USWNT suffer shock defeat to Portugal

The U.S. Women’s National Team suffered an unlikely defeat to Portugal on Thursday night at Subaru Park. An early goal
by Rose Lavelle gave the team an early lead, but Portugal responded with two goals from set pieces, winning the match 2-1.

The USWNT returned to action on Thursday night for their first match in 113 days for the first of a two-match series against Portugal. It was the first USWNT match hosted in Philadelphia in over three years, after a 9-0 battering of Uzbekistan at Subaru Park in April 2022. Portugal traveled to Philadelphia looking to correct course, having struggled recently in the UEFA Women’s Euro and the Women’s Nations League. Thursday’s match was their first battle against the USWNT since a hard-fought 0-0 draw at the 2023 World Cup.

Alex Morgan was honored before the match in a brief ceremony to celebrate her retirement after her illustrious USWNT career. Gifted a shirt with the number 224, counting her USWNT appearances, Morgan scored 123 goals over her international career. Morgan’s first goal for USWNT came just over 15 years ago at Subaru Park in a victory over China PR on October 6, 2010.

The USWNT got off to a rapid start, finding Catarina Macario near the edge of the box. After dribbling, her pass deflected off a Portugal defender, finding Rose Lavelle in the box. Lavelle turned sharply before finishing on her weaker right foot, scoring within 35 seconds of the opening whistle. Lavelle’s 26th career USWNT goal was the 7th fastest national team goal on record.

The U.S. dominated the match early, but Portugal began to gain control of the match after the 30-minute mark. Attacking midfielder and Barcelona star Kika Nazareth became more involved, creating a scoring chance with a brilliant scoop pass to Tatiana Pinto, who was denied point blank by a spectacular save from Phallon Tullis-Joyce. The brilliant reaction save resulted in a corner kick from which Nazareth delivered a quality cross into the box for Diana Gomes, who powered a header into the bottom corner. Gomes’ goal leveled the match at 1-1 in the 41st minute. The half ended even at one goal apiece.

The U.S. started the second half the way they began, creating multiple great chances within the first ten minutes including a low cross from Alyssa Thompson that nearly forced a Portugal own goal. Despite the sustained pressure, Portugal responded once again from a set piece. Another Kika Nazareth corner kick in the 72nd minute fell for Fátima Pinto, whose first effort was blocked by a USWNT defender. The deflection fell perfectly for Pinto, who shot the rebound through traffic, beating Tullis-Joyce to take a shock 2-1 lead.

Despite holding the majority of the possession late in the match, USWNT struggled to create another quality goalscoring chance. The match ended 2-1, with Portugal claiming an unlikely victory over the USWNT.

The loss against Portugal was the USWNT’s first six matches. Their last loss came on April 8 to Brazil, a match in which the U.S. also took a 1-0 lead in the first minute and still fell short. Portugal, on the other hand, claim their first win in eight matches. The U.S. finishes up their window with a chance for revenge against Portugal on Sunday, October 26 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. The match will kick off at 4 p.m. EST.