The U.S. Women’s National Team stamped its ticket to the 2020 Olympics with a 4-0 win over Mexico in Carson, Cali. on Friday night.
It was the USWNT’s seventh all-time Olympic berth, which also sets them up with a Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Finals date against Canada on Sunday.
Rose Lavelle opened the scoring early for the Americans, beating Mexican keeper Emily Alvarado far-post with a shot from outside the box in the fifth minute.
The quick start didn’t end there as the USWNT doubled its lead in the 14th minute. Midfielder Samantha Mewis finished a corner set up by Megan Rapinoe to double the lead, and that would be all of the action in the first half despite a barrage of chances put up by the USWNT.
It would take nearly an hour before the team found another goal, and it was Mewis once more. She picked up a brace with a powerful set-piece shot from outside the box after Rapinoe made a dummy run to leave a clear path. Alvarado dove to her right, but was unable to get to Mewis’ low drive.
The final say belonged to Christen Press in the 73rd minute, just moments after stepping on in substitution. Finishing off a run through traffic, she caught Alvarado off her line and tucked in a chip shot from close-range, marking her last six appearances with as many goals.
Christine Sinclair and the Canadian Women’s National Team will be standing in the way of newly-installed USWNT boss Vlatko Andonovski’s first chance at Concacaf hardware. Through group stage and semi-final play, Canada also managed to stay perfect en route to a +23 goal differential over four games.