MONTERREY, Mexico – The United States took some revenge for their defeat in the Olympic semifinals against Canada by defeating their American rival 1-0 on Monday in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship.
Both games turned into a penalty.
Monday’s final marked the first meeting between the two American powers since August 2, 2021, when Canada won 1-0 on a shot to the point by Jessie Fleming in the 75th minute of the Olympic semifinals. of Tokyo. The Canadians won gold in a penalty shootout over Sweden, while the Americans settled for bronze after beating Australia.
This time the US received the crucial call.
American pressure paid off in the second half when Mexican referee Katia Garcia scored the penalty spot after Rose Lavelle fell after contacting substitute Allysha Chapman. Veteran striker Alex Morgan took a step back and beat goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan in the 78th minute with his 118th goal as an international.
It was Canada’s first goal conceded in five games in the eight-team tournament. The Americans did not give up on any goal.
Canada coach Bev Priestman called it a “soft penalty”. But Chapman seemed to put a hand on the American’s back as he inadvertently cut off her right foot as he tried to chase her.
“A great game. I knew it would be tight … They have good margins at that level,” Priestman said.
“I think it was our best performance against a top-tier team? No,” he added. “But that’s what the finals are about. These things happen. The most important thing for us is that we keep moving forward. And I’ll tell the group that. I’m incredibly proud of them.”
Sheridan and Morgan are teammates for the San Diego Wave FC of the NSWSL.
“Alex is a great player. And great players are born for the big moments,” said American coach Vlatko Andonovski, who downplayed Tokyo’s revenge factor.
As CONCACAF champions, the Americans qualify for both the 2024 Paris Olympics and the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup, also scheduled for 2024.
The Canadian Olympic champion can still reach Paris, but will have to send Jamaica number 51 in a series of CONCACAF Olympics, scheduled for September 2023, with the winner reserving his ticket for the Olympics and the Cup d’Or. The Canadians beat Jamaica 3-0 in the CONCACAF semifinals.
Substitute Kiki Van Zanten’s goal in the 102nd minute gave Jamaica the 1-0 victory over Costa Rica’s No. 37 in the match for third place on Monday at the BBVA Stadium.
The four CONCACAF W semi-finalists have already booked their ticket to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by virtue of making the final four of the tournament. No. 60 Haiti and No. 57 Panama, who finished third in their respective groups, advance to an intercontinental World Cup playoff.
The top-ranked United States had the best chances in the first half and had a little more possession than Canada’s sixth, but were unable to beat Sheridan and the teams went into the break without a goal.
The Americans picked up the pace in the second half, continuing dangerously on the counterattack after recovering the ball. The Canadians found themselves under the gun during stretches.
After going down, the Canadians found renewed energy and reached the Americans, but were unable to break through the U.S. defense for six minutes of discount time.
Priestman liked his team’s response to the goal.
“They showed that they were willing to do anything to get the result back,” he said. “We gave it our all and that’s all you can ask for.”
The U.S. beat Canada 14-9 (6-5 on goal shots), according to CONCACAF.
The United States improved to 52-4-7 against the Canadians: 9-0-1 in the World Cup and the Olympic standings, with all meetings in the final of the tournament.
The Olympic semifinal victory in Kashima, Japan, ended in a 36-game unbeaten streak of the United States (30-0-6) against Canada dating back to March 2001, when Canada won for the second time in a row. about the Americans.
The American squad has experienced a major rotation from Tokyo.
Only five U.S. players who made headlines against Canada at the Olympics were in the starting lineup Monday: goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, captain Becky Sauerbrunn, Lindsey Horan, Lavelle and Morgan.
Instead, nine of Canada’s eleven starters in that Olympic semifinal began Monday. A 10, Chapman, came on in the 61st minute. The only Olympic starter missing was goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, who has since retired.
The Canadian starters, unchanged from Thursday’s semifinal victory over Jamaica, entered the game with a total of 1,171 games with Christine Sinclair making her 315th appearance. The U.S. starting eleven had a total of 849 matches with Sauerbrunn leading the way, earning his number 207.
Canadian midfielder Julia Grosso won the tournament’s Golden Boot award as the top scorer with three goals, through a tiebreaker, while Sheridan was named best goalkeeper. Morgan was honored as the best player in the tournament.
Canada also won the tournament’s fair play award.
Both teams had possession stretches in the first half with the United States taking the lead on occasion.
The Americans quickly started with Mallory Pugh forcing a Sheridan stop in the first minute. Three minutes later, Morgan fired deflected. The Canadians responded with a couple of first shots from Nichelle Prince that didn’t bother Naeher.
Prince defeated two American defenders in the 17th minute, winning a corner with his deflected shot. Sheridan was forced to hit a dangerous American cross on the 23rd.
Sheridan made a stop to deny Pugh in the 31st minute after a rising run from the American striker.
The Americans ’best chance was in the 39th, when the Americans, in a quick-fire counterattack, had a four-on-two run just to see how Pugh’s shot shot high and deflected.
Half ended the threats from the Americans. Sheridan and center-back Kadeisha Buchanan somehow combined in a body wrap on the goal line to keep Sophia Smith from sinking a low cross from Sofia Huerta that had eluded Vanessa Gilles ’sliding defense.
Smith had a great chance at 64 when a deep pass put her behind the Canadian defense. He rounded Sheridan, but could not put the ball from a tight angle.
Priestman sent Grosso in the 57th minute. And the changes continued to come with Jordyn Huitema and Adriana Leon introduced in the 67th minute – with Sinclair leaving – to try to inject some life into a Canadian attack that had stalled.
The Americans have won 11 straight games, beating the rival 46-1, and are undefeated in 18 games (15-0-3) since the Olympics. The Canadians, who have seen the end of their seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2), are 8-3-4 from Tokyo.
The American women have won the five Olympic qualifying tournaments in which they have participated and eight of the nine qualifying tournaments for the World Cup. The only problem was in 2010, when the Americans lost to Mexico in the semifinal round of qualifying for the World Cup.
The Americans entered Monday’s final with a 59-1-1 record in qualifying matches for the World Cup and Olympics. The tie came against Canada in the final of the 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament, although the U.S. prevailed on penalty kicks to win the tournament.
Canada and the United States had faced off in five of the previous 10 women’s CONCACAF finals, and the U.S. won all five.
The Canadians won the CONCACAF tournament in 1998 (when the US did not host the 1999 Women’s World Cup) and in 2010, beating Mexico in the final on both occasions. The Americans have won the other nine editions, including the last three.
The American rivals paved an identical path to reach Monday’s final, each winning four games as they outscored the opposition 12-0. Canada and the United States defeated Jamaica and Costa Rica, respectively, 3-0 in Thursday’s semifinal match.
Nine different Americans had scored on the way to the final compared to eight from Canada.
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This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 18, 2022