The U.S. suffered a second defeat in the Emma Hayes era, with Brazil responding late to a shutout loss over the weekend courtesy of Amanda’s 95th-minute winner in San Jose.
Just three days after a 2-0 victory in Hollywood, the U.S. women’s national team saw Brazil completely turn the tables, with Las Canarinhas winning 2-1.The contest was a rematch of the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match between the two nations, and the two teams’ second meeting of the current international window.
Emma Hayes rolled out the youngest XI she has deployed in her 20 games as USWNT coach on Tuesday night. However, with seven changes to the starting XI from Saturday’s win – and seven second-half substitutions – the U.S.failed to clinch a win in the encounter.
The U.S. took the lead early, as they found the back of the net just 34 seconds into the match. A stupendous run from Alyssa Thompson saw her push the ball up the field of play nearly 70 yards on her own, before Catarina Macario pounced on a loose ball in the box to score her 10th international goal, and the seventh-fastest in USWNT history.
Manchester City playmaker and former NWSL MVP Kerolin equalized midway through the first half for Brazil, capitalizing on a defensive error on the right side between both Gisele Thompson and Tara McKeown. The winger curled home a lovely effort, drawing Brazil level.
Hayes made a handful of changes in the second half, making five substitutions in total by the 58th minute – but the introductions lacked influence, while Brazil’s didn’t. After ending regulation at a 1-1 deadlock, seven minutes of stoppage-time were added – which was enough for super-sub Amanda to capitalize in the 95th minute.
It was just the second loss of the Hayes’ era – but the second in their last three matches, with the first coming in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup final to Japan in February. While Hayes has continually said she’s playing the long-game, focusing on development as much as wins, she had a clear message for her team after the loss.
“She just kind of said the World Cup in two years is going to be like this, times 200,” Alyssa Thompson told TNT after the match. “We know it’s far away, but also we want to build from this, just like the Japan loss, and continue to, like, grow, and know this was not our best performance..”
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