The U.S. women’s national team closed out 2025 on a high with a 2-0 win over Italy on Monday, the performance showcasing the progress the group has made since head coach Emma Hayes began a year-long experimentation period as she rebuilds the team with the 2027 Women’s World Cup in mind.
Three days removed from a 3-0 win over the same opponent, Hayes made five changes to the lineup that started on Friday and reaped the rewards for her selections in more ways than one. Fresh off bagging a brace in their previous meeting against Italy, Catarina Macario scored the USWNT’s opener in the 20th minute. Lily Yohannes expertly saw Macario running into space and made the pass from the halfway line, with Macario meeting the ball before making a long run into the box and putting a curled shot into the back of the net.
The USWNT doubled their lead in the 41st minute through Jaedyn Shaw, who connected with Alyssa Thompson for the goal. Thompson spotted Shaw and played a long pass through traffic to her teammate, with Shaw eventually making her way to the edge of the penalty area before slotting the ball past Italy goalkeeper Francesca Durante.
Much like they did three days earlier, the USWNT were dominant in possession but created fewer meaningful goalscoring opportunities along the way, their shot count dropping from 19 on Friday to 16 on Monday. The U.S. also posted just 1.44 expected goals on Monday, their second-lowest total all year long, though they effectively shut Italy completely out of the game. Italy mustered 1.21 expected goals from seven chances on Friday and became the latest team to expose the USWNT’s shakiness when defending set pieces but on Monday, the visitors had just 0.31 expected goals from six shots.
The USWNT return to play in the new year with a friendly against Paraguay on Jan. 24, the latest step in the team’s progression to the Concacaf W Championship in November, which will serve as the qualification tournament for the 2027 World Cup.
The USWNT’s stacked attack
Macario and Shaw were the latest players to have their moment in the sun in a year full of them for the USWNT’s young stars, each of them translating their strong club form to the national team. Chelsea’s Macario now has seven goals and three assists in her last 14 matches for club and country, while Shaw has three goals and one assist in her last five, playing a major role in Gotham’s run to the NWSL Championship. Their outings offer a stark reminder that Hayes treats club form as foundational in earning a call-up to the national team, the pair continuing to live up to the hype as important new additions to a USWNT attack that has historically been the team’s defining aspect.
For Macario in particular, the games against Italy have finally allowed the attacker to live up to her promise after several injury-plagued years. She boasts a versatility that makes her an easy addition to any USWNT roster but Hayes has frequently deputized her as a No. 9, which may be her role with the team going forward. Alongside the likes of Shaw and Alyssa Thompson, who also started on Monday, Macario helps to quash any concerns about the USWNT’s depth in attack. Hayes has had to spend the vast majority of 2025 without the triple espresso of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson, who combined for 10 goals during the team’s gold medal-winning run at the 2024 Olympic Games. The USWNT have not missed the trio all that much, setting up for a competitive race for roster spots and playing time as the World Cup nears.
The USWNT’s year of opportunity
Hayes now has 30 matches under her belt as the USWNT head coach and has handed starts to 50 different players along the way, the most of anyone in her position during that stretch of games. The player pool is as wide-open as it has ever been as a result, meaning the race for minutes will not be exclusive to the attacking positions.
The head coach will now spend much of 2026 locking in her top choices for different roles, though it seems like a few players are inching closer to starting roles than others. The goalkeeper position just might be down to two players in Phallon Tullis-Joyce and Claudia Dickey, with Dickey starting both games against Italy while Tullis-Joyce battles a fractured eye socket. Naomi Girma still has a hold on a starting position as a center back, while the USWNT are better when 18-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes is on the field.
Many of the other positions seem to be up for grabs, either waiting for a player recovering from a long-term injury or on the way back from maternity leave or paving the way for an up-and-comer to assume the role. Each and every friendly en route to the Concacaf W Championship in November will essentially be an audition for those spots but one thing feels certain – Hayes’ version of the team already looks vastly different than the one she inherited, at the very least proving that the U.S. team has the depth needed to make deep runs in major tournaments.
