USWNT Humiliated! Hayes Slams 'Unrecognizable' Team After Shocking Portugal Loss

The USWNT suffered a stunning defeat to Portugal, with coach Emma Hayes expressing shock at the team's performance, marking their first loss to Portugal in history.

CHESTER, Pa. -- A visibly frustrated United States women's national team head coach Emma Hayes expressed her disappointment after her team's 2-1 loss to Portugal on Thursday at Subaru Park, describing their performance as "unrecognizable." "I didn't recognize us," Hayes stated. "We just rushed everything, we went direct. We didn't look like the team that we'd been working on, but that's what happens when you've got 113 days apart." This loss was the third of the year for the USWNT, a feat only seen four other times in the program's 40-year history. However, the previous losses this year were against Japan and Brazil, while Hayes was experimenting with younger players. Hayes called Thursday's defeat, the team's first against Portugal in 12 matches, the most irritating of her 18 months in charge, citing the team's style of play. "I was frustrated this evening because I felt like a game of a whack-a-mole," Hayes said, repeatedly hitting her hand on the table during the press conference to emphasize her point. "I felt like if I put something out then I was whacking that. That's how the game felt for me as a coach, and I've been doing this for so long - I hate them games." Hayes explained that the team's defensive timing was off "from front to back," and they failed to win duels. Both goals were conceded from corner kicks, which she attributed to the nearly four-month gap between international windows. Midfielder Sam Coffey, however, was less inclined to use the team's lack of recent

play as an excuse. "There's a million excuses you could make - and we're not going to," Coffey said. "To say that we haven't been together or we're young or whatever I think is a cop-out. The standard of this team is to own when you are not good enough and you're not playing up to the standard of the crest. There is a standard of winning, and it exceeds all of those things." The game started promisingly for the Americans, with midfielder Rose Lavelle scoring just 35 seconds into the match, though she appeared to be offside. However, Hayes said that her team was on the defensive from that point on and couldn't build any momentum. "It felt like a team in preseason to me, so we've got to let it go," Hayes said. "But as I always say, don't make it a habit. How we show up tomorrow, how we show up tomorrow is important." Her players echoed those sentiments. Lavelle and Coffey both pointed out the excessive individual efforts, while captain Lindsey Heaps added that "sometimes it felt a little bit like we were on islands." Hayes praised Portugal and warned her team not to underestimate European opponents who gain more experience in tournaments and "know how to kill off games." However, the USWNT coach also felt her team fell short in numerous ways on Thursday. "The reality is, it's not good enough from the team, not any individual," Hayes said. "I thought the team was poor tonight, and I said that to the players afterwards that, look, everybody might want to try and solve sometimes a difficult game when it's not going very well. The problem with that is, the team wins games." The USWNT will seek redemption on Sunday in East Hartford, Conn., as goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce put it. Despite the poor performance, Heaps emphasized that the team shouldn't be overly discouraged. "We haven't been together in four months, we've gotta remember that," Heaps said. "We've had two days of training, we've gotta remember that. You don't want to be super negative right now because you'll just beat your head in."

📝 Sobre este conteúdo Esta matéria foi adaptada e reescrita pela equipe editorial do TudoAquiUSA com base em reportagem publicada em ESPN . O texto foi modificado para melhor atender nosso público, mantendo a precisão factual. Veja o artigo original aqui.