Emma Hayes’ squad is out here making moves, but she’s keeping her eyes on the bigger picture. The USWNT kicked off the SheBelieves Cup with a solid 2-0 win over Colombia, with Catarina Macario finally breaking her nearly three-year international goal drought and Ally Sentnor adding her name to the scoresheet.

The USWNT's five-year reign as SheBelieves Cup champions ended on Wednesday, but there are reasons to be optimistic for the team's future

The Americans fell behind 2-1 in the 50th minute and were unable to forge a comeback and suffered their first loss since last February.

If the SheBelieves Cup was an opportunity to get a gage on Emma Hayes' rebuild, Sunday's win showed that the USWNT are right on track.

The USWNT didn't win its sixth straight SheBelieves Cup, but for Emma Hayes, that's not what this year is about.

I expect it to be a very, very difficult match,” said Emma Hayes prior to yesterday’s clash against Japan in the SheBelieves Cup. Deep down, the English tactician was right—we all know how it turned out for the US Women’s National Team.

The first defeat for Emma Hayes since taking the USWNT job was a disappointing one, snapping their run of five straight SheBelieves Cup titles, but the experience will help as this team builds towards the next World Cup.