USWNT vs. Portugal: Starting XI and Lineup Notes

USWNT vs. Portugal
Date: October 26, 2025
Place: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, Hartford, Connecticut.
Broadcast:TNT, truTV and HBO Max in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish
Radio: Westwood One Sports
Official kick-off time: 4:07 p.m. ET

USA: 18-Claudia Dickey; 3-Avery Patterson, 4-Jordyn Bugg, 7-Lily Yohannes, 8-Jaedyn Shaw, 9-Ally Sentnor, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 14-Emily Sonnett (captain), 15-Claire Hutton, 21-Alyssa Thompson, 25-Lilly Reale

Submarines available: 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce, 6-Emily Sams, 10-Lindsey Heaps, 11-Lo’eau LaBonta, 12-Michelle Cooper, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Sam Coffey, 19-Emma Sears, 20-Catarina Macario, 22-Yazmeen Ryan, 23-Emily Fox, 26-Kennedy Wesley

Not dressing up: Tara McKeown, Mandy McGlynn, Eva Gaetino

Head Coach: Emma Hayes

USWNT Starting XI Selection Numbers (including this match): Sonnett (112), Shaw (28), Thompson (24), Sentnor (13), Moultrie (10), Yohannes (10), Hutton (8), Patterson (8), Bugg (3), Reale (3), Dickey (3)

Remarks :

U.S. head coach Emma Hayes made eight changes to the starting lineup that faced Portugal on October 23, with Sonnett, Thompson and Patterson the only three to start a second consecutive match.

Starting center back Emily Sonnett has more caps (111) heading into this match than the rest of the squad combined (100).

The US starting lineup averages 19.2 caps per player heading into this game. The least experienced team in terms of caps fielded by the USWNT in the last 25 years arrived this year on April 8, 2025, when the average caps for the starting lineup against Brazil was 17.9.

The average age of tonight’s starting lineup is 21.7 years old. Excluding Sonnett, the average age is under 21 at 20.7.

Three teenagers will start this evening: Lily Yohannes (18 years old), Clarie Hutton (19 years old) and Jordyn Bugg (19 years old). Prior to 2025, when Emma Hayes has now started three teenagers twice – April 8, 2025 against Brazil and today – the last time the USWNT saw three or more teenagers start a match ON WHAT WAS CONSIDERED THE BEST AVAILABLE ROSTER was February 9, 2000 against Norway. These players were Nandi Pryce, Christie Welsh and Danielle Slaton.

The USWNT started several teenagers in several matches during the 2001 Algarve Cup, but that comes with a caveat. The United States sent a very young team to this tournament as the veteran players were in pre-season for the first year of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA). Prior to that 2001 Algarve Cup, the last time three teenagers started a game for the USWNT was against Italy on July 7, 2000, but that game also featured a young team as the United States played 41 games that year, so then-US head coach April Heinrichs dropped most of the veterans and called up primarily a U-21 team mixed with some older players. Likewise, all the players who faced Iceland on April 5, 2000 in a match behind closed doors – seven teenagers started that one – were part of the younger half of the squad as the veterans faced Iceland in a promoted match three days later. Surprisingly, the young players won 8-0 and the veterans drew 0-0.

MATCH HUB | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

STARTING XI NOTES:

Claudia Dickey25 years old, wins his third USWNT cap at senior level. Dickey was the 29th goalkeeper in USWNT history to earn a cap when she played against Ireland on June 26, and the 11th GK in US history to earn a shutout in her debut.

Avery Patterson23 years old, will win his eighth cap and make his sixth start, after making his first appearance on April 5 against Brazil in Los Angeles when he came on late in the match. Patterson, who scored three goals from outside back this year for the Houston Dash, was part of the U.S. Junior National Team program at the U-14, U-20 and U-23 levels before joining the senior team.

Jordyn Bugg, 19 years old, wins his third cap and his second start at senior level. She has two goals this season from center back for the Reign, the first, a stunning long-range strike in August against the NC Courage and a last-minute equalizer against the Chicago Stars on June 14 that snuck into the net from the right wing. She is one of three teenagers at the camp, along with Lily Yohannes and Claire Hutton. All three will leave for the United States today. Bugg is the second player born in 2006 to be called up to the USWNT after Claire Hutton.

Lily Yohannes, 18 years old, is the youngest player on the list. Yohannes is joined by Hutton and Bugg as the only teenagers in the camp. This is his sixth call-up to the senior team, his tenth cap and his sixth start. She earned her first call-up for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup and became the youngest player to be called up for a full national team camp since 16-year-old Sophia Smith was called up in April 2017 for training camp ahead of matches against Russia in Texas.

gods of Shaw, 20 years old, wins his 28th selection and his 12th start. Shaw was traded from NC Courage to Gotham FC on September 11 in an NWSL record $1.25 million intra-league transfer. She returns to Team USA after spending the last two FIFA windows with the WNT U-23, a trip to Germany for two matches and a camp in Colorado. She started both U-23 matches in Germany, a 2-1 win and a 2-1 loss. She came off the bench on October 23 against Portugal to earn her first WNT minutes since April 8 against Brazil.

Ally Sentnor, 21 years old, wins his 13th selection and his sixth start. The KC Current forward played in every game she dressed for. She was the No. 1 selection in the 2024 NWSL Draft and won the 2024 American Soccer Young Player of the Year award.

Olivia Moultrie, 20 years old, wins his tenth selection and his fourth start. The Portland Thorns midfielder turns 20 on September 17, but just before her birthday, she set a new NWSL record. Moultrie is the highest-scoring teenager in NWSL history with 14 goals. She passed USWNT teammate Jaedyn Shaw on September 15. Shaw held the record with 13 before Moultrie.

Emily Sonnett, 32 years old, starts in the center of defense to win his 112th career cap. This is her third time captaining the USWNT. Today she will make her 60th start, which means she has started 54% of her career. In May, Sonnett helped Gotham FC win the first-ever Concacaf W Champions Cup and scored the penalty that gave her team a 1-0 win over UNAL Tigres, qualifying for the 2026 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup and the inaugural FIFA Women’s Club World Cup in 2028.

Claire Hutton, 19, wins her eighth cap and sixth start, all in 2025. Hutton’s first call-up came in February 2025 and she made her debut in the second match of her first camp. Hutton had a strong rookie year in 2024, recording 1,827 in 24 matches for the Kansas City Current after signing through the NWSL under-18 entry mechanism on December 14, 2023. This season, she played in 24 of the Current’s 25 matches, playing a major role in the runaway Sheild winners’ success. She has two assists.

Alyssa Thompson20 years old, will win his 24th selection and his 13th career start. Thompson, who scored five goals – with one assist – in five games at the end of the 2024 NWSL season after not scoring all season, had six goals and two assists for Angel City FC before his high-profile move to Chelsea FC. She was the second youngest player in league history to reach 20 goals, after USWNT teammate Olivia Moultrie.

Lilly Reale, 22 years old, this afternoon makes his third start in as many selections. The Gotham FC rookie has made a name for himself at left back for the New Jersey side, notably as a natural left foot. She attended the Futures Camp in January, the U-23 WNT training camp in Los Angeles in April and traveled with the U-23s to Germany during the last FIFA window, scoring the opening goal of the United States’ 2-1 victory over Germany in the first match. She also played for the US U-23s in 2023 and has four U-23 caps and one goal.