Needing a comeback win after a historic loss to Mexico, the U.S. Women's National Team put in a controlled performance in Los Angeles on Sunday night, defeating Colombia 3-3 in the quarterfinals of the inaugural 2024 World Gold Tournament. I won with 0. cup.
The victory advances the USWNT to the semifinals in San Diego, where they will face defending Olympic gold medalists Canada, who defeated the USWNT in the Olympic semifinals to take home the gold medal. Mexico and Brazil will clash in the other semi-final to determine the first finalist of the W Gold Cup.
As is the case with the USWNT's wins in this tournament, the Americans got off to a fast start. Alex Morgan pounced on Columbia's underhit pass, pressed for the ball, and played a quick give-and-go with Lindsey Horan, immediately converting the penalty before Horan sunk it for a 1-0 lead. Aside from missing a late shift, Morgan had a vintage performance Sunday night, reminding everyone why she's an invaluable asset to this team.
The youth internationals took care of the rest by half-time, with Jenna Neiswonger scoring her first USWNT goal with a stunning first-time finish from open play, followed by Jadyn Shaw converting Trinity Rodman's cross into the net to end the first half. They led 3-0 in added time. Colombia targeted Rodman in typical Concacaf fashion (despite being a CONEBOL country) in an attempt to get under America's skin. But the USWNT had the last laugh.
It wasn't just the scoreline that improved dramatically in the USWNT's game against Colombia, but the performance as well. In the game against Mexico, the Americans were unable to match their opponent's physicality and struggled against Mexico's press. On Sunday, the USWNT found solutions to match Colombia's physicality and play through and beyond the press when needed.
“The ultimate goal is to take away what the opponent can give us. We're not limited to just one way of doing things, and I think that's one of the keys that we realized against Mexico. ” said interim head coach Twyla Kilgore. “Of course we want to strengthen our team and we can keep trying, but if they give us the opportunity to play behind and we are not ready to deal with it, we will accept it and give them the opportunity to play behind. I'm going to wait for him to do it.'' If we make adjustments, maybe the game will show us something different. ”
Colombia and Mexico both employed a stifling high press supported by female markers in the midfield, but after a learning curve, the USWNT were able to capitalize on this and get to the front.
Naomi Girma said: “The way Colombia pressed, they left a lot of space behind, a lot of space for the midfielders and forwards to be one-on-one. That's what we ultimately want from them. It's the location,” he explained. “So I think we just realized our numbers were up and took advantage of that.”
The recent experience with Colombia certainly helped the USWNT realize where these advantages lie. With Colombia preparing to press with passes backwards, the Americans were able to spread the field vertically, attracting opponents and sending more direct passes to the attackers. Morgan was especially memorable in these moments.
“I knew I couldn't make too many short passes in a row,'' Morgan said after the game, holding his daughter Charlie in his arms. “Colombia wanted to step up, especially when there were back passes. They wanted to be super aggressive. So I was expecting long passes in the air and on the ground, but , it didn't matter. For me, it was really important to play a link-up role and relieve the pressure that the defense was feeling when Colombia started reading its cues.”
That outlet gave the USWNT another option they didn't have against Mexico. As Girma pointed out, this vertical stretch of the pitch created more space in midfield for the Americans to advance the ball, thus allowing the USWNT to play on the front foot.
Morgan and Horan's improved organization in their press and continued creation of chances from the wings directly led to the goal, but a smart and conscious reaction to the loss to Mexico led to a comeback victory over the USWNT on Sunday night. brought about.
Canada then awaits the semifinals Wednesday night at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, where it will be a homecoming for the San Diego Wave's Abby Dahlkemper, Naomi Girma, Jadyn Shaw and Alex Morgan.
“I think they're ready for a new landscape and definitely the San Diego players are really looking forward to getting home,” Morgan said looking ahead to the semifinals. “I really love playing. [at Snapdragon] So we know that stadium very well. We have great fans and it's going to be a good game against Canada. ”