The U.S. women’s national team won the 2022 SheBelieves Cup after beating Iceland 5-0 in a must-win game on Wednesday, and goal-scorers Catarina Macario and Mallory Pugh were among the players that successfully auditioned for the chance to lead the USWNT into the future.
While the USWNT’s fifth SheBelieves Cup trophy is a strong finish after a rocky start last week, the real purpose of this tournament for coach Vlatko Andonovski was not to win hardware but to find unpolished gems — players with upside who can carry the USWNT into the future as the team regenerates. Macario and Pugh lead a list of players who have forced Andonovski to give them further looks.
“We’re leaving this tournament feeling like we are moving in the right direction,” Andonovski told ESPN when asked about whether any players had improved their standing in the team. “They proved they are capable of winning games.”
Macario’s breakout performance of the SheBelieves Cup revved up in the 37th minute. She chased down a ball on the left flank, cut, and then fired from the corner of the penalty box, blasting a rocket to the far post that skidded off the inside frame and in. The placement was perfect: Just an inch or so further to the right, and the ball would’ve clanked off the post and out to safety. A bit closer to the left and goalkeeper Sandra Sigurdardottir would’ve had a chance to tip it away.
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“I have been practicing that for a while,” Macario said. “Sometimes it doesn’t come off, but the fact that it happened today was surreal. As soon as I hit, I was like ‘OK, that was some good contact.'”
She followed it up with another splendid goal in the 45th minute. A pass from Pugh went behind Macario and left her chasing the ball away from goal, and Macario surprised everyone by swiveling her hips around it and chipping it inside the far post netting.
“Goals like that should be on…
Source : espn
