HARRISON, N.J. — As Emma Hayes wrapped her weeks-long NWSL tour with a final stop in New Jersey on Saturday, the U.S. women’s national team head coach was already looking ahead to the national team’s pre-World Cup trip to Brazil.
“For us as a team, getting the opportunity to go to Brazil prior to the qualification is perfect preparation,” Hayes said from Sports Illustrated Stadium. “You get a sense, culturally, what the country is like — everything from food to hotels to training pitches to fans and feeling the temperature of the Brazilian fans — plus (we get to) play against a very dynamic team.”
Hayes attended multiple NWSL matches around the country in recent weeks and took time to speak with reporters ahead of Gotham FC’s rematch with expansion side Boston Legacy. She called New York her “spiritual home,” as the early days of her coaching career trace back to Long Island.
Gotham features a slew of active U.S. women’s national team players, including Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle, Tierna Davidson and Jaedyn Shaw, as well as various players like star rookie Jordynn Dudley who have featured previously for the senior team or for the U-23 and U-17 national teams.
Since being hired as the U.S. head coach in 2023, Hayes has reimagined the development pathways for U.S. women’s soccer players.
She helped revive the Under-23 national team as a link to the senior team, with players seamlessly moving between the two sides. Shaw is one of the biggest examples after she spent time with the U-23 side last year before returning to the senior side as one of its most consistent midfielders.
That change allowed Hayes to fully embrace the entire U.S. women’s player pool in the years leading up to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. After selecting first-time call-ups and young, inexperienced players, Hayes narrowed her selections in recent windows to a core group as they prepare for World Cup qualifiers in the fall.
The U.S. announced in April that it would play two international friendlies in Brazil this June against the Brazilian women’s national team. As Hayes said, competing in a host country the year before a World Cup allows the team to encounter what playing in that environment will be like — especially in Brazil, where locals are soccer-obsessed.
“I’ve said so many times that Brazil is probably the one team in the world where you’re lucky if you get two or three passes in a row because of the intensity of the press and their deliberate intentions, 1-v-1,” Hayes said. “So, to experience that in their home backyard, I think, is important, and we’re very much looking forward to it.”
The two matches will mark the first time the two teams have faced off in Brazil since 2014. They will play in São Paulo on June 6 and in Fortaleza on June 9 at stadiums that will host World Cup matches next summer.
The São Paulo match takes place at the Neo Química Arena, a 49,000-capacity stadium that is home to Corinthians, one of the most storied and beloved clubs in Brazil. That match will be broadcast as a doubleheader on TBS, Max, Telemundo, Universo, and Peacock, airing after the U.S. men’s national team plays a World Cup send-off friendly against Germany.
The second match in Fortaleza, located in the northeastern region of the country, is at the Arena Castelão, a stadium shared by two second-division Brazilian clubs — Fortaleza and Ceará — with a capacity of 57,000.
As part of the trip, the U-23 team will also travel to Brazil to play against professional clubs based in São Paulo.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Women's Soccer, FIFA Women's World Cup
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