What to expect: USWNT vs. Brazil in W Gold Cup Final
Brazil’s Rafaelle defending potential player of the tournament Jacqueline Ovalle in Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Mexico on Wed., in W Gold Cup semifinal. (Photo credit concacaf.com)
San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium will play host to its second major tournament final ever on Sunday, March 10, for the first Women’s Gold Cup Final. The match will take place at 5:15 p.m. PST between the United States Women’s National Team and Brazil Seleção and broadcasted live on Paramount+ in English and ESPN Deportes in Spanish.
Brazil's road to the final started after going unbeaten in their group at Snapdragon Stadium against Colombia, Puerto Rico and Panama. Then in their quarterfinal against Argentina they won 5-1 with their only goal against them coming late in the match when it had already been won. Their semifinal against Mexico went very well as they dominated Mexico 3-0 after scoring early then going up a player in the 29th minute.
Brazil’s style of soccer is characterized by its instinctiveness on both the men’s and women’s side. Tactics and strategies are of course involved like most soccer teams, but the Seleção has an inherent beauty to the way the ball is handled almost as if it was an extension of their body.
That type of play was seen when forward Yasmim sent in a possible goal of the tournament with a backheel touch to a perfect cross in minute 48 against Mexico on Wednesday. She said to the media on Saturday, that her head coach Arthur Elias has told her and her teammates they must play with their instinctiveness as it has been a part of their game since they were children.
The U.S. road to the final began in Los Angeles at Dignity Health Sports Park where they ended second in their group after beating Dominican Republic and Argentina before losing 2-0 to their southern rivals Mexico. The loss sparked a visible change in the squad who came back with a strong 3-0 victory over Colombia in the quarter final.
Then they faced an even tougher mental challenge with mother nature as rain took over Bashor field creating a waterlogged pitch where the ball barely moved. The U.S. managed to advance, winning a penalty shootout 3-1 after a 2-2 draw with goals by Jaedyn Shaw and Sophia Smith.
Shaw has been one of the stories of the tournament and will likely lead the U.S. attack as one of their best attackers despite limited time with the national team. Though, she has already made history after scoring in all four of her starts with the national team, three of those happening at Snapdragon Stadium.
The pressure will be on her as she looks to continue the streak, but she said that she has “always loved a bit of pressure,” and is excited for what will be her first tournament final in her professional career for either club or country.
A domestic trophy would be an important step in the right direction for the usually dominant United States team that is in a period of transition after a lackluster performance in the Women’s World Cup and new head coach, Emma Hayes, joining the team in June.
The tournament itself has been a success with players and coaches from many teams commending it for bringing together Conmebol and Concacaf competition as an opportunity to prepare for the Olympics with a similarly scheduled tournament as well as showcase players from the two regions.
Paramount + announced the USWNT against Canada was their most streamed women’s soccer match ever and Concacaf announced they have sold nearly 30,000 tickets as of Saturday night.
Prediction: USA 2, Brazil 1
The U.S. lead the all-time record between the two sides with 31 wins, five draws and three losses, and I believe they will make it 32 on Sunday night. Brazil’s competition has not been as tough, and while it is tough to measure the USWNT performance against Canada, they have faced tougher competition more recently and been strong on the defensive end.
The “Jogo Bonito” is real and Brazilian soccer has been a treat to watch this tournament, but there is a reason the USWNT have only lost once since the year 2000 on U.S. soil.
