One Year Out: How Brazil Offered the USWNT a World Cup Preview

While the U.S. Women’s National Team has yet to secure a berth to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil, earlier this month the players got a taste of what that journey could look like.

The USWNT faced packed stadiums, hostile crowds, long travel days and a talented Brazilian side that will enter next year’s tournament among the favorites on home soil.

The results – a 2-1 loss on June 6 in São Paulo followed by a 1-0 victory on June 9 in Fortaleza – provided valuable lessons on the field. But for a team still preparing for qualification later this year, the trip also served as a rare opportunity to experience the challenges, emotions and atmosphere that could await in Brazil next summer.

“Accepting” the Crowds

More than 31,000 fans filled Neo Química Arena in São Paulo three days before Arena Castelão set the all-time women’s sports attendance record for the city of Fortaleza with 55,744 spectators. And the USWNT players heard every single one of them.

The heckling started before the game even did, as the fans cheered the USA goalkeepers getting scored on in warm-ups, and it continued when players walked to the sidelines for throw-ins and corner kicks. Every U.S. foul drew loud protests from the stands, while every Brazilian tackle generated an even louder roar.

Defender Kennedy Wesley later described the volume level as “ear-piercing” while the USA medical staff had to use hand gestures to communicate across the field due to their inability to hear through their earpieces. It was an environment unlike anything most players and staff had experienced, and while it was at times hostile, it was something they welcomed and enjoyed.

“The atmosphere was great,” said forward Michelle Cooper after the game in Fortaleza. “It was a notch up from the last game, which we didn’t even know was possible. To be able to play in front of a crowd like that and win was absolutely huge for us.”

Should the U.S. return to Brazil next summer and match up against the hosts – which would not be a surprise considering the history between these two sides in major tournaments – what the USWNT experienced this month will be just a fraction of the fervor they would experience in 2027.

“The fans make it a very special game for everybody to play in with the noise and intensity and passion,” U.S. head coach Emma Hayes said. “This is elite, and I’m sure it will be even louder at a World Cup, so this is why we are here to experience that.”

Handling the Chaos

The atmosphere in the stands was only part of the challenge. Hayes spoke extensively ahead of the matches about what to expect when playing AsCanarinhas from the skills of specific players to the team’saggressive style of play. The word Hayes used over and over again was “chaos.”

The opening 15 minutes in São Paulo offered that immediate lesson. Forward Sophia Wilson scored just 96 seconds into the match, but Brazil responded with two goals within the next 12 minutes. Add in a slippery pitch, physical challenges and what looked like a Brazilian handball in their own box that was never called, it made for a chaotic match that the USWNT struggled to fully settle into.

But Hayes had a message for her team afterwards.

“Accept the crowd,” she said. “Accept the way the opponent plays. Accept that we might not even have good officiating at times. Accept that maybe VAR won’t go in our favor. Accept it and put it out the window.”

That mentality showed when things began to unravel in the second match that featured multiple stoppages, hard fouls and a remarkable eight red cards, all of which were issued to Brazil. After the U.S. took the lead in the 63rd minute off an own goal created by Wilson, the team handled the chaos both on and off the field to see out the win.

“There’s a game within the game, and we’ve really talked about that a lot this week,” Cooper said. “The importance of staying locked in during moments that there’s a long stoppage or someone goes down, the possibility of cards, even VAR. We talk a lot about managing emotions, staying locked in and focusing on the end goal.”

Finding the Finishing Piece

Beyond handling hostile environments and chaotic moments, another lesson re-emerged from the two matches: the importance of being more clinical in front of goal. Over both matches, the USA totaled 22 shots with nine on target, yet just two found the back of the net with the own goal likely not going in without the fortunate deflection.

The U.S. generated several promising opportunities in the second half of the first match but came up short on finding the equalizer, and the one-goal victory in Fortaleza was not indicative of the offensive effort the Americans showed throughout the entire match. That game could have easily featured three or four U.S. goals.  Though Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena made some incredible saves to keep her team in the match, multiple Americans had more than one chance to extend the USA’s lead.

“I think we showed improvement in a lot of ways, but if I’m being critical of us, which I’m going to be, we need to take those chances,” Hayes said. “We created a lot of chances, situations that we have to score if we’re going to compete to win.”

One positive was seeing Wilson get back on the scoresheet for the first time since her return from maternity leave, becoming the ninth mother to score for the USWNT. On top of her goal in São Paulo, she created the game-winner in Fortaleza through stellar hold-up play before splitting two defenders and getting a shot off from outside the box.

“That’s what [Sophia] does best,” captain Lindsey Heaps said. “When you can get Soph in situations like that, dribbling at the backline, there’s no stopping her. I’m proud of her. There’s going to be more to come, and I’m excited to have her back scoring goals.”

Also returning to the roster for the first time since the birth of her daughter was forward Mallory Swanson. Though Swanson did not see action in either of the Brazil matches, the trip was an important step in her comeback. Swanson played a vital role in clinching the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics and is already scoring for the Chicago Stars in the NWSL. Getting Swanson, Wilson and their “Triple Espresso”teammate Trinity Rodman back together, even if it’s only in training for now, was crucial in rebuilding the attacking firepower the team is in search of.

Getting the Full Experience

The two matches in Brazil were invaluable for the USWNT in terms of getting two tests against the host nation and title-contending team on their own turf, but there were also lessons learned off the pitch.

At the start of the week, Heaps said she wanted her teammates to take in “everything that this country has to offer.” That meant adjusting from the cooler temperatures in São Paulo to the sticky Fortaleza humidity, accepting that traffic might turn a 30-minute bus ride into a 90-minute one, or trying foods many players had never seen before.

But most of all, Heaps wanted her teammates to experience soccer through the lens of Brazil.

“This is a football-loving country, and the way that the people here treat the game is so special, and I’m so excited for all of our players to get to experience that,” she said.

As soon as players stepped off the plane, they could see it through the jerseys sold at the airport. The fans in the stands of Arena Castelão created a mosaic that spelled out “Jogaremos juntos” meaning “We will play together.” Smiles never left the faces of the local girl soccer players who met the USWNT at a community event until their jaws dropped when finding out that the team would provide them tickets to the game.

The love of soccer permeated through every facet of the country and its people.

“I’ve learned what soccer means here,” Hayes said. “I say to everyone, ‘The English invented soccer, but the Brazilians taught us how to play it.’ No, the Brazilians are teaching us how to live it and breathe it and drink it. It’s everywhere, whether it’s murals on the wall of players, as you’re driving on the bus to practice (there’s) constant soccer fields. Nothing glamorous, nothing plush, but it’s community. It’s an event. It’smore than life and death here, and that’s what impressed me.”

Looking Ahead

Following the win in Fortaleza, Hayes and many players hopped on flights to Los Angeles to support the U.S. Men’s National Team at the FIFA World Cup 2026. The day before the USMNT opener against Paraguay, Hayes spoke with Wesley and midfielder Sam Coffey (who missed the Brazil trip due to injury) at U.S. Soccer House presented by Bank of America about how this summer is preparing her for next year’s.

“I’m a fan like the rest of us, but of course I will be thinking about the opening game next year,” Hayes said. “What Mauricio (Pochettino) is going through and that sense of having your crowd with you. I think it’s a good primer for me to go through that.”

The USWNT will have just one more international window, coming in October, before competing for their own World Cup berth at the 2026 Concacaf W Championship. The USA plays El Salvador in the Quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 27, at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, with a win guaranteeing 2027 Women’s World Cup qualification.

The team surely learned many lessons from the matches in Brazil. Compounded with Hayes’ growth philosophy that has developed over the last few years, the trip to South America will play a key role in preparation for World Cup qualifying, but even more so one a year from now when the Americans will likely land on Brazilian soil for the big show.