Young and inexperienced USWNT falls late to Brazil

It’s funny how soccer works sometimes. Had the United States women’s national team been able to hold off a late surge from Brazil to escape PayPal Park with a draw Tuesday night, it may have been viewed as a gutsy result. If Yazmeen Ryan’s service from the right side had been sharper, perhaps Emma Hayes’ side could have eked out a win. Then again, had Brazil had their finishing boots on, it may well have been a lopsided win for the guests.

As it was, Amanda Gutierres tapped in a soft but well-measured cross from Luany in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Brazil the 2-1 victory.  Here are three quick thoughts from the match.

Any discussion about prior youth movements within the U.S. team pale in comparison to the overhaul head coach Emma Hayes is undertaking. With the World Cup still more than two years away, and several key contributors injured or pregnant, Hayes is rewriting the book on how to handle a full cycle as U.S. head coach. Tuesday’s starting lineup was the least experienced U.S. XI by senior caps since a B-team went to the Algarve Cup in 2001 to allow the regulars a chance to focus on WUSA preseason.

The results were mixed. No one looked entirely out of their depth, but none of the lines looked particularly sharp. The Emily Sonnett-Tara McKeown central defense pairing did not immediately click, and so far NWSL Best XI defender McKeown has not looked the part of an international defender. Alana Cook replaced her at halftime with mixed results.

In midfield, Hayes went with three defensive-minded starters — Korbin Albert, Lily Yohannes, and Claire Hutton. It was an understandable experiment but one that would be surprising to see again. Little that played out Tuesday night suggests they are likely to see much time together. Yohannes was pushed up higher than usual and was not a big factor in the match. Her best moment came when she played Catarina Macario behind the defense in an example of the best work she does pulling strings from deeper in midfield.

Sonnett’s gambit to attack the ball cost her team on the game-winning sequence. Once she was beat and left behind, her partner Cook was isolated and had to figure out what to do as Brazil countered. She wound up caught between two ideas and Gutierres trotted into space no attacker should ever occupy alone at any point of any match, let alone stoppage time. Once Luany made a good cross, it was easy pickings for the winner.