The United States wrapped up its 2025 calendar with another assured performance, beating Italy 2–0 on Monday night at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. It marked Emma Hayes’ 30th match in charge and punctuated a year that felt less like a victory lap and more like the foundation of something new.

Three days after their 3–0 win over the same Italian side, the U.S. again controlled proceedings—this time with a rotated lineup that continued Hayes’ season-long theme: opportunity. Even with five changes to the XI, the rhythm barely wavered.

Catarina Macario opened the scoring in the 20th minute, and it was a goal that distilled exactly why Hayes rates her as a centerpiece of the rebuild. Eighteen-year-old Lily Yohannes spotted Macario darting into space and dropped a perfectly weighted ball from the midfield stripe. Macario took one touch, sized up Francesca Durante off her line, and lifted a cool, looping chip into the far side netting. It was her eighth goal of the year and her third consecutive match on the scoresheet—numbers that feel especially meaningful after the injury setbacks that once clouded her trajectory.

The Americans doubled their lead just before halftime through Jaedyn Shaw, another young face thriving under Hayes. Alyssa Thompson ignited the move with a surging run through midfield, slipped Shaw in on the left, and watched the newly crowned NWSL champion cut inside and rifle a right-footed finish into the upper corner. It was Shaw at her best: decisive, unfazed, and increasingly indispensable.

Italy produced just one shot on target all night—an effort Claudia Dickey handled comfortably en route to her third straight clean sheet. The U.S. defense, occasionally wobbly on set pieces earlier this year, looked sharper and more connected, even as Hayes continues to cycle through personnel.

If Monday felt like a familiar result, it was also a snapshot of how far the player pool has expanded. Hayes has now handed starts to 50 different players in her first 30 matches—an extraordinary number for a team traditionally anchored by continuity. In 2025 alone, 43 players earned caps, mirroring Hayes’ insistence that every position is up for grabs.

That openness has fueled breakout years from names like Macario, Shaw, Thompson, Heinrichs, and Yohannes, while long-established pillars—Naomi Girma, Lindsey Heaps, and others—continue to provide a steady spine. And all of this has happened with stars like Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Wilson unavailable for large stretches of the year.

The U.S. closes 2025 with a 12-0-3 record, a +33 goal differential, and a roster suddenly full of real competition at every level. The experimentation phase is nearly over; 2026 will demand sharper choices as the march toward the Concacaf W Championship—and ultimately the 2027 World Cup—begins.

For now, Hayes’ team ends the year looking deeper, younger, and more sure of itself than it has in a long time. The pieces are beginning to fit.