Sunday, July 7, 2019
| 2019 Women's World Cup Champion |
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| USA - United States | (The Stars & Stripes) U.S. Soccer Federation | (USSF) | [Concacaf] |
| #1 | F1 | F Winner | 7-0-0 4th Championship ('91, '99, '15) F1: Beat Thailand 13-0, F3: Beat Chile 3-0, F5: Beat Sweden 2-0, R16: Beat Spain 2-1, QF: Beat France 2-1, SF: Beat England 2-1, F: Beat Netherlands 2-0 |
From the Pubs! wins the pool as Futbol Fabone Dix takes 3rd for second time
SANTA CLARA, CA (smt) [MATCHDAY 25] -- 1E-Netherlands had a successful first half, not allowing 1F-USA to score (much less in the first 12 minutes as in their previous six matches) and had a couple of promising counters. But the USA came out roaring in the second half but couldn't capitalize (thanks to NED GK Sari van Veenendaal who had 8 saves) until a reckless high kick to Alex Morgan was reviewed by VAR and a PK was awarded. Megan Rapinoe put away the PK for her 6th goal and then 8 minutes later Rose Lavelle scored her 3rd goal of the tourney as USA cruised to a 2-0 win in front of a sellout crowd of 57,900 in Lyon. Rapinoe's goal actually gave her the Golden Boot as she played less minutes than Morgan (6 goals and 3 assists each). USA wins back-to-back titles (matching GER's '03/'07) and their 4th title (two more than GER) as well as their 4th straight major tournament win ('14 Concacaf Women's Championship/'15 WWC/'18 CWC).
Coach Jill Ellis is the first to win two WWC titles and she actually did a good job, making adjustments when necessary and managing a star-studded roster. Her defensive play after scoring against FRA was a good move IMHO, dealing with the heat and humidity and pro-FRA crowd, not a cowardly one. In every match, the USA was the strongest and fittest in that last 5-10 minutes of a match sealing three one-goal wins. I still don't think we know how good GK Alyssa Naeher is yet but that's for another day. USA relied on the vets so much that before Lavelle's goal, the previous 7 were by "old-timers" Rapinoe (5), Morgan, and Press. Ignoring the 13-0 opening win, 10 of the last 12 were by veterans (Lavelle and Lindsey Horan the lone exceptions) plus one own goal that was created by another 3-time vet, Tobin Heath. As the mantle is handed down to the new class who will have more pressure on getting the three-peat, I will savor the dominance the USA women had in this tournament.
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