The US women learned many lessons in this tournament. They learned that they can be played off the pitch by a team like Mexico if they’re not careful. They also learned they can rely on their defense, but that was never really in doubt, as the defense wasn’t the problem in the World Cup last year.
They learned they can rely on some of their younger players. Korbin Albert has shown the capacity to shake things up in midfield. Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman look to have shaken off any disappointment from last year.
Yes, they could create a bit more. This team needs Rose Lavelle for 90 minutes a game, or at least 75 or so. This team might need a more experienced player in a holding midfield role to free up Lindsey Horan to go on the prowl farther up the field. Alex Morgan still has the odd burst of speed, but perhaps that might be better in a substitute role.
But the big takeaway tonight shouldn’t be how this game sets up the USA for the Olympics. This tournament brought together the best teams in Concacaf (except Jamaica, whose qualifying effort ground to a halt in a player protest) and South America, and it delivered outstanding games. The result won’t add another star to the US badge, but this trophy is well worth celebrating in its own right.
So if you’re asking whether the US women can bounce back from last year, the answer is that they already have.
Thanks for following this tournament with us.
Full time: USA 1-0 Brazil
Go back to where we started three hours ago. This game had the hallmarks of the 2008 Olympic final, when the US pulled what to me is the most surprising win it their history, beating a dazzling Brazilian side 1-0.
The odds probably weren’t as stacked against the USA here tonight. For one thing, this game was in San Diego, not Beijing, and give credit to Honduran referee Melissa Borjas for not being overawed by the partisan home crowd. But if you watched the semifinals, you couldn’t be blamed for thinking this game was Brazil had at least a 50-50 shot to win.
But the USA have been clinical here. Give up a half-chance, and they stop up. Get a half-chance, and they finish it.
This wasn’t domination – far from it. But at no time were the US women holding on for dear life. The defense conceded little. The offense created just enough.
It’s a pity this win won’t get the attention it deserves simply because it’s not the World Cup or the Olympics. Other than those major trophies, this could be ranked – should be ranked – as the biggest in US women’s history.
90 min +7: Debinha … ahead to Geyse … but Geyse is offside.
The US commentators and bench mistake the offside whistle for the final whistle, and the officials have to shepherd everyone back.
Then it’s the final whistle.
90 min +6: Finally, Brazil gain possession and get forward. It’s a dangerous cross, Naeher isn’t there and … Casey Krueger heads clear! Another outstanding defensive play by the US.
90 min +5: Purce presses and knocks the ball out of play. Smith does the same. Brazil can’t get the ball to midfield, much less out of it.
90 min +3: Smith is up and off the field. That looked like time-wasting.
Brazil responds with a careless giveaway, simply touching the ball too far forward and letting Albert swoop in to shoot straight at the keeper.
90 min +1: Debinha’s shot goes over the wall and over the bar.
Four more minutes, but it’s hard to see Brazil mustering another chance like that.
It’ll actually be more than four minutes because Sophia Smith has sat down on the field, and the training staff will come on.
90 min: Adriana brings the ball through midfield and hits the ground, but there’s nothing in it.
Different story a few seconds later, as Shaw trips Julia Bianchi.
Five minutes of stoppage time, and that’ll start with a Brazilian free kick from 22 yards.
They have to score from this, or it may be all over.
89 min: Wind. Sails. No longer there. Brazil are resorting to rather desperate smashes down the field now.
88 min: We will not.
86 min: Sophia Smith fouls Thais da Silva deep in the Brazilian half, and the visitors take their time knocking the ball around for a bit before playing forward.
Albert wins the ball and sends it far forward for Williams, who barely loses the foot race to Adriana.
And now … hmmm … will we see VAR for a foul in the US penalty area?
84 min: Brazil with a free kick outside one corner of the penalty area. Not really sure why.
Nearly everyone from both teams lines up in the area, and Brazil play it cleverly, with Geyse coming back from the line to flick it with the outside of her boot toward the far post, but it goes wide.
Casey Krueger replaces Crystal Dunn – who, again, has been excellent tonight.
83 min: What a strong tackle from Crystal Dunn, who was (unusually) about to be outraced to the ball but slid just in time to send the ball skittering out of play.
Brazil try the other side of the field and find Emily Fox there to head the ball clear.
82 min: Yasmim with a good cross, Lynn Williams misplays her clearance, and the US defense are a little lucky that Brazil lose possession out of play. This one isn’t quite over.
80 min: Smith and Williams have had superb spells as substitutes this evening. It might be a matter of time before they get one on the counterattack.
Gooooooal ... no
The offside flag rescues Brazil after one defender passes to another defender who had her back turned. Midge Purce sees the loose ball and plays to Lynn Williams, who neatly finishes to the back post. But the replay shows she was clearly 1-2 yards offside.
Debinha, one of the top players in the NWSL, has entered the fray for Brazil, as has Julia Bianchi.
78 min: The announced attendance is 31,528. “It’s hard to look around the stadium and find empty seats,” we hear on the commentary, which … well, now it is. There were some late arrivals. In any case, it’s heartening to see the California crowd finally catching on to the compelling tournament in their midst.
Brazil remain on the front foot here. Still not creating clear-cut chances, which is a testament to the marking ability of the US defense, all of whom have had first-rate games.
75 min: Korbin Albert, whom we’re told is the second youngest player to start for the US in a competitive final in 30 years (according to an on-screen chyron), takes a free kick that poses a couple of small problems for the Brazilian defense. The PSG midfielder is 20. And in looking that up, I see she’s younger than one of my kids. I need time to process that information.
73 min: Crystal Dunn cuts off Geyse’s path to the ball, and the Manchester United forward clips her to the ground. Dunn has played in the attack in much of her pro career, and the actual defending part of her left-back role isn’t as advanced as her attacking prowess, but she has come up big in big games before and is doing it again here.
70 min: Shot? Cross? The free kick is bent toward the near post, but no Brazilian player gets near it, and Naeher isn’t surprised in the least, collecting the half-shot with ease.
Jaedyn Shaw and Midge Purce will replace Sam Coffey and Trinity Rodman. The latter is a curious move. Rodman certainly didn’t seem tired when she tracked back on defense a few minutes ago, and she has had some impact in the attack. Coffey has impressed commentator Lori Lindsey, but she was lucky not to get a yellow for persistent infringement and seemed out of her depth at times, especially in the first half. Lindsey knows midfield work better than almost anyone, though, so she may be seeing a lot of subtleties.
69 min: Brazil win a free kick at midfield, head down the right side, then win another free kick as Dunn gives the ball away to Adriana and then fouls her.
68 min: A Brazilian shot goes somewhere other than near the goal.
66 min: Rodman nonchalantly makes a perfectly composed (and perfectly clean) slide tackle to stop a Brazilian attack, then walks off as if attacking players do such things all the time. That’ll send a message.
Updated
65 min: Here comes the Manchester United forward, Geyse, to replace Gabi Nunes. Will she reinvigorate the Brazilian attack?
63 min: Now it’s Brazil’s turn to fuss at the referee, as Albert possibly knocks down a player on the counterattack. Borjas seems to have a keen eye for noticing embellishment or incidental contact, and she ignores the pleas for a whistle.
62 min: Dangerous attack for Sophia Smith from a beautiful chip forward by Horan. Antonia barely keeps up with her and just manages to get a foot to it to concede a corner kick rather than an uncontested shot.
60 min: Corner kick to Brazil, though Emily Fox gestures that her jersey was held, and she might have been right.
We have a long-delayed offside call after Brazil commit the cardinal sin of playing a short corner right back to the person who took the kick, forgetting that said player is often behind the last defender.
58 min: Oh dear. Morgan blatantly shoves a Brazilian defender who cuts her off as she tries to reach a through ball. Borjas would be in her right to give her a second yellow in short order, but interim coach Twila Kilgore wisely decides that Morgan’s day is done, and she should be replaced while she can. Here comes Sophia Smith.
56 min: My goodness. Korbin Albert just dribbled through three Brazilian players like a latter-day Maradona. That only breaks the Brazilian pressure briefly, though. A longer break comes with a rushed Brazilian shot that poses more danger to the third row of the stands than the goal.
Vitoria Yaya replaces Duda Sampaio.
54 min: A communication breakdown in the US attack lets Luciana collect cleanly.
Morgan brings down Antonia and gets the game’s first yellow card. She’s greatly amused. But it’s not a bad call. Maybe a little later than it should’ve been.
53 min: Keeper-sweeper time! Luciana comes out 30 yards from goal to head the ball away from the onrushing Morgan, who has raced past the defense toward a through ball, and not for the first time.
51 min: Horan comes back in as Brazil press hard in midfield, forcing the USA to play the ball all the way back to Naeher.
49 min: Borjas again intercedes before a set piece to get people to cut things out.
Horan is down after a collision. The first replay shows Horan going from fast-to-0 far too quickly. She’s up, holding her shoulder.
48 min: This is a substantial crowd, but it’s a subdued crowd unless the USA have a promising attack.
And now they do, with Lynn Williams playing a good through ball toward Rodman that must be cut out for a corner kick.
Second-half kickoff: Rose Lavelle is out. Lynn Williams is in. Kind of curious to go with a more attacking player when you have a lead, but the best defense can be a strong offense, and the USA would love to make Brazil spend more time in their own half for the next 45 minutes.
Kurt Perleberg asks why these games have been behind a paywall at Paramount Plus.
The an$wer i$ ea$y.
I see events on pay services for two reasons. One, there isn’t enough interest to justify big ad dollars, which is why most soccer used to be on pay services and why cricket matches still are. Two, there is a lot of interest, and that’s how people raise the price tag that much more. See boxing and mixed martial arts.
MLS took a risk putting a lot of its content on Apple TV. Paramount is gambling that you’ll spend some money to watch the US play.
“If the US had capitalized on those opportunities, perhaps they’d be up two or three to nothing by now,” says Ali Krieger on the Paramount halftime show.
I have no earthly idea what to say to that. Would any readers like to weigh in on whether the US have missed opportunities in that first half?
Halftime: USA 1-0 Brazil
You’d have to give the balance of play to Brazil. There’s some debate over the play of the US midfield, particularly Sam Coffey – to me, she was overwhelmed and resorted to foot-stomping fouls too often and should probably have a yellow card by now.
But the US defenders have been resolute, especially the superb Naomi Girma. An unfortunate fact of defenders is that they’re often noticed less if they play particularly well. You may have barely heard Girma’s name on the broadcast, but that’s because Brazil can’t find a way past her.
And one year after the US struggled to find the net in the World Cup, the finishing has been nearly perfect in this tournament. In the semifinal, the US attackers put away their two best chances – neither particularly easy. They’ve only had one clear-cut chance in this final, and it’s 1-0.
45 min +2: As stoppage time winds down, Gabi Nunes runs over Naomi Girma in a desperate effort to reach a ball in the US penalty area. That’s a foul, and when Alyssa Naeher takes the goal kick sometime in the next 48 minutes, it’ll be the end of the half.
Goooooaaall! USA 1-0 Brazil (Horan 45)
Not good enough from the Brazilian defense. You just can’t let Horan get enough space to get up on the ball like that. Fox’s cross floats in the air long enough for Horan to wriggle away from pressure and easily head it back across Luciana’s goal into the net.
.@LindseyHoran puts us on the front foot going into halftime!
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) March 11, 2024
🎥 » @AttackingThird
pic.twitter.com/Q3O4qDofcH
Updated
45 min: A US counter, and the ball is played wide to Rodman, who struggles with her footing but gets it back to Emily Fox, who crosses, and …
44 min: Tarciane brings down Alex Morgan off the ball and is astounded that the referee saw it.
Through ball intended for Rose Lavelle, but Luciana alertly races out to cover it.
Pulsating game through parts of this first half. Could use a goal to liven things up a bit more, though.
42 min: Through ball looking for Rodman, but Tarciane brilliantly times a slide tackle to put the ball out of play.
41 min: Now that looked like a possible dive as Brazil go on the attack and try to win a free kick, but Borjas is unimpressed.
40 min: SHOT ON TARGET as Horan is off balance but gets her head to the ball and puts it right at Luciana, who seemed unprepared for the occasion but recovers to hang on.
40 min: But before that kick is taken, Horan tumbles in the penalty area. Replay shows … um … can we see that again?
39 min: Peter Oh: “Brazil has a fantastic coffee culture, with the good stuff being served and enjoyed even in the evening. However the Canarinhas didn’t seem to enjoy Coffey coming in too hot on Duda Sampaio’s foot.”
Ouch.
Horan wins a corner kick with a deft touch off a defender’s shin.
35 min: Horan and referee Borjas share a laugh after the latter lectures the former. Not the smartest foul from the US captain there.
You could say Brazilian players are exaggerating the contact here, but the contact is there.
Duda Sampaio ends up on the ground after another harsh tackle from Coffey, and play continues for a few seconds until Borjas has seen enough and blows the whistle. The crowd again doesn’t like that, but there’s nothing to complain about – that contact surely hurt, and the USA weren’t in a dangerous position at that point. Borjas will drop it to the USA, and we’ll all forget this happened. Except Duda Sampaio, who’ll have a nice bruise tomorrow.
34 min: Naeher was nearly caught with the ball at her feet earlier in this game, but she needn’t have rushed as much as she just did, blasting the ball out of play under no pressure.
The USA go the other way, and Rodman again appears dangerous out wide, coming close to an incisive pass.
33 min: Brazil on the break, but the USA get numbers back, and Davidson easily intercepts a cross from Yasmim.
31 min: This is much better for the USA, and it’s the young Albert with the play, pouncing on an unsuspecting Brazilian midfielder to win the ball and play it forward to Alex Morgan as the veteran streaks past her defender. Only the alert Brazilian keeper Luciana can stop the play, and she does. She may have taken a bit of a knock in the process.
30 min: Morgan gets the ball in a dangerous position, then passes ahead for Rodman – who is in an offside position. By several yards. Rodman knows it, and she lets the ball go to the Brazilian keeper.
29 min: Brazil have 99 “correct passes” to the USA’s 69, according to Concacaf’s stats. But it’s no longer as one-sided as it was, and play is now deep in the Brazilian third.
28 min: The crowd doesn’t like the call, but Sam Coffey stepped on a Brazilian player’s foot there, and whether that player embellishes or not, it’s a foul.
But nothing comes of the free kick, and the USA win one of their own to relieve the pressure.
26 min: Referee Borjas has some words with Tarciane about what is and is not allowed on a free kick. The ball is deflected out to the top of the penalty area at the edge of the arc, where Duda Sampaio winds up but shanks her shot through the crowd and harmlessly out of play.
25 min: Portilho again interrogates the US defense, holding the ball against pressure for a good 15 seconds or so until Davidson rashly challenges into the back of her legs. Free kick from just a couple of yards inside the sideline, even with the top of the 6-yard box.
23 min: Corner kick to the USA as Antonia has to head clear on a dangerous cross from Trinity Rodman, intended for Rose Lavelle.
22 min: CHANCE for Brazil, with a ball lofted over the flat-footed US left flank to Gabi Portilho, who times her run perfectly but sends her shot just high.
21 min: After spending a bit of time setting up, Brazil manages to send that free kick to … Naomi Girma, the cornerstone of the US defense. Not ideal for the team in yellow.
19 min: US teams sometimes play a little better when they’re a little angry, and that’s the case right now. The midfield battles aren’t all going Brazil’s way right now.
We’ll have another free kick to Brazil, though, as Coffey gets tangled with Bia Zaneratto.
17 min: Rose Lavelle’s path to the ball is blocked by two Brazilian defenders, and tempers flare a bit.
Better spell for the USA in general here.
16 min: After a couple of moments of US attack, the ball gets back to Alyssa Naeher, and she is nearly caught in a difficult situation. The keeper has to be quicker with the ball there. But Naeher likely won’t make that mistake twice in this game.
12 min: The game is taking place entirely in the US half.
Kurt Perleberg writes to ask why attendance has been so low. I think it’s a lack of appreciation for which games are truly interesting and important. But I think that’ll change over time. Lindsey Horan may have had a point recently with her comments, later walked back, that the US fan base doesn’t have a deep understanding of the game. That’s improving a bit.
Darlene Haughey writes: “It’s a disgrace that here on American soil that women’s soccer fans have to pay an extra fee to watch the final between USA and Brazil, but the men’s games are always free. I refuse to pay. I’ll read about the game tomorrow.”
Longtime fans of the men’s game (actually, some newer ones as well) would disagree that those games are “always free.” Not too long ago, we needed to do everything short of launching our own satellites to see any soccer on TV at all.
Updated
10 min: Ooooh, that was close. Duda Sampaio curls it toward the upper corner and is just outside.
9 min: Peter Oh writes: “Willa Cather would have approved of that long-distance shot by Brazil. Oh My, Antonia!”
In terms of required high school reading, I did prefer that to, say, The Scarlet Letter.
FREE KICK to Brazil, 25 yards out, after Gabi Nunes gets the worst of an exchange of medium-high kicks.
8 min: Antonia duels Alex Morgan for the ball, raises a hand to indicate she thinks Morgan handled it, then wins the ball and starts a dangerous Brazilian chance. The USA are pinned back here.
6 min: Let’s see .. the penalty area is 18 yards, that spot was roughly another penalty area’s depth beyond that … we’ll call that a 36-yard shot by Antonia that whizzes over the bar. Naeher was alert to it and will certainly remain that way.
Updated
5 min: Brazil’s press is paying off, with a couple of turnovers forced. Adriana showed some speed and determination to keep a ball from rolling out, but she can’t quite get it to a teammate.
4 min: Bia Zaneratto wins a midfield duel with Emily Fox, but Gabi Nunes is less successful in trying to hug Lindsey Horan into giving up the ball. Free kick to the USA.
3 min: So far, most of the game has been spent waiting for goal kicks to be taken.
1 min: We open with an argument over who gets a throw-in at midfield. I did once show a yellow card to someone who kept yelling at me over a throw-in in a game for players under 9. Perspective, people. Seriously.
A Brazilian goal kick is held up so referee Borjas can tell a Brazilian player to zip it. Sigh.
Kickoff: Peep. Here we go.
Please do share your thoughts by email tonight. When the game is in full swing, I may go a little while without checking, but I do read it all. Even the mean ones. (They’re mostly not.)
Anthems have been sung. Coin has been flipped. Dessert has been obtained. Here we go.
Good crowd tonight, apparently. Paramount’s broadcasters have already announced it as more than 30,000. Not sure how that’s calculated. But live shots of the stadium show a healthy amount of support.
The referee is …
Melissa Borjas of Honduras. She’s 37 and has been officiating at the World Cup/Olympic level since 2015.
The weather is …
Pleasant, in the low 60s Fahrenheit (a little over 15 Celsius), with almost no chance of rain.
In other words, not what we saw in the semifinals, where the decision to proceed with the USA-Canada game was unpopular.
Brazil lineup
Goalkeeper: 1-Luciana
Defense: 3-Tarciane, 5-Thais da Silva, 2-Antonia
Midfield: 21-Duda Santos, 11-Adriana, 6-Yasmim, 18-Gabi Portilho
Forwards: 20-Duda Ferreira Sampaio, 9-Gabi Nunes, 10-Bia Zaneratto (capt.)
Brazil has three players in The Guardian’s top 100, and none are in the starting XI this evening. Rafaelle, as mentioned three posts prior, is out injured, replaced here by Thais da Silva. Kerolin, the reigning NWSL champion, is out for the tournament. Debinha, a Kansas City Current teammate of captain Bia Zaneratto, started in the semifinal but is on the bench for the final, replaced by Gabi Nunes.
The third change from the semifinal: Gabi Portilho replaces Racing Louisville’s Ary Borges.
All three Brazilians in the Guardian 100 play in the NWSL, as do Ary Borges, Bia Zaneratto, Adriana, Lauren and Julia Bianchi. A few others are based in Spain: Antonia, Thais da Silva and Gabi Nunes. Another forward, Geyse, plays with Manchester United.
But if you saw Yasmim’s sublime goal in the semifinal, you know not to overlook the players who are based in their home country. (Or you may be wondering if you can be Yasmim’s agent.)
US lineup
Goalkeeper: 1-Alyssa Naeher
Defense: 19-Crystal Dunn, 4-Naomi Girma, 12-Tierna Davidson, 23-Emily Fox
Midfield: 17-Sam Coffey, 10-Lindsey Horan (Capt.), 15-Korbin Albert
10-ish/forward-ish: 16-Rose Lavelle
Forwards: 7-Alex Morgan, 22-Trinity Rodman
Lavelle and Dunn replace Jaedyn Shaw and Jenna Nighswonger.
The players to watch here are Coffey and Albert. They’ve rarely faced a national team with the attacking panache of Brazil. If they can cope with the pressure here, they’ll have strong claims to keep those spots in the Olympics.
Is Alyssa Naeher a Hall of Famer?
Naeher’s performance was mentioned on the pregame broadcast, and as is typical for among most US women’s soccer studio personnel on networks other than Fox, the comments were unanimously positive.
Arguably, Naeher is following the Megan Rapinoe career arc in terms of performance and publicity – underrated earlier in her career, but then reaching a point at which the good players are heralded to the heavens while her mistakes are ignored.
Her performance in the semifinal was questionable, but the weather conditions were so appalling that any mishandling should be noted with an asterisk. She badly bungled the last significant play before the penalty shootout. Then she made three big saves in that shootout, though it should be noted that all three were badly placed – to the same spot!
As a longtime voter for the Hall of Fame (now on the veterans committee, where we handle the players who don’t get in through their years of eligibility on the main ballot), I’d certainly say she belongs. She has been a part of too many significant wins to omit. But I said that about Kate Markgraf for years, maybe even a decade or so, and she was left out until just recently. Fellow goalkeepers Briana Scurry and Hope Solo weren’t immediately waved into the Hall.
The voting system has changed significantly, though, so Naeher stands a decent chance.
Big injury for Brazil
Center back and captain Rafaelle, one of The Guardian’s top 100 players in the world, is out with an injury she picked up in the semifinal, Paramount reports.
Welcome to the best sporting event of the weekend that not enough people are noticing.
The US women are in the biggest state of transition since Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett retired 20 years ago. They have an interim coach while they await the accomplished Emma Hayes to take over just a few months before the Olympics. They have teenagers who are already professional and are pushing for places not just on the roster but in the starting XI. Competition for places has never been so intense.
And this is a tournament that’s long overdue. On their own, Concacaf and South America don’t quite have the critical mass of quality teams to match Europe, and the continental championships lack a bit of luster. The Concacaf W Gold Cup has benefited immensely from the introduction of South American powers.
None are more powerful than Brazil, which looked very much like Brazilian teams always do at their best in their 3-0 dismantling of Mexico, a team that beat the USA earlier in this tournament.
The potential exists for a repeat of the 2007 World Cup semifinal, which is remembered for Hope Solo’s postgame barbs but should be remembered for Brazil’s dazzling performance in a rout of the mighty US team. But the potential also exists for a repeat of the 2008 Olympic final, in which a resolute US team – possibly a serious underdog for the only time in its history – kept Brazil at bay.
But attendance at this tournament has been disappointing, and the broadcasts are tucked away on Paramount Plus. It’s a pity. This is compelling stuff.
Whether you’re watching or just seeking updates, thanks for joining us for the final to a stellar event with more subplots than the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s an interview with Racheal Kundananji, the world’s most expensive women’s soccer player:
The pressure is on and Racheal Kundananji is not denying it. The Zambia forward became the most expensive female player ever last month when she joined Bay FC from Madrid CFF for $788,000 (£620,000) and she is only 23 years old. It is a lot to take in.
“There is so much pressure on me [as a result of the world-record transfer fee] but I just have to calm down, focus on my work and continue playing football,” the striker tells the Guardian from Ndola.
“This is not the end. It’s just the beginning. The expectations of the fans will be so high and opponents are not going to be so friendly to me. That’s why there is so much pressure now.”
The National Women’s Soccer League expansion side Bay City, based in San Jose, are co-founded by four USA women’s national team legends – Brandi Chastain, Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton and Leslie Osborne, in partnership with the global investment firm Sixth Street. They will play their first NWSL game against Angel City in Los Angeles on 16 March.
The road to the top has not always been straightforward for the former 800m and 1500m middle-distance runner but she has picked up knowledge and experience at every corner. The second of five children, Kundananji was raised by a mother she describes as tough.
You can read the full interview below:
