United States women's national team head coach Emma Hayes admitted that Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Brazil "sucks," but she said she now has a clearer vision of which players are long-term solutions, and that "we mustn't always measure progress by outcome."
The USWNT lost 2-1 to Brazil at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., after substitute Amanda Gutierres scored in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Hayes started a lineup with an average of fewer than 18 caps per player the least experienced USWNT to start a game since March 2001, when a generation of senior players stayed with their clubs during an international window for the launch of a new professional league.
"If I only prioritized short-term success, of course I wouldn't make that many changes," Hayes said. "But I'm not making decisions for the short-term; I'm prioritizing the progress from expanding the playing pool to getting to see what these players look like in a really difficult match."
The USWNT defeated Brazil 2-0 on Saturday near Los Angeles in the first rematch of the 2024 Olympic gold-medal game.
Hayes made seven changes for Tuesday's rematch, including goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn earning her third cap, defender Avery Patterson earning her first start three days after her debut, and teenagers Claire Hutton (19) and Lily Yohannes (17) in midfield.
Forward Catarina Macario put the United States ahead after only 34 seconds, but the Americans came out "completely flat" in the second half, Hayes said, noting that they produced a dire 0.0 expected goals after half time.
The second half of Tuesday's game digressed into a sloppy game with numerous stoppages for injuries and substitutions.
Hayes brought on several veterans among seven substitutions (including concussion changes) and the USWNT pushed for a game-winning goal in stoppage time.
Brazil caught the Americans on the counterattack, however, and a 3-v-3 break eventually led to Gutierres scoring a tap-in goal.
Hayes said that losing in that manner will serve as a hard, tangible lesson for the inexperience group.
"If we cannot win it, do not lose," Hayes said. "And some of those cute little things you have to require at the top level to not lose gives me an opportunity to remind us of what that looks like in the 93rd minute to ensure that it doesn't happen. Most importantly, we're not getting eliminated from a World Cup today."
Tuesday's loss was the second in three games for the USWNT after falling to Japan in the SheBelieves Cup in February.
Prior to that, the USWNT had not lost in its first 17 games under Hayes.
Hayes said she is "a lot clearer" on which players are ready and which players are not following this training camp, including in the wide-open goalkeeper position.
She praised Hutton as "superb" on Tuesday, and was similarly complimentary of Patterson, who left the game in the second half as a concussion sub with an apparent eye injury.
Hayes said repeatedly on Tuesday that the two games against Brazil, ranked eighth in the world, allowed her to "put [players] in the frying pan and feel the heat."
Upcoming games this spring and summer against Republic of Ireland and China, two weaker opponents, might only confirm to her what she already knows.
The USWNT won't play in any official competitions in 2025, meaning the set of games against Brazil -- plus the recent match against Japan -- offered Hayes her best opportunity to play a high-caliber opponent "until hopefully we go to Brazil, maybe next year" ahead of the 2027 World Cup there.
"You have to go through this stage of development to make progress for the next level, and I genuinely think in this camp we've seen so many good things to know we're heading in the right direction," Hayes said.
"The result sucks, and it's ok to feel that, but we will get better."