Key takeaways from the USWNT's doubleheader against Brazil

If development — and learning new information about existing players — was the USWNT's target, how did it fare? 

Here are the key takeaways from the team's experimental doubleheader against Brazil:

Cat Macario and Alyssa Thompson might give Triple Espresso a run for their money: Forward Macario and winger Thompson were the only players to star in both Brazil matches. They haven’t played together often, but that’s bound to change; Thompson’s line-breaking runs perfectly matched Macario’s world-class holding play. 

They looked more comfortable together in this game than in their debut on Saturday. Both were let down by poor finishing — even Macario’s miraculous first-minute goal came off the back of a flubbed shot — but on another night, they could’ve had five goals between them.

That’s promising for the USWNT, which spent the back half of 2024 struggling to find a replacement for its "Triple Espresso" forward line of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson. While Macario and Thompson still have plenty to learn about each other, their connection appears to be natural and healthy. They’ll do great things together with a bit more time.

The team needs a goalkeeper decision now: It's been a long time since there's been any competition in goal for the USWNT; Alyssa Naeher had the spot locked down for years. Hayes is auditioning three replacements — Jane Campbell of the Houston Dash, Mandy McGlynn of the Utah Royals and Phallon Tullis-Joyce of Manchester United — to take Naeher's place. 

We've learned a lot from seeing Campbell, McGlynn and Tullis-Joyce in action, but the constant shuffling of goalkeepers has done little to help the USWNT's injury-ravaged defense. Hayes needs to make a final call there.

Solid, unflappable Campbell, who performed brilliantly in February in the SheBelieves Cup, should be in pole position... but don't count out Tullis-Joyce just yet. She needs to improve her footwork, but her shot-stopping abilities are world-class.

Physicality matters against a team like Brazil, and the USWNT has a long way to go on that front: In the first Brazil game, Hayes started Portland's Sam Coffey and Angel City's Thompson in midfield; in the second, she went for PSG's Korbin Albert and Ajax's Lily Yohannes instead. The difference was staggering. Coffey and Thompson looked well up to Brazil's physical, foul-heavy playing style, while Albert and Yohannes struggled to hold their own.

That's not to say Albert and Yohannes aren't fit or aggressive; they wouldn't be on the team if they weren't. But there's a big difference between being fit in practice and translating it into ball retention against a formidable opponent. Albert and Yohannes were guilty of several turnovers in the park's center that Coffey and Thompson simply didn't make.

It wasn't just Albert and Yohannes who struggled to maintain their physical standards in the match's final moments. In a close-run game like this one, that standard makes all the difference, and it was the reason Brazil broke through and scored its extra-time winner.

"I thought in the second half we came out completely flat," Hayes said. "Maybe it was quite a big effort from our players, mentally, physically. But I thought we started the second half so flat and never recovered."

The USWNT will return to action on Saturday, May 31, for a doubleheader against China.