EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- There are no do-overs in sports, let alone life, but Sunday was about as close as the United States women's national team could get to taking a mulligan.

Three days after a 2-1 loss to Portugal in their most pedestrian performance in their 18 months under head coach Emma Hayes, the Americans won the rematch at Pratt & Whitney Stadium 3-1 . The circumstances for each game were eerily similar, too: a first-minute goal for the USWNT, followed by a letdown that tested the Americans' mettle.

Sunday's stakes were relatively high, too, at least for a friendly. The USWNT had never lost four games in a calendar year -- Thursday made it three in 2025 -- and another poor performance could have sparked more serious questions about the trajectory of Hayes' rebuilding p

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