There were champagne showers, beer slip-n-slides, and the U.S. women's national team won another big trophy.
The night's hero, captain Lindsay Horan, lifted the maiden 2024 World Gold Cup trophy into the air after scoring the winning goal in first-half stoppage time in a 1-0 win over Brazil on Sunday night.
After a competitive first period, with Brazil jumping out to an early lead, the Americans got into the game and got better as the game progressed. Their reward came when Sam Coffey won the ball in midfield and fired Trinity Rodman to the right. Rodman called on Emily Fox for help, who looped a cross at the back post and Horan called on Alex Morgan to score the opener.
“I was yelling at Alex to stop because I knew he was going to score,” Horan recalled. “So I keep saying I'm going to give her the second assist because she heard me and she pulled it off.”
Still leading in the second half, the USWNT logically decided to focus on a defensive shutout. That meant even less visibility of the ball, but it also meant that none of Brazil's 11 shots on the night went on target. Alyssa Neher, who was named the World Gold Cup's best goalkeeper, had no saves. Teammate Jadyn Shaw also won the Tournament Most Valuable Player award that night, and the USWNT also earned the Fair Play Award as a team.
Overcoming some of the demons that led to an early exit from last year's World Cup, the USWNT kept opponents from behind the goal in the final six games, winning an incredible 10th straight finals.
“I think it speaks to the level of focus. It speaks to how much detail we put into each of these games,” Neher analyzed. “I think every time we make it to the final we enjoy a great moment.”
The recent finals record speaks for itself, but these international tournaments become increasingly difficult to win as the quality of the opponents increases, requiring new tests of mentality and resilience. This first World Gold Cup was no exception.
In the final group stage game of this tournament, the USWNT was defeated by Mexico, their second loss in 43 tournaments against their southern neighbor. The Americans had not lost on the mainland for nearly a quarter of a century, so a firm response was needed.
“Grit is a big part of our DNA and who we are as people, and I'm really proud of our group for taking pride in that,” interim head coach Twila Kilgore said of the importance of team resiliency. Outlined. “It’s not necessarily the stories that people around the world celebrate. [but] It's definitely a part of who we are. ”
In the quarterfinal round, the Americans switched on that mental shift and came from behind to score a 3-0 victory over a challenging Colombian side. Striking the balance between having the memory of a goldfish and immediately erasing the tragic consequences while reminding the player of his desire to never feel those painful feelings again is a very difficult challenge, but the USWNT tackled it head-on. .
“I think we're resilient,” Coffey echoed his coach's sentiment. “I don't think many teams would be able to lose the way we did against Mexico, but it was very disappointing and unacceptable for us, but we responded the way we did. I don’t know if we would get here without that loss.”
This loss raised many questions for the Americans, but they seemed to have all the answers leading up to their recent victory. Following the rebound victory over Colombia came another big test of the team's mettle in the form of Mother Nature. Playing in what could best be described as a grassy pool, his USWNT had to find a way to beat Canada in the semifinals, even if it wasn't pretty.
Aside from the ugliness of the Americans' pure white jerseys being ruined by mud, the USWNT had to fight hard to get the win. Overcoming the tying goal late in regulation and the second tying goal from the penalty spot in extra time, the U.S. team's advance to the finals was ultimately decided in a penalty shootout.
“The last game against Canada was the wildest game of my life,” Horan recalled a bit. , it's very, very difficult. So the team mentality was great and we honed it really hard to win that award. ”
Risk your life. Perseverance, determination, spirituality, resilience and grit.
All these experiences proved to be important in delivering the silverware in the finals, which grew out of the lessons learned. As Kilgore said, “We talked a lot about making sure we got the win tonight to show off what we've done during the tournament.”
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