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USWNT dismantles Jamaica to book spot in 2019 World Cup

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The U.S. women’s national team has officially booked its ticket for next year’s World Cup in France, beating Jamaica 6-0 in the Concacaf Women’s Championship semifinal on Sunday.

Once again, the USWNT got off to a quick start, scoring a goal in the second minute. Tobin Heath sent a cross into the penalty area, which Megan Rapinoe ended up finding. Rapinoe took a shot, which goalkeeper Sydney Schneider saved only for Heath to pounce on the rebound and score from close range.

The U.S. team doubled the lead in the 15th minute through a Rapinoe goal. Abby Dahlkemper played a perfect long pass in the USWNT’s half for the forward, who was making a run on the left side of the field. From there, she headed straight for goal and scored from an angle.

A third came just six minutes later, with the familiar sighting of a Julie Ertz header. Crystal Dunn came down the left flank and sent a cross in from the corner, which landed perfectly for a rising Ertz. The defender then scored from inside the penalty area for her 18th international goal.

Heath recorded her second of the night in the 29th minute as the USWNT continued to dominate. Lindsey Horan sent a long ball several yards away from the penalty area, with her Portland Thorns teammate well placed to capitalized. Ending up near the penalty spot, Heath managed to get in between a defender and Schneider, and took just a single touch to send it past the goalkeeper.

The USWNT ended the half up 5-0, with a 33rd minute goal from Alex Morgan. As has frequently been the case over the last year and change, the team scored a set piece goal, which started with a Rapinoe freekick near the corner. The ball landed at Morgan’s feet, and she scored while in a crowded penalty area.

The second half saw Jill Ellis’s side begin to take things a little bit easier, but Jamaica never ended up carving out its own chance. Much of this was down to the USWNT hardly conceding possession, and creating a few chances of its own. Eventually, though, the reigning world champions got another goal.

Morgan finished things off with an 83rd minute penalty, which she had also earned. In a corner of the penalty area, Jamaican defender Allyson Swaby took Morgan down, leaving referee Francia Gonzalez little choice but to award the penalty. Morgan easily finished for her 23rd goal in 23 matches.

The U.S. team finished the match dominating every statistic and accomplishing the team’s biggest task in two years, but did not leave entirely unscathed. Morgan Brian, who came on as a substitute at halftime, picked up a possible concussion in the 85th minute, though the severity of the collision is unknown.

The USWNT wraps up the Concacaf Women’s Championship with the final against regional rivals Canada on Wednesday.

Comments

  1. Granted against CONCACAF competition which seems to be getting worse against the established programs, still awesome to see they never took it for granted against any of the teams and were just plain ruthless.

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  2. While the opposition provided little opposition, it is still a joy to watch the women play. As someone who has watched since the early 90’s, the improvement in the women’s team play is very significant. Their passing and ball skills are so much better now and their fundamentals are excellent.

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