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Rapinoe brace opens floodgates as USA rout Argentina to win SheBelieves Cup | USA women’s football team

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Megan Rapinoe scored twice and the United States won the SheBelieves Cup title with a 6-0 victory over Argentina on Wednesday night.

The US are undefeated in 37 games in a row overall and 53 on American soil. Under Vlatko Andonovski, who succeeded Jill Ellis as the team’s manager in 2019, they are a perfect 16 wins from 16 matches.

Carli Lloyd, Kristie Mewis, Alex Morgan and Christen Press also scored, and the US women also become the first team to have three straight shutouts in the SheBelieves Cup, the annual round-robin competition which is in its sixth year.

“We wanted to come out fast as always,” said Rapinoe, the 2019 Ballon d’Or winner who plays for OL Reign of the NWSL. “It’s always dangerous to leave teams hanging around, so we were able to do that today. Just tried to find the space, be aggressive. Found myself in the middle a little bit more. The nines better be careful, leaving me out there scoring goals. Just trying to get up there and take the chances.”

The United States shut out Canada in the tournament opener behind a late goal from Manchester City’s Rose Lavelle, who was named the competition’s Most Valuable Player, before downing Brazil 2-0 on Sunday. Earlier Wednesday, Brazil beat Canada 2-0 at Exploria Stadium. Brazil finished second.

Argentina, a late addition after Japan dropped out because of coronavirus concerns, did not win a match but did impress with gritty performances. The Argentines at No 31 were the lowest-ranked team in the field behind the top-ranked Americans, then Brazil and Canada, who are tied for the eighth.

Rapinoe scored in the 16th minute with a well-timed strike on a through ball from Lavelle for the early lead.

Rapinoe added another in the 26th minute, tapping in a cross from Lloyd. Rapinoe is the top all-time SheBelieves Cup goalscorer with seven goals, including three in this edition.

Lloyd added a goal in the 34th. It was Lloyd’s 124th international goal and it came in her 299th appearance with the national team. The New Jersey native is one away becoming the third American and third player ever, male or female, to play 300 or more times for her country, joining her former teammates Kristine Lilly and Christine Pearce Rampone.

Kristie Mewis scored on an angle into the far corner for her fourth career international goal in the 41st minute, and the United States took a 4-0 lead into the intermission.

Morgan scored in the 84th, her first goal since giving birth to her daughter Charlie last May. It was her 108th international goal, moving her past Michelle Akers into sole possession of fifth place on the team’s all-time leaderboard.

“I’m very excited to get my first goal back with the national team and join the list of moms on the team who have scored goals and played as a national team player,” Morgan said. “I just want to be an example for other female athletes who are moms or want to become moms, knowing that they still belong in the game.”

Press scored on a header a short time later for her 11th goal in her last 15 games. The Manchester United forward has been directly involved in 28 goals in her past 29 appearances for country, scoring 13 goals and assisting 15 more.

The Americans, who piled up a 27-1 margin in shots on the night, improved 4-0 all-time against Argentina. Jane Campbell did not make a save as the US extended their shutout streak to six matches. They have conceded one goal in their last 15 outings.

“Overall, very happy with how we performed and how w were able to unlock Argentina early in the game, and how we finished the game as well,” Andonovski said.

Afterward, Rapinoe spoke about her excitement to rejoin OL Reign for the NWSL season ahead of the Tokyo Olympics after opting out of the 2020 campaign.

“[I’m] really excited to get back into the NWSL,” said Rapinoe, who became the first player to score more than two goals in a single SheBelieves Cup tournament and topped the leaderboard of this year’s competition with three. “Obviously I took all the time I could possibly take last year. I think it really did do me well. I think the NWSL and all the teams and players have done incredible jobs with the protocols and keeping everybody safe. Looking forward to getting back on the team.

“As far as we know, the Olympics is happening. So preseason will be good for us. Couple games coming up in April then really looking forward to starting the season so we can get that consistent play. I think that’s the next thing that I am really looking forward to, just those consistent games and that consistent training environment for us all to play in.”



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Sports

USWNT vs. Brazil score, highlights: Christen Press, Crystal Dunn lead USA to SheBelieves Cup win

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The U.S. women’s national team defeated Brazil, 2-0, in the team’s second SheBelieves Cup match on Sunday. The game-opening goal was provided by Christen Press in the 11th minute, and Megan Rapinoe added the second in the 88th minute.

An open first half between the two teams provided some thrilling results as the USWNT quickly tried to establish tempo from the first whistle. The payoff came early as Linsdey Horan provided a through ball to Press and her shot from the edge of the box gave the U.S. an early lead. Take a look:

The Brazilians were able to create and generate their own attack, giving the U.S. defense problems along the right side from Marta and company. But they were unable to find an equalizer to close out the first half despite getting into dangerous spots in the final third. Many of Brazil’s chances were shut down thanks to recoveries from Crystal Dunn.

The open play continued into the second half between the two sides, with the USWNT still providing good link-up play between Dunn and Press. Brazil continued to play into pockets of space as the two sides found more time each other’s respective half. The USWNT ended the game out-shooting Brazil 17-10.

Craving more coverage of the world’s game? Check out the latest ¡Que Golazo! podcast for a weekend recap:

Brazil’s late-game attempts on the ball in transition proved a handful for the backline to deal with, though the defense looked far more settled as Julie Ertz sat deeper defensively to provide defensive coverage for the U.S.

Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe subbed on as attacking options for USWNT in the 70th minute, and Rapinoe’s impact on the game came in the 88th minute to provide the insurance goal for as the U.S. and a homage to teammates and new mothers, Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris.

Player ratings

Let’s take a look at some player ratings from the match with a 1 rating being an early red card send off while a 10 is a hat-trick level game.

Christen Press, USWNT: Provided the opening goal to give the team an early lead and had constant movement off the ball with great link-up play with Williams and Dunn. Rating: 8

Crystal Dunn, USWNT: Outstanding play from the outside back to get involved in the attack and provide defensive recoveries where the backline coverage was lacking. Rating: 8.5

Emily Sonnett, USWNT: Not a great day at the office for the outside back as the space she left got exposed constantly throughout the first half from Brazil. She did better in moments during the second half. Rating: 5.5

Debinha, Brazil: The 2019 NWSL championship MVP had another strong game on the top line for Brazil, but lack of combining play from others around her presented some frustration. Rating: 7.5

Marta, Brazil: The iconic Brazilian midfielder generated tons of opportunities on the ball to try and power Brazil’s attack, while also playing lower to cover and defend when necessary: Rating: 7

Ludmila, Brazil: Her constant movement on and off the ball provided dangerous moments for Brazil in the final third, but the team was unable to get her into better positions throughout the match. Rating: 7

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Sports

2021 SheBelieves Cup: USA vs. Canada

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2021 SheBelieves Cup, Presented by Visa

Date: Feb. 18, 2021
Venue: Exploria Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
Broadcast: FS1, TUDN
Broadcast Time: 7 p.m. ET

 

Starting XI vs. Canada: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 20-Margaret Purce, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.), 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 19-Crystal Dunn; 8-Julie Ertz, 9-Lindsey Horan, 11-Catarina Macario; 15-Megan Rapinoe,10-Carli Lloyd, 6-Lynn Williams


Available Subs: 2-Casey Krueger, 3-Jaelin Howell, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 12-Tierna Davidson, 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Emily Sonnett, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Sophia Smith, 18-Jane Campbell, 21-Casey Murphy, 22-Kristie Mewis, 23-Christen Press

Game Notes

  • U.S. WNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Lloyd (296), Sauerbrunn (180), Rapinoe (171), Dunn (108), Ertz (106), Horan (89), Naeher (66), Dahlkemper (64), Williams (32), Purce (5), Macario (3)

  • Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher is slated to make her 63rd start and 66th appearance overall for the U.S. Women’s National Team. One of three finalists for The Best Female Goalkeeper of 2020, Naeher has 38 career shutouts and has recorded a clean sheet in each of last eight outings, the longest such streak of her career.

  • Margaret Purce is set to make her second career start and earn her 5th cap overall. Purce made her first career start in her international debut on November 10, 2019 playing the full 90 minutes in the USA’s 6-0 win over Costa Rica. She scored her first international goal in the USA’s 6-0 win over Colombia on Jan. 22.

  • Defender and team captain Becky Sauerbrunn will be earning her 180th cap and enters the match having played 13,940 total minutes for the USA, 13th-most in USWNT history. Sauerbrunn needs 44 more minutes to pass Brandi Chastain for 12th.

  • Abby Dahlkemper will be making her 57th start and 64th appearance overall for the USA. Dahlkemper led the team in total minutes played in both 2019 and 2020 and led all field players in total minutes played at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Dahlkemper played the full 90 minutes in each of her last eight appearances for the USWNT.

  • The only player to appear in all nine games in 2020, Crystal Dunn will make her 109th appearance for the USA tonight against Canada. Heading into the SheBelieves Cup, Dunn has featured in 21 of the USA’s last 23 games and started in all but two of those games. Dunn tallied her 18th career assist in the USA’s 6-0 win over Colombia on Jan. 22, setting up Lindsey Horan’s goal in the second half.

  • Julie Ertz will be making her 106th appearance for the USA and has gone the full 90 minutes in her last eight appearances for the USWNT. Ertz earned her 100th cap on March 5 vs. England at Exploria Stadium in the first match of the 2020 SheBelieves Cup and has 20 international goals, the 29th American female to hit that mark. 

  • After tying for the team lead in scoring in 2020 with seven goals, Lindsey Horan will make her second start of 2021 and earn her 89th cap overall. Horan had a stellar game vs. Colombia on Jan. 18, directly playing a part in three of the four goals, which included earned a penalty kick just seconds into the second half. Against Colombia on Jan. 22, she scored her first goal of the year – directly off a corner kick — after coming off the bench to play the final 28 minutes. It was her 20th career goal, making her the 31st USWNT player to hit 20 career goals.

  • Catarina Macario will make her second consecutive start and third appearance for the USA overall. She earnedher first career USWNT cap on Jan. 18, coming on for Megan Rapinoe in the second half against Colombia and scored her first USWNT goal in her first USWNT start less than two minutes into the game against Colombia on Jan. 22. Macario received FIFA approval to play for the USA on Jan. 13 and the appearance against Colombia on Jan. 18 was her first professional game and first international match at any level.

  • Megan Rapinoe will earn her 171st cap tonight and make her third consecutive start, joining Julie Ertz and Lynn Williams as the only USA players to start every match of 2021 thus far.

  • This tournament marks Rapinoe’s return to the U.S. roster for the first time since March of 2020 at the SheBelieves Cup where she scored a brilliant free kick against Japan in the USA’s final match to help clinch the tournament title. She had an assist in her 45 minutes against Colombia on Jan. 18 – setting up Samantha Mewis for the USA’s first goal of 2021 – and then scored twice, once from the penalty spot, against Colombia on Jan. 22. The caps moved her to 170 and into a tie for 17th place on the USA’s all-time list while her goals gave her 54, just two short of tying Carin Gabarra for 11th all-time. 

  • The USA’s active leader in all-time caps with 297 (including tonight), Carli Lloyd is third all-time in USWNT history and, is one the verge of becoming only the third American, and third player ever, to play 300 or more times for her country, where she would join former teammates Kristine Lilly and Christine Rampone.

  • Lloyd has three assists so far in 2021 – already matching her total assist output for 2020 – and has hit the back of the net in eight of her last 16 appearances for the USA, scoring 10 times. She has scored in four of her 11 matches under Andonovski. Lloyd’s most recent goal came on Jan. 5, 2020 at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium, scoring in the 55th minute of the USA’s 2-0 win over England at Exploria Stadium to start the 2020 SheBelieves Cup. 

  • Lynn Williams is set to earn her 32nd cap and will be making fourth consecutive start for the USA. Williams, who scored the game-winner and tallied an assist in the USA’s 3-0 win over Canada in the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Tournament final, scored her 10th international goal in the 60th minute of the USA’s 6-0 win over Colombia on Jan. 22.

  • All 23 players on the SheBelieves Cup roster will dress for the match. The only uncapped player in camp is goalkeeper Casey Murphy.  Defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Jaelin Howell and forwards Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Sophia Smith could all see first game action of 2021.

  • Press was one of only two players to play in all 24 WNT games in 2019 and played in all nine in 2020 before missing the first two of 2021. Press has been directly involved in 26 goals in her last 27 appearances for the USA, scoring 11 goals and assisting 15 more. 

  • For the USA’s November training camp and match in the Netherlands, Morgan made her return to the roster for the first time since becoming a mom on May 7, 2020. She played the second half vs. Netherlands in what was her first USWNT game since the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final, a span of 509 days. She missed the January training camp and games while recovering from illness. She is currently tied with Michelle Akers for fifth on the USA’s all-time goals list with 107 international goals.

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