USWNT players celebrate after an Alex Morgan penalty against Canada at the CONCACAF W Championship. AP Images
Alex Morgan scored a penalty late in the second half to guide the United States to a 1-0 victory over Canada in the CONCACAF W Championship final in Monterrey, Mexico on Monday night.
The game was a rematch of last summer’s Olympic semifinal game, which Canada won 1-0 before going on to win the gold medal in Tokyo, with the victory securing the USWNT a spot in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Vlatko Andovoski’s side looked lively from the outset, with Mallory Pugh’s well-hit volley testing Canada keeper Kailen Sheridan and Morgan firing just wide of the far post inside of the first five minutes.
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Both teams continued to have chances in a back-and-forth opening 45 minutes, with Sheridan somehow keeping Sofia Smith’s shot from point-blank range out just before the half ended 0-0.
Smith missed another golden opportunity just after the hour mark. After outrunning the Canada defense to a perfectly weighted through ball from Morgan, Smith rounded Sheridan but slipped as she went to shoot into a wide open goal with her effort ending up in the side netting.
Canada’s Allysha Chapman fouled Rose Lavelle in the penalty area in the 76th minute and Morgan sent Sheridan the wrong way with her spot kick to put the U.S. into the lead.
The USWNT saw out the result to extend its overall record in World Cup and Olympic qualifying matches to 60-1-1, with the lone loss coming against Mexico in 2010.
In the third-place match, Jamaica beat Costa Rica 1-0 in extra time with a Kalyssa van Zanten goal, earning the right to take on Canada for the second CONCACAF place at the Paris Olympics.
All four teams — the U.S., Canada, Jamaica and Costa Rica — had already secured spots at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand by virtue of reaching the semifinals of the Championship.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
Source: espn.co.uk
