U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Wins the Concacaf W Gold Cup

This year, the U.S. women's national soccer team won the renowned Concacaf Gold Cup Soccer tournament, proving the team's grit and determination. This tournament is known to feature elite teams from countries like Brazil, the U.S., and Canada. 

The victory was crucial for the U.S. team in the face of recent criticism of it needing “big changes.” The team also just faced the loss of their coach Vlatko Andonovski after sadly being knocked out of the World Cup by Sweden. But the team demonstrated its skill in this tournament, proving why they are often credited with changing women's soccer.

In the 2022 Women's World Cup, the U.S. team was favored to win the tournament, as they already had won in 2019 and 2015. The team had with a rough start in the group stages of the tournament, barely making it to the knockout stage. In a high stakes penalty shootout against Sweden, the U.S. was eliminated, sending shockwaves to many fans.

The U.S. team celebrates. Los Angeles Times

On March 10, 2024, the U.S. team began their Gold Cup run, making it out of the group stages and placing 2nd in their group. As the tournament continued, the team connected passes, played strong defense, and scored a total of fifteen goals during the tournament. With strong defense played by veterans like Crystal Dunn and Lindsay Horran, the team triumphed over Colombia. This teamwork brought the U.S. team to the final against Brazil. After a competitive game, the U.S. was able to pull a 1-0 win, and as the confetti rained on the pitch the team was finally able to celebrate its hard work.

The win proved that despite the backlash they faced, the players could emerge victorious. Many players on the team play so that young girls around the world can look up to them. Player Savannah DeMelo said during an interview with Self that she would tell young girls, “Anything is possible, and that just believing in yourself is the biggest thing.”

Next time you hear about the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team playing, make sure to tune in to watch!