{"id":19092,"date":"2022-07-19T12:04:46","date_gmt":"2022-07-19T12:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/alex-morgan-leads-uswnt-over-canada-and-into-paris-olympics\/"},"modified":"2022-07-19T12:04:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-19T12:04:46","slug":"alex-morgan-leads-uswnt-over-canada-and-into-paris-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/alex-morgan-leads-uswnt-over-canada-and-into-paris-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Morgan Leads USWNT Over Canada and Into Paris Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The symmetry would not have been lost on any of them: the United States and Canada, two of the world&#8217;s best women&#8217;s soccer teams, meeting on a sweltering night and chasing a prize only one of them could win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A tight match.  A late penalty kick.  A jubilant celebration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A year ago at the Tokyo Olympics, it was the Canadians who rejoiced, converting a second-half penalty and winning the match on their way to the gold medal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Monday night in Monterrey, Mexico, it was the Americans who were dancing at the final whistle.  It was they who had won the penalty kick and then the game, 1-0, to guarantee themselves a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.  It was they who now had a chance to snatch that gold medal back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Victory came via familiar hands: Lindsey Horan controlling the midfield.  Rose Lavelle slipping in behind the defense and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TUDNUSA\/status\/1549239414324330496\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">winning a penalty<\/a>.  Alex Morgan stepping up to bury it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The victory was the second major goal achieved by the Americans in Mexico, in a tournament that served as a qualifier for both the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.  The United States had sealed its place in the former by merely advancing to the semifinals.  But it still had a goal to go, and a point to prove, against Canada in the Concacaf W Championship final.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Morgan had started that Olympic semifinal last summer in Kashima, Japan, but had watched the end of it from the bench after being substituted.  During the Games, she had been among the most vocal of the veteran players on that roster who had suggested \u2014 in no uncertain terms \u2014 that Coach Vlatko Andonovski was getting things wrong.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the year since that defeat, Morgan, 33, had been among the veterans who had been asked to make way for younger attacking talents like Mallory Pugh, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, to give Andonovski room to tinker and retool ahead of next year&#8217;s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.  But she also knew her chance would eventually come again, and on Monday, after two weeks of matches featuring young players and new lineups, Morgan got her chance to make things right, to prove she still has a role to play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI&#8217;m not surprised but very happy how she has handled the whole situation in how she came back,\u201d Andonovski told reporters after the final.  \u201cI said it early on: Alex is a better player.  That&#8217;s what makes her special.  She does n&#8217;t want to stop growing, she does n&#8217;t want to stop developing. \u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Every opportunity to break the scoreless tie came in the 76th minute.  Handed the ball by Horan after Lavelle was tripped in the penalty area, Morgan took a few deep breaths, strode confidently forward and buried a low, hard shot into the lower-right corner as Canada goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan dived the other way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A few minutes after the final whistle, Morgan was honored as the tournament&#8217;s outstanding player.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt just always feels good,\u201d she said, \u201cto be called a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Grateful to be back \u2014 her longtime frontline teammate Megan Rapinoe did not get off the bench in the final \u2014 Morgan appeared to agree with Andonovski&#8217;s choices this time.  But she also was quick to note that breaking in new players, especially on the tradition-rich US team, sometimes requires having older ones around to show them the way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cSome of the younger players are able to look up to the older players in a big tournament like this,\u201d Morgan said.  \u201cYou just can&#8217;t replicate that with friendlies.  It has to be the real deal.  And this is the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Andonovski, too, praised players like Morgan, Rapinoe and defender Becky Sauerbrunn for creating a \u201csuperb\u201d environment conducive to success.  \u201cWe came out for the last game of the tournament, after being in a hotel for a month, with the best energy we&#8217;ve ever had,\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/campeonasmx\/status\/1549275736493678592?s=20&amp;t=4S0M9uQGqn3DcTEbNNgwew\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\">he said<\/a>.  \u201cThat&#8217;s a testament, first and foremost, to the senior players.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">How far ahead are the United States and Canada of their regional rivals?  Neither team lost a game in Monterrey on its way to the final.  Neither surrendered a goal.  Each scored a dozen goals in its first four games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Both teams were so dominant, in fact, that once Costa Rica and Jamaica had locked up the other two semifinal places \u2014 clinching the region&#8217;s two other automatic places in the World Cup \u2014 they appeared to stand down ahead of the final, resting some of their top players in the semifinals and focusing instead on winning the third-place game.  Victory there seemed a safer bet, after all, and it came with a consolation prize: a shot at the US-Canada loser in a two-legged Olympic playoff that offered a last-chance bid for a place in Paris in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Defeat in the final was hardly a catastrophe for Canada: Its team is still widely expected to qualify for the Paris Games by beating Jamaica, which beat Costa Rica earlier Monday in the third-place game, in the playoff next year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Canada learned a few things about itself along the way, too.  Sheridan, who kept her team in the game with several outstanding saves in the first half, was named the tournament&#8217;s top goalkeeper and now seems entrenched in that role.  Julia Grosso won the golden boot as the championship&#8217;s top scorer, and she and her fellow 21-year-old Jordyn Huitema came off the bench Monday to provide the kind of game-changing spark that may force Canada into the same sort of young-vs .-old reckoning that the United States is now embracing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI think there&#8217;s another level,\u201d Canada Coach Bev Priestman had said after her team&#8217;s semifinal win, \u201cand I do think that playing a team like the US will bring out some of our strengths that maybe teams haven&#8217;t allowed us to do. \u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Now she and her players \u2014 just like the US team \u2014 know how a bit more about the mix they will need to get where they really want to go.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The symmetry would not have been lost on any of them: the United States and Canada, two of the world&#8217;s best women&#8217;s soccer teams, meeting on a sweltering night and chasing a prize only one of them could win. A tight match. A late penalty kick. A jubilant celebration. A year ago at the Tokyo &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/alex-morgan-leads-uswnt-over-canada-and-into-paris-olympics\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Alex Morgan Leads USWNT Over Canada and Into Paris Olympics<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4715,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/united-states-vs-haiti-football-match-report-july-4-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":19092,"position":0},"title":"United States vs.  Haiti &#8211; Football Match Report &#8211; July 4, 2022","date":"July 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Alex Morgan scored a first-half brace and Margaret Purce added a late goal as the United States women's national team beat Haiti 3-0 in group stage action at the CONCACAF W Championship.- Rapinoe to be awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom- Kassouf: Despite USWNT win over Haiti, defense looks shaky- Foudy:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18818,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/uswnt-vs-canada-score-alex-morgan-scores-cup-winner-usa-clinch-olympic-and-gold-cup-berths\/","url_meta":{"origin":19092,"position":1},"title":"USWNT vs.  Canada score: Alex Morgan scores cup winner, USA clinch Olympic and Gold Cup berths","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The United States women's national team defeated Canada in the Concacaf W Championship final 1-0 on Monday night in Monterrey, Mexico. Alex Morgan scored the lone goal for the team, a perfectly converted penalty kick in the 78th minute. Morgan sent a ball through to Rose Lavelle on a run\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18869,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/uswnt-qualifies-for-2024-olympics-and-quashes-some-concern-with-a-vengeance\/","url_meta":{"origin":19092,"position":2},"title":"USWNT qualifies for 2024 Olympics, and quashes some concern, with a vengeance","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Alex Morgan scored the only goal of the CONCACAF W Championship between the US and Canada. (AP Photo\/Fernando Llano)The US women's national team retained its regional title and qualified for the 2024 Olympics on a Monday night that began with unease.The Tokyo Olympics had spawned it. The past two weeks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4918,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/uswnt-beats-haiti-in-concacaf-w-championship-opener\/","url_meta":{"origin":19092,"position":3},"title":"USWNT beats Haiti in Concacaf W Championship opener","date":"July 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Placeholder while article actions loadMONTERREY, Mexico \u2014 There was never much question about whether the US women's national soccer team, standard-bearer for the game for more than three decades, would defeat Haiti on the opening night of the Concacaf W Championship.Taking that suggestion a step further, there is little doubt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19132,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/uswnts-alex-morgan-shows-her-class-in-concacaf-w-championship-success\/","url_meta":{"origin":19092,"position":4},"title":"USWNT&#8217;s Alex Morgan shows her class in CONCACAF W Championship success","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"MONTERREY, Mexico -- In the end, it had to be Alex Morgan.The United States defeated Canada 1-0 on Monday at Estadio BBVA to win the CONCACAF W Championship and clinch a berth in the 2024 Olympics. It was the most convincing performance of the tournament from the Americans, one that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15122,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/with-uswnt-into-concacaf-w-final-a-more-nuanced-version-emerging-under-vlatko-andonovski\/","url_meta":{"origin":19092,"position":5},"title":"With USWNT into CONCACAF W final, a more nuanced version emerging under Vlatko Andonovski","date":"July 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The USWNT is eyeing a third straight CONCACAF title after dispatching Costa Rica in a semifinal. Azael Rodriguez\/Getty ImagesMONTERREY, Mexico -- Thursday brought another methodical performance from the United States women's national team in a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica at Estadio Universitario. The result clinched the Americans a place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2022\/07\/19\/multimedia\/19uswnt1\/19uswnt1-facebookJumbo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19092"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19092\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}