USA 2 - 1 Japan 🇺🇲 🇯🇵 : the continued evolution of this USWNT
A few talking points from Saturday's semi-final
If you tuned in Saturday afternoon, you’ll know by now that the US Women’s National Team came from behind in Atlanta to beat Japan 2-1 before a record crowd in the SheBelieves Cup semi-final (50,644 marks the largest for a USWNT friendly).Â
It ended well, but the early chords of play struck with foreboding: Japan scored 30 seconds in. A US team set up to press high was immediately exploited. Kiko Seike snuck past our highly positioned defensive line to collect a long ball from Momoko Tanikawa and find the early goal, marking the first, first-minute goal sent past the US since 2003.Â
But what was it Mike Tyson said, about being punched in the mouth?Â
Forced to fight from a deficit, the USWNT stuck to their setup and recovered with aplomb. Their once trademark vibes of unflappable resilience seemed finally returned. The high line paid off in the end. They produced 18 shots (7 on target) to Japan’s 6 (5 on target), and were the better team overall against a formidable opponent (one of just five teams to win a women’s World Cup, and one of the only teams to beat the current world champions, Spain, in the past few calendar years).Â
Goals from Jaedyn Shaw and Lindsey Horan sealed fate. The US is set to meet Canada for the SheBelieves Cup final Tuesday night in Columbus. (Pray for light rain this time, for unfortunately some is on forecast).Â
A few non-comprehensive items of note, before I set sail for Ohio…
Mallory Swanson, at last
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Swan Dive with Meg Swanick to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.