Three of Europe’s best came across the Atlantic to give the U.S. Women’s National Team a challenge in the SheBelieves Cup this March, and all three fell to the reigning World Cup champion.
The USWNT defeated Germany at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla., to win the inaugural competition, which hosted the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 teams in the world, according to March’s FIFA Women’s World Ranking. The Americans had previously defeated England and France before Wednesday’s decisive 2-1 win.
After the U.S. conceded the first goal of the game to Anja Mittag in the 30th minute, Alex Morgan fired in the goal of the the game seven minutes later. The forward ran onto a long ball sent upfield by Meghan Klingenberg, and juggled the ball over a defender before blasting the ball past Germany goalkeeper Almuth Schult. The goal was Morgan’s second of the tournament and 64th all-time for the U.S.
Sam Mewis netted the game-winner minutes later. The midfielder stole the ball in the middle of the field, ran towards goal and fired a shot on frame that just beat Schult thanks to a deflection.
The USWNT will now wait until April 6 to play Colombia at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn. before playing the CONMEBOL nation a second time four days later at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa.
Here are Morgan’s and Mewis’ goals for the USWNT:
What do you think of the USWNT’s win vs. Germany? Who impressed you during the SheBelieves Cup?
Share your thoughts below.
Sweeeeeeeeep. It wasn’t always the prettiest but they got the job done!
The She Believes Cup was designed for the top teams to experiment with players in preparation
for the Olympics and Euro-17, so there were a lot of combinations out there that appeared to be
out of sync. As for lack of TV, the SBC was put together on short notice, so that almost all the
TV time and on-line streaming was contracted out to others. Yeah, Christen Press is somewhat
1-dimensional, but can score goals, and the last time I checked, that was still the name of the game. So she will continue to stay relevant. I too like Heather, and I think that she needs to
be considered for Rio, because the U S will need to have a physical line-up out there, as they
appeared to get pushed around going for loose balls by the other teams, and then had to foul
to stay with more physical players. When Sam Mewis gets more confidence, she could become
a real force at mid-field and on corner kicks. And yeah, the U.S. looked anemic on their corner
kicks. Maybe they feel they simply aren’t physical enough to challenge the others teams on
corners shot into the box. If that is the case, they still should be able to have set plays which
work the ball in close for some one-touch attempts. All 4 U S goals were well taken and weren’t
lucky. Mewis’s shot came out hot and the deflection only changed the altitude slightly. Its doubtful
even if the GK got her hands on it, that she could have held on at that height. Most likely,
she would have given up a rebound to a U S Forward ready to pounce on it.
Don’t know what you guys were watching. Mittag’s goal was earned on a blatant mistake (errant backward pass) by midfielder Morgan Brian who also cannot take a decent corner service whatsoever. The midfield is a muddled, mixed up joke ala Jill Ellis’ lunatic lineups coupled with her poor substitutions (when she does make any). The US won every game in this “tournament” on a lucky goal, not goals that were earned playing consistent or good tactical soccer.
The defense was shaken up lately by starting O’Hara over Krieger which clearly affected JJ’s game. JJ is not used to cleaning up the entire right back side with O’Hara hanging up front the way Sauerbrunn has to play the entire left side where Klingenberg does the same. Krieger is the best 1v1 defender, her passing game is quick and decisive while reading the field well, and she can definitely run end to end for a full 90. Defensive chemistry is better with Krieger, O’Hara is best as a utility sub. It was a pleasure to see Whitney Engen finally play and play well- her over Sonnet for Olympics is a no brainer.
Starting Christen Press is a waste- Press actually ducks balls, literally cannot run backwards nor contribute to defense or overall play. She is just hugely ineffective against competitive teams, was benched in World Cup play because of it and should be cut from the team. Heather O’Reilly should’ve played in front of Krieger or played PERIOD. Dunn also could’ve played right side more effectively. It is criminal what Ellis has done to HAO (that is a topic few “sportscasters” who want to keep calling games address whilst most sports journalists do indeed give it some ink). The US will pay dearly at Olympics without HAO.
Carli Lloyd was a glaring non-factor playing this entire tournament. And captain wise, anybody can wear the armband but leadership is a non-teachable, unique quality. Don’t see Carli ever talking up/rallying the team when US playing poorly. She seems to get into her own head at these critical times when a natural leader is most needed.
Regarding Alex Morgan, absolutely brilliant. But the lack of service (no midfield transition/lack of wing play/abhorrent corners) and the lack of someone to be in sync with her up top are preventing many more chances for her.
As for the “She Believes” inaugural, the sand in Boca Raton was not only embarrassing (and a legtimate safety issue) so was the awkwardness of the medal/awards “ceremony” and the trophy looked like a stage prop. But the biggest rub was NOT televising all the games. The doubleheaders involving European teams did not even garner a lousy ESPN3 live stream.
My mind is always blown how spiteful some of the USWNT’s teeny-bopper fans can be.
Some people are just never happy.
HAO’s tenure on the USWNT is so wrapped up with Abby ball it’s difficult to imagine her playing any other way. It’s been a quite while since HAO played a key role on the USWNT even with Abby still playing so I’m not sure how she becomes indispensable for the Olympics. But, interesting theory.
Spot on Bill.The back four (whoever we put there) are solid. And Solo…believe it or not..i think might be underrated.
I think what impresses me most re: The USWNT is their defense. If you check out the goals,
for the 3 teams they just beat, in the ongoing EURO-17 Qualifying, holding them collectively
to 1 goals in 3 matches is what is really making them #1 in the world!!!!
Three victories in 3 games against this competition is pretty darn good. And Alex Morgan, despite what some people said here the other day, showed some real skill and excellent finishing. I don’t know that we have many US men strikers who could have pulled off that move that set up her shot. Well done all around.
Yeah, I’ll take my crow well done. That was a fantastic play.
As long as this means Morgan’s crap form from the last two years where her finishing made Amy Rodriguez’s ability in front of goal look like Zlatan by comparison is gone, I’ll concede defeat on the “we have better options up front” topic…for now.
I’ll say this, it’s a bit of a work in progress now, but it actually scares me how good the USWNT could become in the post-Abby ball world.
I agree with Bill on the defense (not that them being good is any surprise), between the usual back four and Solo, it is tough to score on the USWNT, even for teams like France who can boss us on possession. But what’s really nice is knowing people like Engen, Sonnett and O’Hara can basically be plugged in without the team missing a beat. They gave one up tonight, but it was a fantastic effort from one of my favorite non-American players in Mittag.