CHESTER, Pa. — A annoyed United States ladies’s nationwide workforce head coach Emma Hayes mentioned her workforce was unrecognizable in its 2-1 loss to Portugal on Thursday at Subaru Park.
“I did not acknowledge us,” Hayes mentioned. “We simply rushed the whole lot, we went direct. We did not appear like the workforce that we might been engaged on, however that is what occurs once you’ve acquired 113 days aside.”
The loss was the third of the calendar yr for the USWNT, which has solely occurred 4 different instances in this system’s 40-year historical past. However the two losses earlier this yr got here by the hands of fellow world heavyweights Japan and Brazil whereas Hayes experimented with younger gamers.
Hayes referred to as Thursday’s loss, the workforce’s first in opposition to Portugal in 12 matches, essentially the most irritating of her 18 months in cost to date, due to the way in which the workforce performed.
“I used to be annoyed this night as a result of I felt like a sport of a whack-a-mole,” Hayes mentioned, repeatedly hitting her hand on the desk within the press convention room as an example the purpose.
“I felt like if I put one thing out then I used to be whacking that. That is how the sport felt for me as a coach, and I have been doing this for thus lengthy – I hate them video games.”
Hayes mentioned the workforce mistimed the whole lot defensively “from entrance to again,” and did not win duels. The Individuals additionally conceded each targets on nook kicks, which she associated again to almost 4 months between worldwide home windows.
Midfielder Sam Coffey was much less keen to make use of rust as an excuse.
“There’s one million excuses you could possibly make – and we’re not going to,” Coffey mentioned. “To say that we have not been collectively or we’re younger or no matter I believe is a cop-out. The usual of this workforce is to personal when you find yourself not ok and you are not enjoying as much as the usual of the crest. There’s a normal of profitable, and it exceeds all of these issues.”
The sport began brightly for the Individuals, with midfielder Rose Lavelle (who gave the impression to be in an offside place) scoring 35 seconds into the match. However Hayes mentioned that her workforce was on the again foot from there and did not construct any momentum.
“It felt like a workforce in preseason to me, so we have got to let it go,” Hayes mentioned. “However as I all the time say, do not make it a behavior. How we present up tomorrow, how we present up tomorrow is essential.”
Her gamers echoed these ideas. Lavelle and Coffey each mentioned there have been too many particular person efforts, whereas captain Lindsey Heaps added that “generally it felt somewhat bit like we have been on islands.”
Hayes complimented Portugal and advised her workforce that they cannot underestimate European opponents who get extra expertise in tournaments and “know how one can kill off video games.” However the USWNT coach additionally felt her workforce failed in quite a few methods on Thursday.
“The fact is, it isn’t ok from the workforce, not any particular person,” Hayes mentioned. “I believed the workforce was poor tonight, and I mentioned that to the gamers afterwards that, look, all people may wish to try to clear up generally a troublesome sport when it isn’t going very properly. The issue with that’s, the workforce wins video games.”
The USWNT will get a shot at revenge, as goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce referred to as it, on Sunday in East Hartford, Conn. As unhealthy as Thursday’s efficiency was, Heaps mentioned they cannot get too down about it.
“We’ve not been collectively in 4 months, we have gotta do not forget that,” Heaps mentioned. “We have had two days of coaching, we have gotta do not forget that. You do not wish to be tremendous damaging proper now since you’ll simply beat your head in.”