BRIGEVIEW, Ill. (Aug. 2, 2018) – After going down early in the first half due to an own goal, the U.S. Women’s National Team roared back with three goals in the second half to earn a 4-1 win against Brazil and take home its first Tournament of Nations title in front of a spectacular crowd of 18,309 at Toyota Park.
After Australia beat Japan, 2-0, in the day’s early game, the U.S. knew it also needed to win by a two-goal margin in order to maintain its lead via tie-breakers over the Matildas in the tournament standings, and set about trying to accomplish just that from the outset.
The USA had control of the match from the get-go and produced several chances that could have opened the scoring in its favor. But, against the run of play, it was Brazil that struck first via a counterattack from Debinha. U.S. defender Tierna Davidson attempted to clear a cross that instead deflected into the back of her own net in the 16th minute.
Unfazed by the surprise deficit, the U.S. continued to push forward on offense and found the equalizer via some terrific play and a top-class finish from Rose Lavelle in the 33rd minute, sending the teams into the locker room tied at the half.
In the second half, the U.S. came out blazing and took the lead after only eight minutes through a sliding Julie Ertz volley that capped off another impressive offensive flourish from the U.S. An invigorated defense kept Brazil at bay and provided a strong foundation for the USA to launch more attacks throughout the half.
After assisting on Ertz’s goal, Tobin Heath grabbed one of her own with a terrific low drive that snaked through some traffic on its way into the goal in the 61st minute, giving the U.S. a comfortable 3-1 lead.
Alex Morgan then put the USA out of sight in the 77th minute, converting a well-drawn up set piece to solidify the team’s 4-1 win and the 2018 Tournament of Nations trophy.
2018 Tournament of Nations Final Standings
|
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts. |
|
USA |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
4 |
5 |
7 |
|
Australia |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
|
Brazil |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
8 |
-4 |
3 |
|
Japan |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
8 |
-5 |
0 |
Next Up: The USA will host Chile for two friendly matches (Aug. 31 in Los Angeles and Sept. 4 in San Jose) before entering World Cup qualifying in October. Chile will be a Women's World Cup debutante next summer after qualifying for the tournament for the first time by finishing second in the 2018 Copa América Femenina. The U.S. begins the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship begins on Oct. 4 in Cary, N.C.
Social: Follow the #USWNT on Facebook; Twitter (@ussoccer_wnt; @ussoccer_esp); Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).
Goal Scoring Rundown:
BRA – Own Goal (Tierna Davidson), 16th minute: Debinha led the Brazil counterattack down the left wing and she spied Adrianna making a run towards the middle. Debinha’s cross was a good one, and forced Tierna Davidson, who was running at her goal, to slide in an attempt to clear the ball. Instead, it spun off her foot and into the upper left corner past a diving Alyssa Naeher for the USA’s first own goal since 2015. USA 0, BRA 1. WATCH.
USA – Rose Lavelle (Lindsey Horan), 33rd minute: Megan Rapinoe crossed the ball from the left flank and Alex Morgan, positioned inside the penalty area, flicked it on with her head to Lindsey Horan. Horan took one touch before chipping back to Lavelle in the middle of the penalty area where she finished brilliantly with a half volley into the right side netting to tie the match. USA 1, BRA 1. WATCH.
USA – Julie Ertz (Tobin Heath), 53rd minute: Tobin Heath took on Mônica on the right side, won the ball and looped it toward the far left post for Julie Ertz, who came sprinting from outside the box to send a sliding shot into the top of the net for the U.S. lead. USA 2, BRA 1. WATCH.
USA – Tobin Heath (Alex Morgan), 61st minute: Alex Morgan controlled the ball inside the box, looked up for a teammate and picked out an incoming Tobin Heath at the top of the box. Heath struck a powerful low shot from 18 yards out through a forest of players into the far left side of the net for the two-goal advantage. USA 3, BRA 1. WATCH.
USA – Alex Morgan (Megan Rapinoe), 77th minute: A well drawn up set piece was executed to perfection by the U.S. when Megan Rapinoe’s free kick fell to the middle of the area at the top of the six-yard box where Alex Morgan timed an exacting run that got behind the defense to redirect the ball into the back of the net. USA 4, BRA 1. WATCH. FINAL
Additional Notes:
- The USA is 9-0-2 in 2018, with wins against Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (twice), China PR (twice), Japan, Brazil and ties against Australia and France.
- The USA is unbeaten in its last 19 matches (16-0-3). The USA has outscored its opponents 58-17 through that stretch, scoring in all 19 games.
- Rose Lavelle earned her 11th career cap tonight and made her first start since Sept. 19, 2017. She scored her third career goal, her first with the USA since scoring against Sweden on June 8, 2017. A hamstring injury suffered against Norway on June 11, 2017 kept her off the field for club and country until the last few months when she returned to international and NWSL play.
- Julie Ertz scored her second goal of 2018, and her 16th career goal in her 64th career cap. It was Ertz' first goal in her last five USWNT appearances, and her seventh in her last 12. She also scored against Brazil at last year’s Tournament of Nations.
- Tobin Heath scored her 20th international goal (second of 2018) and recorded her first assist of the year – her 30th career assist. Tonight’s game was her second consecutive start for the U.S. WNT after taking the field against Australia on July 29, which marked her first start since March 7, 2017. Heath was out of the National Team for most of 2017 and 2018 due to injuries. She earned cap No. 136 and is in 25th place on the USA’s all-time caps list.
- Alex Morgan scored her 90th international goal, her team-leading 10th goal of the year, and recorded her third assist of 2018. It was her 145th cap. At age 29, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA's all-time goal scoring list. She’s scored 17 goals over her last 18 WNT matches.
- Megan Rapinoe earned her team-leading ninth assist of 2018 in her 140th international appearance today. She has 53 international assists, sitting in seventh place in U.S. history.
- Lindsey Horan earned her third assist of 2018 in her 54th career cap. She has scored six international goals, with her most recent one being the dramatic game-tying goal against Australia in the 90th minute on July 29.
- Morgan and Rapinoe are the only two players to start every game so far in 2018.
- Tonight's own goal was just the 10th in U.S. WNT history and the second to Brazil. It's also the second conceded by the USA in the last decade. The most recent one before tonight’s was Julie Ertz’ at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup final vs. Japan.
- The U.S. starting backline, composed of Sauerbrunn, Davidson, Dunn and Sonnett, had only played 77 minutes together before tonight's game.