The photographs regarded acquainted after they surfaced Monday morning.
There was Alex Morgan, goggles on her head, pouring champagne into the golden Gold Cup trophy. Then there was Trinity Rodman, ingesting out of it. Korbin Albert, one of the under-21 breakout stars on the United States girls’s nationwide team, was additionally correctly celebrating however with a bottle of Martinelli’s. Sam Coffey was doing a Slip ‘N Slide on the locker room ground.
The United States girls’s nationwide team had simply crushed Brazil 1-0 to win the first-ever Concacaf W Gold Cup on Sunday night time. It was an enormous second for the squad. And behind the scenes — as seen on TikTok and Instagram — it was clear how a lot this meant to a gaggle that is been scrutinized, ridiculed, and is now going by way of a public transition ahead of this summer time’s Paris Olympics.
Moments earlier than the locker room shenanigans started, the team lifted the Gold Cup trophy in entrance of 31,528 followers at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. Captain Lindsey Horan walked the {hardware} over to her giddy teammates, motioned for her management predecessor Becky Sauerbrunn to maneuver from the again of the pack to the entrance of the stage, they usually hoisted it collectively as confetti flew far and wide and pyrotechnics went off within the background.
Scenes like this had been as soon as the norm for the USWNT. But following disappointments within the 2021 Olympics and 2023 World Cup, triumphs felt extra like a distant reminiscence. Especially with the way in which groups like Spain, England, Japan, Colombia and Brazil have been progressing.
The Gold Cup was a possibility to get a intestine examine on the place the team is six months post-World Cup fiasco and 4 months into the present Emma Hayes-Twila Kilgore co-coaching experiment. With Hayes at Chelsea till the tip of the Women’s Super League season, Kilgore has been managing day-to-day operations whereas collaborating with Hayes on one other continent. Kilgore’s message has been that they need to proceed evaluating all types of issues, from model of play to participant combos, and so on.
This match had loads of that, nevertheless it ended up additionally being an opportunity for the USWNT to showcase its reformedx mentality. The U.S., which has at all times dominated Concacaf, had a difficult path to the ultimate. After being surprised by Mexico within the third match of the group stage, the squad was pressured to come back collectively and refocus. They responded within the quarterfinal in opposition to Colombia, successful a chippy affair, after which within the semifinal in opposition to Canada, discovering a manner in unplayable waterlogged field conditions.
In Sunday’s closing, Brazil regarded like the higher team. The Seleção dictated the tempo and maintained possession for many of the primary half. Then, within the forty fifth minute, Horan blasted dwelling a header off an ideal Emily Fox cross, which was preceded by Yeoman’s work from Coffey and Rodman to place the U.S. up 1-0, which held as the ultimate rating.
“The team gutted it out and grinded out that win,” Horan stated on the printed after the sport.
Crystal Dunn added later, “So many times you step on the field and it’s like, you want to play the most beautiful game of soccer, right? Everyone does. But sometimes teams are really coming for us. Sometimes the games are about the fight. I’m really proud of the young ones. They’re learning that it’s not always about how it gets done, it’s about just getting it done.”
The younger ones — and the older ones — are additionally studying that this participant pool is extra aggressive than ever. There had been 23 gamers on this Gold Cup roster, however Hayes should minimize it to 18 for the Olympics. How that course of unfolds will likely be a problem, particularly after latest spectacular performances. Jaedyn Shaw led the USWNT with 4 targets and gained the match’s Golden Ball. Albert and Coffey might need established their spots working collectively in a double pivot within the central midfield. Tierna Davidson, who was a World Cup roster snub, might need simply staked her declare on the beginning heart again spot alongside Naomi Girma.
Meanwhile, veterans proved their value. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher stopped three penalty kicks and transformed one in a dramatic shootout with Canada earlier than successful the match’s Golden Glove award. Morgan began 4 of six matches after not making the preliminary roster.
And Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario needs to be again within the combine quickly. Swanson, who missed the World Cup with a knee damage, skilled with the team earlier than the Gold Cup started. Macario, who has endured a prolonged ACL restoration course of, scored two targets for Chelsea in her first two video games again in almost two years. Both may very well be known as up for the subsequent camp ahead of the SheBelieves Cup. The USWNT faces Japan on April 6 in Atlanta, after which will get a rematch in opposition to both Canada or Brazil on April 9 in Columbus, Ohio.
And regardless that Hayes hasn’t bodily been with the USWNT since she was employed in November, she’s retaining tabs from afar with piqued curiosity.
“She is here,” Dunn stated. “We feel like she is watching us and we’re not taking that lightly. The coaching staff has done an incredible job of just staying communicative with us. Letting us know what we need [to do], how we can get better and how we can just keep pushing forward.”
The Gold Cup wasn’t good, however the USWNT was extra energized, aggressive and assured than it has been shortly. The squad problem-solved as a gaggle after setbacks, and in the long run, gained a significant match once more. The sky isn’t falling and the longer-term plan of constructing a sustainable successful program is in movement.
“This is a group that’s just getting started,” Kilgore stated.
Laken Litman covers faculty soccer, faculty basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She beforehand wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the writer of “Strong Like a Woman,” printed in spring 2022 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.
Lindsey Horan
Crystal Dunn
United States
Get extra from United States Follow your favorites to get details about video games, information and extra
