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.

The United States women's national team suffered its first loss in the Emma Hayes era when a more experienced and tactical Japan side defeated the Americans 2-1 to win the SheBelieves Cup title on Wednesday night at Snapdragon Stadium.

Japan won its first SheBelieves Cup title, thanks to its 2-1 defeat of the U.S. women’s national team in the tournament’s final game on Wednesday. It’s only the second loss to Japan in the USWNT’s history and might help reignite a rivalry that peaked across a run of major tournament finals in 2011, 2012 and 2015.