The United States women's national team suffered a shock loss to Portugal on a brisk evening at Subaru Park in the first of three friendlies to be played this international break. The USWNT got off to a white-hot start when Gotham FC midfielder Rose Lavelle scored just 33 seconds into the game. But an organized and technical Portugal scored twice, both times on set pieces, finding a way to defeat a United States that had five clean sheets in a row leading up to tonight's game.
Here are three thoughts about the USWNT's loss to Portugal.
1. Rose Lavelle is back
First, the good news: Just four days after scoring for Gotham FC to earn a draw and secure a place in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs, Lavelle scored the seventh-fastest goal in USWNT history to put the Yanks on the board.
Not a bad week for a 30-year-old midfielder who underwent ankle surgery last December, and played her first competitive game this year in June. Lavelle is rediscovering her form, and now has 6 goals and 3 assists in 20 games in all competitions in 2025.
Lavelle's goal tonight was as brilliant as it was opportunistic. Catarina Macario carried the ball to the top of the box, where she was closed down by four Portuguese defenders. Macario executed a nifty pullback then flicked the ball to Lavelle, who controlled the ball with her back to goal, turned, and shot.
It was Lavelle's only goal involvement of the night, but she was at the center of the USWNT attack until she was pulled in the 78th minute for teammate Jaedyn Shaw. Lavelle glided through the midfield, free to find space and distribute passes that had the crowd oohing and aahing.
There was the jump into a flying back-heel pass off her right shoe in the 28th minute, the 28' jumped into a flying back heel pass, the chop pass from an impossibly high angle in the 29th minute, the lunging slide to send the ball over the top in the 68th minute.
This was Lavelle's 114th cap for the USWNT,
Megha Gupta
USWNT suffer just third loss under Emma Hayes
Going into tonight's game, the USWNT had lost just two games under Head Coach Emma Hayes. Both happened on home turf. The first was to Japan in the third round of the She Believes Cup at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego in February. The second was to Brazil at PayPal Park in San Jose in April.
Add to that tonight's surprise loss to a Portugal that were winless in seven games going into tonight. Portugal might have a not-too-impressive #23 FIFA ranking, but the team is stacked with players from SL Benfica and other European heavyweights. Portugal were organized in defense, and even if they were outclassed by the US attack, they did just to stifle the American's creativity following Lavelle's goal.
"I didn't recognize us," Hayes said in the postmatch press conference. "I felt that we just rushed everything, we went direct. We didn't look like the team that we've been working on, but that's what you get when you have 113 days apart." Hayes said she saw the disconnection in training, but that something good could come out of this. "Sometimes you need a kick up the backside like that," she said. "The reality is it's not good enough from the team, not any individual. I thought the team was poor tonight, and I said that to the players afterwards."
With this loss, Hayes's record stands at 21W-2D-3L, and her win rate falls to a GOAT-level 80.1 percent. She’ll have the opportunity to bump up that number up when the USWNT host Portugal for a second time on Sunday, when they meet at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.
Philadelphia brings the vibes
It might have been a midweek friendly, but the near-sellout crowd of more than 17,000 spectators made Subaru Park feel like it was hosting a competitive match.
The crowd grew into the game as the minutes went by, with the volume inching up as the Americans launched attack after attack. The result was bad for the USWNT, but the vibes were good, with indulgent parents letting their school-age children stay well after the final whistle in the hope of grabbing the attention of one of the players.
The United States men's national team should take notes. While the USMNT might have trouble getting the crowd behind them in a home game, the stands tonight were packed with devoted USWNT fans who loudly supported their national team, even in defeat.
