The U.S. Women took the championship of the SheBelieves Cup 2021 in emphatic fashion. They Stormed to a 6-0 victory against Argentina. Megan Rapinoe scored twice. There were first-half goals from Carli Lloyd and Kristie Mewis, plus two late tallies from Alex Morgan and Christen Press. The USA clinched its fourth SheBelieves Cup title. They became the first back-to-back champion in the tournament’s six-year history. Impressively, they were the first team to not allow a single goal at the competition.
USA 6 Argentina 0
Report by USSoccer.com
Rose Lavelle was named SheBelieves Cup MVP. Her dynamic style of play was on display in all three games. She scored the game-winning goal vs. Canada in the opener as well as earning an assist in the Final.
The midfielder received 31.7% of the total vote, narrowly edging teammate Christen Press. Brazil’s Debinha and Adriana were the other finalists.
After two hard-fought victories against Canada and Brazil to open the tournament, an offensive outburst fueled the USWNT to a dominant showing vs. La Albiceleste. The USA piled up a 27-1 margin in shots and kept the ball in Argentina’s defensive half for most of the night.
First Half
The USA kicked off the scoring in the 16th minute as Rose Lavelle set up Rapinoe for the game’s first goal. Lloyd would set up Rapinoe’s second just 10 minutes later. It was Rapinoe’s third goal of the 2021 tournament and seventh all-time at the SheBelieves Cup, a record. Rapinoe’s brace also marked her 56th and 57th international goals. This moved her to the top 10 in scoring all-time for the USWNT, passing Carin Gabarra.
Lloyd scored a goal of her own in the 35th minute off an assist from Mewis.
Following some nice combination play with Casey Krueger, Mewis also got on the scoresheet in the waning minutes of the first half. She was making her first start for the USWNT since March 2014.
Second Half
Morgan and Press put exclamation points on the evening in the 84th and 88th minutes, respectively. Young forward Sophia Smith, the first player born in 2000 to play for the USWNT, recorded her first assist. She teed up Morgan’s first goal as a mom and her 108th for the USWNT. The goal moved her to fifth place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list.
Press capped off a busy night of threatening the Argentina defense with a goal off a corner via an assist from Lindsey Horan. Both have been incredibly productive for the USA of late . Press’ goal marked her 11th in her last 13 games. Horan has had a hand in nine of the USWNT’s 19 goals in 2021.
Argentina played in a compact defensive block for the entire match. It took the USA a bit of time to break down the defense. But in the end, WNT threatened and scored in a variety of ways.
Vlatko Andonovski uses all substitutes
U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski used all six of his available substitutions. The two youngest players on the roster, 21-year-old Jaelin Howell and the 20-year-old Smith, made their second and third full international appearances, respectively.
Goalkeeper Jane Campbell recorded her second career shutout in her third career start for the USWNT. The U.S. backline did not allow Argentina a shot on target and has not given up a goal in its last six games.
SheBelieves Cup Final Line-ups
USA
18-Jane Campbell; 5-Kelley O’Hara (14-Emily Sonnett, 32), 12-Tierna Davidson, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.), 2-Casey Krueger (20-Margaret Purce, 46); 8-Julie Ertz (3-Jaelin Howell, 62), 16-Rose Lavelle (9- Lindsey Horan, 46), 22-Kristie Mewis; 23-Christen Press, 10-Carli Lloyd (13-Alex Morgan, 46), 15-Megan Rapinoe (17-Sophia Smith, 62)
Subs not used: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 6-Lynn Williams, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 19-Crystal Dunn, 21-Casey Murphy
Head coach: Vlatko Andonovski
Argentina
1-Solana Pereyra; 21-Adriana Sachs, 4-Marina Delgado, 6-Aldana Cometti, 20-Daiana Falfan (10-Dalila Ippolito, 59), 15-Milagros Menendez (19-Mariana Larroquette, 51), 18-Romina Nuñez (3-Eliana Stabile, 46), 5-Vanesa Santana (Capt.), 11-Yamila Rodriguez (7-Yael Oviedo, 63), 8-Clarisa Huber (14-Miriam Mayorga, 52), 9-Soledad Jaimes (17-Valentina Camara, 75)
Subs not used: 12-Laurina Oliveros; 2-Agustina Barroso, 13-Sophia Braun
Head coach: Carlos Borrello
Final Standings – 2021 SheBelieves Cup
| TEAM | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| USA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 9 |
| Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
| Canada | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| Argentina | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | -9 | 0 |