Three years later, on July 7, 2022, USA took the first step towards defending their title and secured a place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand.
A 5-0 win over Jamaica in Thursday’s Concaf W Championship, combined with Haiti’s 3-0 win over Mexico in the second game of the day, secured USWNT progress.
The top two teams in each group at this tournament will qualify for the World Cup, and the USA have guaranteed they will finish in one of those spots.
It currently sits at the top of its group, ahead of Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico, after two wins from their first two games.
dominant force
Since the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991, USA have won four tournaments, finished second in one and third in three, consistently proving themselves to be the best team in the world.
Alongside established stars like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe – Medal of Freedom recipients and not eligible – this latest edition of the USWNT features plenty of young players.
Against Jamaica, 21-year-old Sophia Smith opened the scoring with two goals within the opening eight minutes, while 20-year-old Trinity Rodman ended the loss with the team’s fifth goal and the youngest USWNT goalscorer in World Cup or Olympic qualifying since then became 2008.
“Obviously it can be a little bit intimidating being a young player on this team, but I think I’ve found my confidence and I just feel like I can be myself on the field,” Smith said, according to ESPN.
“That’s exactly what I did and my team gave me great support.”
The winner of the Concacaf W Championship automatically qualifies for the Paris 2024 Olympics, where the USWNT hopes to win gold after settling for bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.
“2023 Bound Baby! We want 2024 too, so we have some work to do to make those next games. Next up: USA vs MEX on July 11th,” Morgan tweeted after the game.
The runners-up and third-place finishers of the Concacaf W Championship will play for the region’s final Olympic spot next year.