Heath played a cross to the back post where Lloyd was waiting to place a lofting header back across goal and find the side netting to give the Americans a dream start.
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But the Americans wasted no time doubling their lead in the second half as Morgan scored just two minutes after the restart.
The team has won gold in four of the last five Olympics and three straight overall. “Sometimes mistakes are made”. It was a much different style of win compared to their final sendoff friendly against Costa Rica in late July but was just as comprehensive. We will defend as a collective. Or the coach could stick with Long and Brian in the starting role and use Horan off the bench, as she did on Wednesday when Horan replaced Brian in the 64th minute.
“A few players have retired and been replaced by stars of the future: Crystal Dunn and Mallory Pugh”. Instead most of the USA attack went through the middle of the pitch because that’s where the space was. They could have benefitted from passing the ball around the 18 more and looking to play balls in on the ground. Luckily for Johnston and the USA, goalkeeper Hope Solo was able to easily come out and collect the shot. The defense did a great job of staying patient the whole game and passing from side to side.
“We know that we come into this game as the underdogs and we will have nothing to lose against the World No 1”, the 23-year-old forward told New Zealand Football. No other player in that particular tournament even managed double figures – he is the only one in 104 years to do it. She’s essentially taking over the Lauren Holiday central holding midfielder role right in front of the two centerbacks.
“We know how hard it will be to be back-to-back winners”, co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn said recently. Notably, she also played the entire 90 minutes of Wednesday’s contest, putting to rest any lingering worries about her fitness. She is now sixth all-time in goals scored, ninth all-time in assists, and eighth all-time in appearances for the national team in her career. However, between the booking and a stoppage for Pugh to be attended to by trainers, the USA seemed to lose their edge a bit.
At the Olympics the chances of the United States women’s soccer team winning looks promising considering the odds. Her touch was flawless. And they’re also one of only two who can claim a victory over the USWNT in the almost 50 games the United States have played since the beginning of previous year.
It still gets more complicated, though. The Germany-based athlete is competing just 11 months after she plunged into the freezing Aegean Sea to help push a sinking dinghy, overcrowded with 30 migrants, to safety. “We have to take advantage of each other’s qualities”. Because the tournament is not on the FIFA calendar, getting players released is always a balancing act between the federations and clubs. You never want to peak too soon. Not surprising though, as the USWNT is a team that often plays to the level of their opponents and tends to rise to the occasion.
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Carli Lloyd (right) and Allie Long celebrate Lloyd’s first half goal that prved to be the game-winner against New Zealand in a Group G match at Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
