USWNT Outlasts Brazil in Epic Gold Cup Final Win

March 11, 2024
By Rohtas Wadera

The United States emerged victorious as the Queens of CONCACAF in San Diego in what was a special night for U.S. Soccer. It wasn’t too long ago that everyone came to the USWNT with plenty of criticism over the loss to Mexico. All this team did was silence all the doubters and persevere through some tough matchups and weather conditions throughout the tournament. Here’s how the USWNT captured the first-ever Women’s Gold Cup crown.

USWNT vs. Brazil recap

The USWNT’s strategy change has paid dividends, as seen in these last two games. Normally, the USWNT would be the team controlling the majority of possession while trying to break down the opposing defense. In their last three matches against Colombia, Canada, and Brazil, the USWNT completed fewer passes and had a lower possession percentage in all three games.

All three games ended in wins, as the United States got back to their high press and allowed teams to keep the ball in front of them and force mistakes. Brazil had their moments in breaking the press which allowed for moments for their offense to create in space. The USWNT defense looked strong and while we all know how great Naomi Girma has been, we aren’t talking about the return of Tierna Davidson enough.

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Her absence at the World Cup could not be understated, and when put in tough positions, both Girma and Davidson held strong. That’s the key for this team; if we have our center-back pair of the future, then a lot of the defensive issues the United States has should be resolved.

Brazil had a few good free-kick chances in some dangerous areas but was unable to convert. Seleção were unable to create anything concrete from open play, and Alyssa Naeher did not need to be the savior as Brazil didn’t put any of their 11 shots on target. Brazil’s defense was doing well to stop the USWNT from getting into their own flow. When things aren’t clicking in open play, the USWNT has to find other ways to score, and they were able to do so by putting crosses into the box.

Lindsey Horan saved her best game for last, putting the United States in front on the brink of halftime.

.@LindseyHoran puts us on the front foot going into halftime!

🎥 » @AttackingThird
pic.twitter.com/Q3O4qDofcH

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) March 11, 2024

Horan got a small assist from Alex Morgan. Notice how when the cross came in, Morgan went straight at the defender. By doing so, the defender wasn’t able to get the lift on her jump necessary to head it away, and by the time the second defender reacted, Horan was wide open for her header, which she finished incredibly well.

In the second half, the USWNT looked to put the game away with another goal. For a moment, it appeared that Lynn Williams had scored the second goal with a great run and nice finish that went off the post and in. Sadly, the goal was ruled offside as Williams just missed the timing of her run. As per usual at this tournament, the last ten minutes were chaos, with Brazil throwing everything they had at the United States. It was to no avail, as the USWNT emerged as Gold Cup Champions. Their spot in the Summer Olympics is secure and they confidently silenced any doubt that they’re among the best teams in the world.