USWNT Battles Brazil for Inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup Trophy

The 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup comes to a close on Sunday, March 10 as the USA and Brazil square off in the championship match. The longtime foes will face off for the inaugural tournament title at 8:15 p.m. ET / 5:15 p.m. PT at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. The match will be broadcast in English on Paramount+ and in Spanish on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.

• USWNT vs. Brazil Match Hub: Live Score & Lineups

The USA is coming off an epic semifinal against Canada in which the longtime rivals battled through the elements and waterlogged pitch to a 2-2 draw. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher put together a performance for the ages in the ensuing penalty kick shootout, saving three of Canada’s four penalty attempts and converting her own from the spot to lift the USA into the final by a 3-1 margin.

The U.S. now turns its attention to the matchup against Brazil, looking to win the first-ever Concacaf W Gold Cup and hoist its 15th trophy all-time at a Concacaf Championship tournament.

Fans can follow all the action from the W Gold Cup via X (formerly Twitter - @USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App.

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 21-Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), 18-Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave FC), 19-Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 12-Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 23-Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG), 4-Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), 20-Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), 3-Jenna Nighswonger (NY/NJ Gotham FC), 5-Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 15-Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), 17-Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), 10-Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), 16-Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 13-Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC), 14-Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC)

FORWARDS (6): 7-Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), 9-Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), 22-Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), 8-Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), 11-Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), 6-Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)

Twenty-two of the 23 players on the roster have seen the field so far this tournament, with the lone exception being goalkeeper Jane Campbell. Nine players have appeared in every match for the USWNT at the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup – Sam Coffey, Trinity Rodman, Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, Emily Sonnett, Sophia Smith, Emily Fox, Jaedyn Shaw and Korbin Albert.

Naeher leads the USA with 390 minutes played at the Gold Cup, followed by Lindsey Horan (383 minutes), Coffey (382) and Fox (355). Shaw is the team’s leading scorer with four goals while Horan and Morgan have three goal involvements each with two goals and one assist apiece.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

Brazil secured its place in Sunday’s final with a convincing 3-0 win over Mexico on March 6. The two-seed in the knockout rounds, Brazil defeated Argentina 5-1 in the quarterfinal and took lead in the semifinal against Mexico in the 21^st minute with a goal from midfielder Adriana. Brazil then saw the tide turn even further in its favor in the 29^th, when Mexico defender Nicki Hernandez was shown a red card for a DOGSO foul, leaving Mexico with just 10 players for the remainder of the match. Brazil quickly capitalized and doubled its lead in the 32^nd minute with a goal from defender Antonia and made it 3-0 just after halftime when fellow defender Yasmim scored off a nifty backheel in the 48^th minute to clinch its spot in the final.

Sunday’s meeting will be the fourth matchup all-time between the USWNT and Brazil in a final, with the USA winning each of the previous three by a one goal margin.

The teams met in the 2000 Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup Final, an eight-team tournament that was an early precursor to later Concacaf competitions and featured Canada, the USA, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago along with guest competitors Brazil and China PR. The USA beat Brazil 1-0 in the championship game, which was played at Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts behind a 44^th-minute goal from forward Tiffeny Milbrett.

The USA and Brazil squared off four years later in the Gold Medal Match of the 2004 Athens Olympics, which the USA won 2-1 in extra time. Lindsay Tarpley gave the Americans the lead in the 39^th minute but Brazil’s Pretinha equalized in the 73^rd to send the match to extra time. In the 122^nd minute, Kristine Lilly served in a corner kick and Abby Wambach’s powerful header broke the stalemate and lifted the USA to a 2-1 victory and the program’s second gold medal.

Four years later, the sides met again in the 2008 Olympic Final in Beijing. The Americans again prevailed in extra time, with Carli Lloyd scoring the gold medal-winning goal in the 96^th minute to break a 0-0 stalemate.

SHAW CONTINUES FAST START TO INTERNATIONAL CAREER

Nineteen-year-old Jaedyn Shaw continued the torrid start to her international career, scoring her fourth goal of the tournament – and fourth in the last four games – in the 20^th minute of the semifinal against Canada. Shaw’s four goals lead the U.S. and rank third among all players at the Concacaf W Gold Cup.

Shaw made her USWNT debut as a late second-half substitute on October 26, 2023, and three days later, scored her first international goal, tallying in the 83^rd minute of the USA’s 3-0 win over Colombia at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium. She made her first start on Dec. 5, 2023 and pulled together a special moment, scoring a late game-winning goal against China PR in her hometown of Frisco, Texas, just a few hundred yards from her childhood apartment.

Making her second career start in the USA’s Feb. 23 match against Argentina at the W Gold Cup, Shaw netted a brace in the span of eight minutes, becoming just the seventh teenager in USWNT history to score multiple goals in a game. After making a substitute appearance against Mexico, Shaw returned to the lineup for the quarterfinal against Colombia and scored her third goal of the tournament in first half stoppage time to become the youngest player ever to score for the USWNT in the knockout rounds of a competitive tournament.

In the semifinal against Canada, Shaw became the first player in USWNT to score in each of her first four starts and now has six goals in her first nine caps, tied for the third-most by any player in USWNT history through their first nine games. Only Brandi Chastain (7) and Sydney Leroux (7) scored more in their first nine appearances for the USWNT.

INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. BRAZIL

The USA and Brazil have played 39 times total with the U.S. leading the overall series 31W-5D-3L. The USA has won each of its last six games against Brazil, though eight of the last nine games between the teams have been decided by two goals or fewer.

The sides last squared off on Feb. 22, 2023, on the final match day of the SheBelieves Cup. The USA took the lead heading into the locker room after a curling strike by Alex Morgan from the top of the penalty area in first half stoppage time. Mallory Swanson doubled the lead for the Americans in the 63^rd as she scored her fourth goal of the tournament and went on to win tournament MVP honors. Brazil pulled one back in the 90^th minute off a header from Ludmila, but the Americans saw out the game to prevail 2-1 and hoist the SheBelieves Cup for a fourth consecutive year.

The W Gold Cup final will be the 11^th meeting between the USA and Brazil since their epic quarterfinal clash at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. In one of the most memorable and dramatic matches in USWNT history, the Americas prevailed 5-3 on penalty kicks after Abby Wambach’s header in the 122^nd minute leveled the game at 2-2.

PATHWAY TO PARIS

With less than five months until the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the USWNT is deep in preparation for its pursuit of a fifth Olympic gold medal. The Olympic Football Tournament features 12 teams and will be contested in seven different venues across France from July 25 to August 10: Parc des Princes in Paris, Stade de Lyon, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, Stade de Marseille, Stade de Nice, Stade de Bordeaux and Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes.

All but two teams in the Olympic field have now been determined, with only the representatives from Africa remaining to be decided. The 2024 CAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament will conclude in early April to produce two qualifiers from Africa as Morocco takes on Zambia and South Africa faces Nigeria.

The ten teams that will be in the Olympic Women’s Soccer competition are hosts France, South American qualifiers Brazil and Colombia, New Zealand from Oceania, Spain and Germany, which defeated the Netherlands in the UEFA Women’s Nations League Third-Place match, from UEFA and from Concacaf, the USA and Canada, which secured Concacaf’s second berth to the Olympics berth by beating Jamaica in a two-game playoff during the September international window.

The USA qualified for Paris by virtue of winning the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico, which served as the region’s qualification for the Olympics as well as the 2023 World Cup.

The Final Draw to set the tournament schedule and groups will be held on March 20 at 2 p.m. ET and will be streamed on FIFA.com.

SHEBELIEVES CUP ON THE HORIZON

Following the completion of the Concacaf W Gold Cup, the U.S. will turn its attention to the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, presented by Visa. The USA will host Brazil, Canada and Japan in the ninth edition of the four-team tournament, which is comprised of one-third of the field for the Paris Olympics. All four participants are ranked in the top 11 in the world, have qualified for the Olympics and competed in last year’s tournament, where the U.S. took first, followed by Japan in second, Brazil in third and Canada in fourth. In the Semifinals on April 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the USA (#2) will face Japan (#8) at 12:30 p.m. ET (TNT, Telemundo, Max & Peacock) and Brazil (#11) will take on Canada (#10) at 3:30 p.m. ET (Universo, Max & Peacock).

The four nations will then travel to Columbus, Ohio with Lower.com Field hosting the final two games of the tournament at 4 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET on April 9 as the Semifinal winners play in the Championship and the losers play in the Third-Place Match. The USA will play in the 7 p.m. ET time slot (TBS, Universo, Max & Peacock) whether it is playing in Championship or Third-Place Match, and the other game will be at 4 p.m. ET (TBS, Universo, Max & Peacock).

Tickets are available for purchase now at ussoccer.com/tickets.

HAYES TO THE HELM IN MAY

After a worldwide search process led U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker, Emma Hayes was officially announced as the 10^th head coach in U.S. Women’s National Team history on November 14, 2023. The long-time head coach for English powerhouse Chelsea FC, Hayes started her coaching career in the United States in the early 2000s and more than two decades later will take the helm of the USWNT. Due to her contact with Chelsea, Hayes will finish the 2023-24 Women’s Super League season in England and then join the U.S. team officially two months prior to the start of the Olympics. U.S. Soccer has put a comprehensive plan and process in place to maximize the productivity in all aspects of moving the USWNT forward leading into the Olympics, a key part of which is interim head coach Twila Kilgore continuing in her role and then joining Hayes’ staff full-time as an assistant coach in late May. Hayes’ first two matches will be against the Korea Republic.

The USA will take on the Taegeuk Ladies in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (3 p.m. MT / 5 p.m. ET on TNT, Universo, Max and Peacock) before moving on to St. Paul, Minnesota for a June 4 match at Allianz Field, which will be presented by Allstate (7 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. ET on truTV, Universo, Max and Peacock). Both matches will take place at the home stadiums of Major League Soccer clubs, the Colorado Rapids and Minnesota United FC, respectively. The USA’s most recent match against Korea Republic was also at Allianz Field, in October of 2021, a 6-0 win for the USA.

USA TEAM & ROSTER NOTES

• Alex Morgan (220), Becky Sauerbrunn (219), Lindsey Horan (143 caps), Crystal Dunn (142 caps) and Alyssa Naeher (101 caps) are the only players on this roster with 100+ international appearances.
• Five players on this roster have fewer than 10 caps, four of whom debuted in 2023: 23-year-old Jenna Nighswonger (6 caps), 20-year-old midfielder Korbin Albert (6 caps), 19-year-old Jaedyn Shaw (9 caps) and 18-year-old Olivia Moultrie (4 caps).
• Seven players on this roster – Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Nighswonger, Trinity Rodman, Albert, Shaw and Moultrie – were born after the historic 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will celebrate its 25^th anniversary this summer. Smith became the first player born after the ’99 World Cup to earn a USWNT cap when she debuted for the U.S. on November 27, 2020, against the Netherlands.
• Morgan is the top scorer on this roster with 123 career international goals, followed by Horan with 33 goals, Lavelle and Dunn with 24 each, Williams with 18 and Smith with 16. 
• Seven different players have scored so far for the USWNT in 2024 – led by four goals from Shaw, two goals each from Horan, Morgan, Moultrie and Nighswonger and one each from Williams and Smith.
• Midge Purce and Rose Lavelle lead the U.S. with two assists in 2024 while Smith, Horan, Morgan, Trinity Rodman and Casey Krueger all have one assist.
• Overall, 12 different players have been directly involved in a goal for the USA in 2024, led by four goal involvements from Shaw (4 goals) and three goal involvements each from Morgan (2 goals, 1 assist) and Horan (2 goals, 1 assist).
• Twelve players called up for this camp were on the USA’s roster at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and nine – Dahlkemper, Davidson, Dunn, Horan, Lavelle, Morgan, Naeher, Sauerbrunn and Sonnett – were on the roster for the 2019 Women’s World Cup Champions.
• Eight of the 14 NWSL clubs are represented on this roster, led by seven players from NJ/NY Gotham FC. Portland Thorns FC and San Diego Wave FC have four players each.
• Three players on this roster play for clubs in Europe – two in France (Lindsey Horan at Olympique Lyon and Korbin Albert at Paris Saint-Germain) and one in England (Emily Fox at Arsenal FC).

IN FOCUS: BRAZIL | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

FIFA World Ranking: 11
CONMEBOL Ranking: 1
Olympic Appearances: 7 (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020)
Best Olympic Result: Runners-up (2004, 2008)
Record vs. USA: 3W-7D-31L (GF:28, GA: 88)
Last Meeting vs. USA: Feb. 22, 2023 (2-1 win for USA in Frisco, Texas)
Head Coach: Arthur Elias (BRA)

BRAZIL WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Luciana (Ferroviaria SAF), 12-Barbieri (Sport Club Internacional), 22-Amanda (Fluminense FC)

DEFENDERS (5): 2-Antonia (Levante UD, ESP), 3-Tarciane (Corinthians), 4-Rafaelle (Orlando Pride, USA),  6-Yasmim (Corinthians), 14-Lauren (Kansas City Current, USA)

MIDFIELDERS (7): 8-Ary Borges (Racing Louisville FC, USA), 11-Adriana (Orlando Pride, USA), 13-Bia Menezes (Sao Paulo), 15-Julia Bianchi (Chicago Red Stars, USA), 16-Yaya (Corinthians), 20-Duda Sampaio (Corinthians), 21-Duda Santos (Ferroviaria SAF)

FORWARDS (8): 5-Thais Da Silva (UD Tenerife, ESP), 7-Debinha (Kansas City Current, USA), 9-Gabi Nunes (Levante UD, ESP), 10-Bia Zaneratto (Kansas City Current, USA), 17-Aline Milene (Sao Paulo), 18-Gabi Portilho (Corinthians), 19-Geyse (Manchester United, ENG), 23-Aline Gomes (Ferroviaria SAF)

BRAZIL TEAM NOTES

• Brazil is one of the few nations that have qualified for every Women's World Cup and every Olympics.
• Twenty-two of the 23 players on Brazil’s roster for the Concacaf W Gold Cup have seen action so far this tournament with eleven different players finding the back of the net. Yasmim and forwards Geyse, Gabi Nunes and Bia Zaneratto lead Brazil with two goals each.
• Zaneratto is also tied for the team lead with two assists this tournament and is one of seven players on this Brazil roster who will compete in the NWSL this upcoming season. Zaneratto signed with the Kansas City Current in January where she will be teaming up with Brazilian standout and two-time NWSL Champion Debinha as well as 21-year-old defender Lauren, who signed with KC last summer. The Orlando Pride have two players on this roster in defender Rafaelle and midfielder Adriana while midfielders Julia Bianchi and Ary Borges will be entering their second seasons with the Chicago Red Stars and Racing Louisville FC, respectively. Borges led Brazil in scoring at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, netting a hattrick in Brazil’s lone win of the tournament, a 4-0 victory over Panama.
• Brazil qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Olympics by finishing in first place in the final stage of the 2022 Copa América Femenina in Colombia. They won six matches in row, scoring 20 goals along the way while conceding zero. Brazil defeated Colombia, 1-0, in the title game.
• This Brazil head coach Arthur Elias first match against the USA after replacing Pia Sundhage, who has since taken the head coaching job for Switzerland. Elias had much domestic success with the Corinthians club, where he won four Brazilian championships and two Copa Libertadores titles.