The U.S. women’s national team claimed its sixth SheBelieves Cup trophy with a 2-1 win over Brazil on Wednesday.
Goals from Alex Morgan and Mallory Swanson, who was named tournament MVP, put the Americans in control for much of the second half, but Brazil pulled one back in the 90th minute from forward Ludmila.
The USWNT went undefeated in the SheBelieves Cup after beating Canada and Japan in earlier games. But now, the next tournament on the calendar is the Women’s World Cup, which kicks off for the Americans on July 22 in New Zealand.
Rapid reaction
1. USWNT wins SheBelieves Cup, but now the World Cup awaits
The U.S. women’s national team didn’t even need to win against Brazil to secure its sixth SheBelieves Cup trophy — a loss by one goal still would’ve been enough for the Americans to finish atop the standings, and the USWNT cleared that low bar and then some with a win over Brazil on Wednesday.
Winning the SheBelieves Cup is nice, and the American players have earned a nice little bonus payment for it, but ultimately this tournament largely exists to prepare the USWNT for the World Cup. To that end, it might warrant a bit of worry that the Americans never quite put together a full 90-minute performance during the SheBelieves Cup, including against Brazil.
