for Hayes, who thinks the 113 days since their last camp together has contributed to her side looking ‘unrecognisable’.

“It felt to me like we just hadn’t played together for a long time,” the head coach said, as reported by The Guardian.

“I just didn’t recognise us – we didn’t look like the team that we’ve been working on but that’s what happens when you’ve got 113 days apart.”

Her side will have the chance to respond in the coming days with their second game against Portugal, before rounding off the international window against New Zealand.

Midfielder Sam Coffey has urged the team to respond positively, recognising that this loss was way beyond their usual standards.

“There is a standard of winning, and it kind of exceeds all those things,” she said.

“Whether it’s time apart or the age of the team or experience – we have a choice now of how we respond.”

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