Alex Morgan scored a penalty late in the second half to lead 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 win securing the USWNT place in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“It always feels good to be named champion, so this game just feels good to us,” Morgan said after the match. “Canada has given us a run for our money, but we have won and we feel good about it.”
Vlatko Andonovski’s side looked lively from the start, with Mallory Pugh’s hit volley testing Canadian guard Kailen Sheridan and Morgan firing just wide of the far post within 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 a direct distance out just before the half ended 0-0.
Smith missed another golden opportunity right after the hour. After running away from the Canadian defense to a perfectly weighted through ball from Morgan, Smith rounded out Sheridan but slipped as she went to shoot into a wide open goal, with her effort arriving in the sideline.
Allysha Chapman of Canada fouled Rose Lavelle in the penalty area in the 76th minute and Morgan sent Sheridan the wrong way with her point kick to put the United States in the lead. It was Morgan’s 118th overall career goal for the USWNT and she finished as the player of the tournament at the W Championship.
“I haven’t been with the team for the last eight months,” Morgan added. “So I could just concentrate on San Diego and that helped me mentally and physically and then get back on the team, my role just increased and that felt good.
“I feel good overall, I’m happy, healthy and confident and I feel like I can contribute exactly what is asked of me. So I’m in very good shape right now.”
Canada had a set of late chances, including a header from substitute Jordyn Huitema that went wide when Andonovski’s side saw the result.
The win extends the USWNT’s overall record in World Cup and Olympic qualifying matches to 60-1-1, with the only loss coming against Mexico in 2011.
In the third-place match, Jamaica defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in extra time with a goal from Kalyssa van Zanten, earning the right to face Canada next September for CONCACAF’s second place at the Paris Olympics.
All four teams – the United States, Canada, Jamaica and Costa Rica – have already secured places at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand due to reaching the semi-finals of the W Championship.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
