Canadian women’s soccer team falls to U.S. on late penalty in CONCACAF W Championship final

The US took revenge for its Olympic semi-final loss to Canada by beating its North American rivals 1-0 in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico.

Both matches featured a penalty kick.

Monday’s final marks the first meeting between the two North American powerhouses since August 2, 2021, when Canada won 1-0 on Jessie Fleming’s 75th-minute penalty in the World Cup semi-final. Tokyo Olympics. The Canadian woman went on to win a gold medal in a penalty shootout victory over Sweden while the American took bronze after beating Australia.

This time the United States received an important call.

The American pressure paid off in the second half when Mexican referee Katia Garcia pointed to the penalty spot after Rose Lavelle came down after a collision from substitute Allysha Chapman. Veteran forward Alex Morgan stepped up and beat goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan in the 78th minute for her 118th international goal.

It was the first goal that Canada conceded in five games at the eight-team tournament. The Americans did not give up on a goal.

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USA declares CONCACAF W champion with victory over Canada

The Canadian women’s soccer team failed to secure automatic landing for the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 0-1 loss to the United States. The Canadian Olympic champions can still go to Paris but will have to send No. 51 Jamaica in the CONCACAF Olympic play-in series, scheduled for September 2023.

Canada coach Bev Priestman calls it a “soft punishment.” But Chapman appeared to put his hand on the American’s back while accidentally cutting off her right leg while trying to chase her down.

“A great match. I knew it was going to be very tight. It’s a good profit at this level,” Priestman said.

“Do I think that was our best performance against a tier 1 team? No,” she added. “But that’s what the final is. These things happen. The most important thing for us is that we keep moving forward. And I’ll say that to the whole team. I’m incredibly proud. about them.”

Sheridan and Morgan are teammates on NSWSL’s San Diego Wave FC.

“Alex is a big player. And great players are made for big moments,” said US coach Vlatko Andonovski, who downplayed the Tokyo revenge factor.

As a CONCACAF champion, the American qualified for both the 2024 Paris Olympics and the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup, also scheduled for 2024.

Another route to Paris

The Canadian Olympic champions can still travel to Paris but will have to send No. 51 Jamaica in the CONCACAF Olympic play-in series, scheduled for September 2023, with the winner set to book tickets to the Olympics and Cup yellow. The Canadians beat Jamaica 3-0 in the CONCACAF semi-finals.

Substitute Kiki Van Zanten’s 102nd minute goal gave Jamaica a 1-0 win over 37 Costa Rica in the previous third-place tie at Estadio BBVA on Monday.

All four semi-finalists of CONCACAF W have already booked tickets to the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by reaching the final round of four tournaments. No. 60 Haiti and No. 57 Panama, who finished third in their respective groups, advanced to the intercontinental playoffs of the World Cup.

The top team USA had more chances in the first half and had a bit more possession of the ball than sixth place Canada but couldn’t beat Sheridan and the two teams went into the first half without a goal.

The Americans picked up the pace in the second half, continuing to counterattack dangerously after winning the ball back. Canadians find themselves under the extended muzzle of a gun.

After going down, the Canadians found new energy and attacked the Americans, but were unable to break through the American defense in six minutes of injury time.

Priestman liked her team’s response to the goal.

“They showed they were willing to do anything to get results in return,” she said. “We gave it everything and that’s all you could ask for [for]. “

The US overtook Canada 14-9 (6-5 in the number of hits), according to CONCACAF.

The US improved to 52-4-7 against Canada – 9-0-1 in World Cup and Olympic qualifying, with every meeting coming in the final of the tournament.

The US roster has undergone a major change since Tokyo.

Only five American players started against Canada at the Olympics on Monday: goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, captain Becky Sauerbrunn, Lindsey Horan, Lavelle and Morgan.

In contrast, 9 of Canada’s 11 start from that Olympic semi-final that starts on Monday. The 10th player, Chapman, came on after 61 minutes. The only missing Olympic starter was goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, who is retired.

The Canadian start – unchanged from Thursday’s semi-final against Jamaica – entered the match with a total of 1,171 caps and Christine Sinclair made 315. a total of 849 caps with Sauerbrunn leading the way, earning her 207th debut.

VIEW | Canada eliminated Jamaica to the final:

Canada eliminated Jamaica, advanced to the CONCACAF final against the US

Jessie Fleming’s early goal proved to be the winner as Canada beat Jamaica 3-0 in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Championship.

Canadian midfielder Julia Grosso won the tournament’s Golden Shoe Award as top scorer with three goals, through one goal, while Sheridan was named top goalkeeper. Morgan was named the league’s top player.

Canada also won the tournament’s fair-play award.

Both teams had extended possession in the first half and the US had a chance to go ahead.

The Americans started quickly with Mallory Pugh forcing Sheridan to make a save in the first minute. Three minutes later, Morgan shot long. The Canadian responded with a pair of Nichelle Prince early shots that didn’t make it difficult for Naeher.

Prince beat two American defenders in the 17th minute, earning a corner with her then deflected shot. Sheridan was forced to punch a dangerous American cross in the 23rd round.

Sheridan had a diving save to deny Pugh in the 31st minute after a quick move from the American striker.

The Americans’ best chance was in the 39th minute when the Americans, in a lightning counterattack, went four-for-two only to see Pugh’s shot fly high and wide.

The round ended with threats from the Americans. Sheridan and centre-back Kadeisha Buchanan somehow worked together on the touchline to prevent Sophia Smith from prying through Sofia Huerta’s low cross that overcame defender Vanessa Gilles.

Smith had a great chance in the 64th minute when one of her passes placed her behind the Canadian defence. She rounded Sheridan but couldn’t get the ball on target from a tight angle.

The Americans have now won 11 games in a row, beating their opponent 46-1, and are unbeaten in 18 games (15-0-3) since the Olympics. The Canadian women, who have seen their seven-match unbeaten streak end (5-0-2), 8-3-4 since Tokyo.

The USA Women have won all five Olympic qualifying tournaments in which they have entered and eight of the nine World Cup qualifying tournaments. The only trace is 2010 when the Americans lost to Mexico in the semi-finals of the World Cup qualifiers.

The Americans went into the final on Monday with a 59-1-1 record in World Cup and Olympic qualifying matches. The draw came to Canada in the final of the 2008 Olympic Qualifying Tournament although the United States dominated on penalties to win the tournament.

Canada and the US have met in 5 of the previous 10 CONCACAF women’s finals, in which the US won all 5 matches.

The Canadian women won the CONCACAF tournaments in 1998 (when the US did not participate in the 1999 Women’s World Cup) and 2010, defeating Mexico in the final both times. The Americans have won nine other editions, including the most recent three.

The North American rivals forged an identical path into Monday’s final, each winning four games while taking a 12-0 lead. Canada and the US beat Jamaica and Costa Rica 3-0 in Thursday’s semi-final, respectively.

Nine different Americans scored on their way to the final compared to eight Canadians.