The U.S. women’s national team was hit with a few reality checks this fall, and two-time World Cup winner Becky Sauerbrunn delivered another: It’s time for the Stars and Stripes to stop experimenting and start “building chemistry” ahead of next summer’s showpiece event.

All eyes were on the reigning Olympic champion this October as it faced off with reigning world champion Spain in two blockbuster friendlies. Many viewed the matches as a preview of the 2027 World Cup final, and banked on the USWNT giving a La Roja team without Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey a proper fight.

Except Emma Hayes’s squad suffered a poor 2–0 defeat to Spain in the first friendly and then settled for a 2–2 draw in the second. The matches highlighted just how much work needs to be done if the USWNT wants to dethrone the defending cup holders in Brazil.

Sauerbrunn, alongside fellow two-time World Cup winner Sam Mewis, dove into a key aspect hurting the USWNT’s preparations for soccer’s grandest event coming next summer.

“The idea of building chemistry versus building depth. When is it time to focus on the chemistry part?” Mewis asked on The Women’s Game podcast.

“It’s probably yesterday,” Sauerbrunn answered. “It’s tough because Emma has probably not had her first-choice roster since the [2024] Olympics. There have been a slew of injuries and so it is kind of by necessity that she is trying so many different combinations.

“The most successful teams are not the best players that are in the XI; it’s the best team that makes up the XI. At some point, you just have to go with chemistry.

“Going into a World Cup year ... with not many training camps left, with not many games, I’ve seen as many partnerships as I can see. I’m going with that. I’m building reps. I’m building chemistry. And if I can get all my players back, that’s great. That will provide depth when I need depth. I’m figuring out my best partnerships right now.”

The Clock Is Ticking for the USWNT, Hayes

Expectations are always high for the USWNT, but they are exponentially higher following the team’s gold medal triumph at the 2024 Olympics. The U.S. is hungry to celebrate a record-extending fifth World Cup, but Hayes’s team cannot climb the mountaintop without chemistry.

After the Stars and Stripes’ defeat to Spain, Hayes made five changes to her XI for the rematch. Phallon Tullis-Joyce came in between the posts, Gisele Thompson commanded the left flank, Ashley Sanchez got the nod in midfield and Trinity Rodman and Claire Hutton came into the attack.

Mallory Swanson, the hero for the USWNT against Brazil at the Paris Olympics, did not start either game. Naomi Girma, Emily Sonnett, Catarina Macario and Sam Coffey were also missing from Hayes’s roster.

There is less than a year until the USWNT is expected to make a run to the World Cup final, and Hayes is still playing with her lineup, trying to find winning combinations while missing key members of her XI. It’s hardly ideal, considering the behemoths waiting on the world stage.

Getting by the likes of England or Spain without true chemistry and team cohesion will be near-impossible. When the USWNT reunite in November, Hayes must seriously consider heeding Sauerbrunn’s advice and start rolling out the best XI at her disposal.