EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – For U.S. women's national team head coach Emma Hayes, much of the last year has been an exercise in planning for the long-term. She speaks frequently about how learning never stops for players and how teaching is her favorite part of the job , perfectly positioned to have as much information as possible by the time she has to lock in personnel and tactical choices for the 2027 Women's World Cup. It may be early in Hayes' reinvention of the USWNT, but in Sunday's 3-1 win over Portugal , she may have been witness to the biggest takeaway yet – the future just might be now.

Whether or not it was in direct response to the team's 2-1 loss to Portugal just three days earlier, Hayes used her re-do to make eight changes to Thursday's lineup, her youth-skewing roster o

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