Women's football team from the US wins SheBelieves Cup: The United States women's national team picked up SheBelieves Cup titles with a brilliant 6-0 win over Argentina on Wednesday night. The team had won the title in 2016, 2018 and 2020 previously.
The first goal for the match came through veteran star Megan Rapinoe, who scored for a second straight game. Rose Lavelle delivered a chip down the center and Rapinoe took the second turn to finish in the 16th minute. Rapinoe scored twice. Carli Lloyd, Kristie Mewis, Alex Morgan and Christen Press also took their time to score.
With this win, the US women football team also become the first team to have three straight lifts of the SheBelieves Cup, the annual competition that was held for the sixth straight year in 2021.
Overall, the US team, who is the winner of the last two World Cups, is now unbeaten in 36 straight games and 53 straight in America.
“We wanted to come out fast as always,” Rapinoe, the 2019 Ballon d’Or winner, said adding, “It’s always dangerous to leave teams hanging around, so we were able to do that today. Just tried to find the space, be aggressive. Found myself in the middle a little bit more. The nines better be careful, leaving me out there scoring goals. Just trying to get up there and take the chances.”
For Alex Morgan, who scored in the 84th minute, this was her first goal since giving birth to her daughter Charlie last May. “I’m very excited to get my first goal back with the national team and join the list of moms on the team who have scored goals and played as a national team player,” Morgan said. “I just want to be an example for other female athletes who are moms or want to become moms, knowing that they still belong in the game.”
They have earlier defeated Canada in the tournament opener, triumphing with a late goal from Manchester City’s Rose Lavelle, who was named the competition’s Most Valuable Player. The team also beat Brazil 2-0 on Sunday. Earlier on Wednesday, Brazil beat Canada 2-0 at Exploria Stadium to finish second.
The US team will next compete in April at the FIFA tournament, for which US Soccer is reportedly working to arrange a pair of friendlies in Europe, according to The Washington Post. It will coincide with the NWSL's Challenge Cup.
Earlier, the women’s national team made headlines when they decided to stand as a group for the national anthem rather than kneeling in protest of racial inequality and police brutality in the country. The US Soccer team also lost the controversial equal pay lawsuit last year.
The team is prepping for the Tokyo Olympics after opting out of the 2020 campaign.
Feature Image Credit: The Guardian
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