San Diego (AFP) – Japan won the SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday, with Yuka Momiki and Toko Koga scoring in the 2-1 victory that ended the Americans’ bid for a sixth straight title in the round-robin tournament. Japan avenged their quarter-final loss to the United States at last year’s Paris Olympics, where the US went on to capture gold. This match marked the first defeat for the United States since Emma Hayes took over as coach last May.
The United States needed to win to lift the trophy, but Japan, who required only a draw due to their better goal difference, made a dream start by opening the scoring in the second minute. Yui Hasegawa found Momiki at the corner of the six-yard box, and as Emily Sonnett collided with US keeper Jane Campbell, Momiki was left free to fire into an empty net.
Ally Sentnor, who scored her first international goal in a win over Colombia on Thursday, pulled the United States level in the 14th minute. She got on the end of Catarina Macario’s through ball and fired past Japanese keeper Ayaka Yamashita. However, Japan regained the lead in the 49th minute with a goal from 19-year-old Koga. After Yazmeen Ryan fouled Aoba Fujino, Japan was awarded a free-kick. Mina Tanaka’s smartly struck effort forced a diving save from Campbell, and second-half substitute Koga raced in from the left to slot home the rebound.
Largely stymied by Japan’s organized defense in the second half, the United States pressed desperately as time ran out. Tierna Davidson’s shot from outside the box in the 88th minute was saved by Yamashita. Hayes, who was without many of her key starters for the tournament, stated there was no need to panic at her young side’s loss to the vastly more experienced Japan. “The relationships they have in terms of the volume of games they’ve played together really shows,” she said of Japan. “They were a higher level to us throughout the whole evening.”
Hayes, who has stressed the importance of developing over the build-up to the 2027 World Cup, added, “I think we’re better off as a result of this experience.”
In the earlier match, Colombia beat Australia 2-1 to claim third place, with Catalina Usme scoring the winner. Wendy Bonilla also scored for Colombia, marking their first victory of the event. Bonilla put Colombia up 1-0 in the 15th minute, seizing a long pass from Mayra Ramirez and racing forward to unleash a right-footed blast from just inside the penalty area across diving Australian keeper Teagan Micah.
Australia finally broke through in the 69th minute as Charlotte Grant’s cross found Hayley Raso, whose shot deflected past Natalia Giraldo and into the net. However, Colombia regained the lead with a 73rd-minute strike from Usme, who fired a left-footed shot from outside the box that deflected off Clare Hunt and sailed over Micah. The defeat at Snap Dragon Stadium in San Diego means that, one year out from hosting the Asian Cup, the Matildas depart the United States with a disappointing three defeats in the 10th edition of the invitational competition.
© 2024 AFP
