SheBelieves Cup 2018

The United States women’s National Team Won The SheBelieves Cup With A Victory Over England

Hannah Potter, Reporter|March 23, 2018

By Jamie Smed from Cincinnati, Ohio (Mallory Pugh & Alex Morgan) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The United States Women’s National soccer team wins the SheBelieves Cup this year with help from two of their best players, Alex Morgan and Mallory Pugh.

The United States has been hosting a women’s soccer tournament called the SheBelieves Cup since 2016. Each year the same four women’s national soccer teams have come to compete, including The United States, France, Germany, and England. The games started March 1st in Columbus, Ohio, and ended March 7th in Orlando Florida. This year the United States won the Cup in a 1-0 victory over England.

The first two games taking place in Ohio were played in inclement weather. The players battled the weather as well as the other team, contending with up to sixty mile per hour winds. The United States played and beat the German national team in the first round with a 1-0 score. France and England also played on the first, and England dominated the game winning 4-1. The English team is becoming very strong. Many of their players play for Premier League clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea. They also have a new coach, Phil Neville, who coached his first games for this team in this

By LtPowers (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Women’s professional soccer is being seen in a new light as many countries around the world begin to put more effort into the women’s side of the sport.
tournament. He played for both Manchester United and Everton in the Premier League, and for the men’s English national team. He has also coached for high level men’s clubs such as Manchester United and Everton. Both his and his players experience with the game has been an influential factor in their success. The French team played with many young players and a new coach, which a may have contributed to their rough start.  They were very disappointed with their defeat, and came out very hard against the US in the second round of the tournament, which was played in Harrison New Jersey at the Red Bull Arena on March 4th. France and the United States, the only past SheBelieves Cup champions, played a very even match ending in a 1-1 tie. Germany and England played later that day, ending in the second tie of the day, with a score of 2-2.

The last two games of the Cup were played in Orlando Florida at the Orlando City Stadium. In the third place game, France killed Germany, winning 3-0 and securing their third place ranking in the SheBelieves Cup, bumping Germany to last place. Next up was the battle for first place between England and The United States. England was first in the standings after the second game so all they needed was a tie to win the cup. The USA was behind England in points, so they needed a victory over England to put them in the number one spot. The first half of the game was offensively dominated by the United States, ending with the US with three shots on goal and England having zero shots. In the second half of the game the US scored in the 58th minute by an own goal from one of the English players. England heightened their intensity after this US goal, and put a lot of pressure on the United States, but was unable to score and the USA team won the SheBelieves cup with a 1-0 win over England. The United States has only been hosting this cup for three years, and our team has won twice in those three years.

Even though the United States was able to win this tournament, other nation’s women’s soccer teams are really starting to improve. The US team has dominated the world stage, mainly because the United States puts a lot of effort and time into their women’s sports programs. Other countries are beginning to share the same respect for the women’s game, and it’s greatly improving the level and competition. Countries such as England, Germany, Spain, and France have worshiped the game of soccer, its teams, and the players within it, longer than the United States. These countries, and many others, have finally started to put as much effort into training the women as the men. Elite professional teams such as Barcelona and Manchester City now have women’s programs as well. These female athletes are finally getting the same high level training and facilities as their male counterparts. The increasing level of attention towards female clubs in Europe has greatly helped the quality of their national teams as well. The passion these nations have for the game has started to translate towards the women’s game, and the new found respect and effort they are putting into their woman players will lead to a next generation of highly gifted women’s players that soccer fans are ready to watch.

The SheBelieves Cup showcased a very high level of soccer that will continue to inspire young girls around the country and the globe. Things are changing in women’s soccer for the better, and many other women’s sports are getting attention as well. One must hope that this wave of new-found respect towards women’s soccer and other women’s sports will continue and inspire a greater change for equality at every level throughout the world.