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U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes specifically relished the opportunity to play Italy twice to conclude a year filled with top opponents from around the world.
Le Azzure were semifinalists in this summer’s Euros, but the USWNT were able to come out on top in Monday’s 2-0 win following last Friday’s 3-0 victory. Striker Catarina Macario scored three goals across the two games. Goalkeeper Claudia Dickey started both matches and star defender Naomi Girma returned to the squad after an injury kept her out of camp for most of the year.
Now, as the team looks ahead towards next year and then towards qualifying for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, Hayes feels like the USWNT is in a good spot.
“I think we’re in a really healthy position,” Hayes said last week.
Here are my takeaways from the window:
1. USWNT Finishes the Year Strong
(Photo by Carl Kafka/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
The Americans went 12-3 in 2025, which included four consecutive wins to close out the year. Before Monday night’s game, Hayes told the TNT broadcast that the the first match against the Italians was the “first time I felt, in so many different parts of the pitch, we had applied things that were months and months of learning.”
Hayes pointed to the losses: to Japan in February’s SheBelieves Cup final, to Brazil in an April friendly, and to Portugal in October. She referenced them as examples of how the team quickly bounced back and learned from their mistakes.
While the USWNT is still missing some of its top players – most notably the Triple Espresso trio of forwards Trinity Rodman (recovering from injury), Mallory Swanson (maternity leave) and Sophia Wilson (maternity leave) – the squads Hayes has put together since last summer’s Olympics have only shown promise. Which is especially important as the U.S. looks forward to 2026 and qualifying for the 2027 World Cup.
2. Scoring Impressive Goals
(Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
The USWNT’s goals in these last two matches vs. Italy looked effortless. Which is a testament to the style and direction that Hayes has implemented since becoming head coach in May 2024.
Take a couple of Monday night’s goals, for example.
On the Americans’ first goal in the 20th minute, Lily Yohannes played a beautiful ball to Macario, who made a run behind Italy’s back line before chipping the perfect shot over goalkeeper Francesca Durant.
On the second goal in the 41st minute, there was strong buildup through the middle as Alyssa Thompson dribbled from the right to left side before feeding Jaedyn Shaw a pass that she touched twice before cutting inside and finishing in the top right corner.
The Triple Espresso – aka the Rodman-Swanson-Wilson trio – scored 10 of the USWNT’s 12 goals at the Paris Olympics. With all three out for an extended period of time, there were questions as to who might step up and score goals. Hayes has given opportunities to players in their absence, and they have stepped up to show that no matter the lineup or who’s available or who’s not and where they are on the field, the U.S. will be dangerous in front of goal.
3. Macario on a Heater
Speaking of Macario, the Chelsea forward led the USWNT with eight goals this year. This included back-to-back braces in matches against New Zealand on Oct. 29 and against Italy on Nov. 28.
Before Monday’s game, Hayes was asked on the broadcast who she thinks has taken their game to another level this year. While at first reluctant to single out any one player, Hayes said she loved Macario’s development. Macario, 26, was poised to have a breakout year with the national team in 2024 before pulling out of the Olympics with an injury. Following a long layoff, she returned to the team during the SheBelieves Cup in February and scored her first goal for her country in 712 days. Since then, she’s scored a total of eight to finish the year.
This was Hayes’ reaction after Macario scored Monday night:
Macario has been through an injury journey – she only has 28 caps, which doesn’t seem like a lot for a player that’s been in the program as long as she has. But she’s finally finding her groove not only with the national team, but for club Chelsea too. And even more so, under Hayes she’s spending more time as a No. 9 when she’s usually more comfortable playing the No. 10. Her versatility will only serve the team well as it begins its hunt for another World Cup title.
4. A Year of Growth
(Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
Growth is a word that Hayes has used often when talking about this team. When she looks at the past year – or really the months since the Olympics – Hayes reflects on the importance of development and how critical that is not just for this current team, but the future of the program.
Hayes has revamped a lot of things about the USWNT in a short time on the job, one of which is the road players take to get to the senior team. She’s enhanced the pathway via the U-23 program. Last January, she held camps that ran alongside the senior team and many of those younger players who were training with the U-23s have earned caps with the USWNT since then.
Additionally, there have been an incredible number of debuts since Hayes took over. She gave first caps to the 26th and 27th players in this window’s first match vs. Italy to Chicago Stars forward Jameese Joseph and Washington Spirit defender Kate Wiesner, citing the importance of giving players experience at the highest level. Wiesner went on to start the second match on Monday night, becoming the 50th player to earn a start under Hayes.
4 ½. What’s Next?
These were the last matches the USWNT will play in 2025. The team will convene early next year as they start ramping up preparation to qualify for the 2027 World Cup.
“My head is already building toward what January looks like,” Hayes told Monday night’s pregame broadcast when asked what 2026 and building toward World Cup qualifying will look like. “We won’t get many opportunities [to play together], however I perceive the whole pool. I’ve put collectively totally different combos and am utterly clear what our group appears like.”
Laken Litman covers school soccer, school basketball and soccer for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand wrote for Sports activities Illustrated, USA As we speak and The Indianapolis Star. She is the writer of “Robust Like a Girl,” printed in spring 2022 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX. Comply with her at @LakenLitman.
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