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October 14, 2018
Associated press
FRISCO, Texas – The US Women's National Team has passed the qualifying stages to qualify for CONCACAF to secure a World Cup spot next year in France.
Americans still have to face Canada.
"It is not because we have qualified for the World Cup that we are going to do without gas," said Alex Morgan. "We want to win this tournament and we still think that playing against Canada is an important game for us."
Morgan and Tobin Heath each scored two goals and the United States qualified for the World Cup with a 6-0 win over Jamaica on Sunday in the semi-final.
Heath's first goal came in the first two minutes of the match, and she added a second to the 29th. Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz and Morgan also scored goals in the first period as the United States took a 5-0 lead.
Morgan's second goal was a penalty in the 84th minute.
Canada, ranked fifth in the world, also secured a spot in France thanks to a 7-0 win over Panama in the semifinal at Toyota Stadium.
The first three of the CONCACAF Women's Championship will represent the region in France. The winners of the two semi-finals therefore qualified before the final.
The title game between the United States and Canada and the match for third place will take place Wednesday in Frisco, Texas. The fourth finalist will face Argentina in the playoffs for a place in France.
"Obviously this will be a different change of pace for us in this tournament because we have not faced a lot of shots from other teams, opponents, but I think it will be good for us. teams, and Canada continues to evolve and play well, "said Morgan.
The United States in first place are the defending champions of the sport's first event, having won the 2015 World Cup final against Japan. It was the third title of the World Cup team.
Jamaica, ranked 64th in the world, is still looking to become the first Caribbean country to go to a World Cup. The Reggae Girlz beat Costa Rica 1-0 in the group stage before moving Cuba to 9-0 to finish second in Canada in 2nd place in Group B.
The island nation resumed its National Women's Team program in 2014 after a six-year hiatus, backed by the support of Bob Marley's eldest daughter, Cedella Marley.
Coach Hue Menzies said the match against the United States was a good test.
"We were ready to play five games, and we play at five, so it's a big plus for our program, we're obviously trying to create a bit of history, we're still on the right track." said Menzies.
The United States dominated the tournament. The team scored an average of six goals per game in the group stage, winning all three matches. The Americans took 114 shots, far more than the second-best field team, Canada (77). In their last game of the group stage, the Americans beat Trinidad and Tobago 59-0 after the match.
The United States dominated Jamaica 26-1.
"We feel good right now, as I said, the competition has not been very good, so we have to take it with a grain of salt," Rapinoe said of the stance. current team. "I think we're moving the ball faster, not holding it too long, but sharing it, many people are scoring goals, and we have a lot of different goals today … We're clicking for the moment. It's pretty good. "
Morgan's goals tied her with Adriana Leon of Canada to lead the tournament to six.
Morgan has scored 16 goals for the United States this year and 23 goals in his last 23 games. She has 96 career goals.
Heath, who has spent much of 2017 and early this year away from injury, has scored seven goals in seven starts this year. Her second goal of the night was marked by a spectacular service from Portland Thorns teammate Lindsay Horan. On the run, Heath beat Jamaica goalkeeper Sydney Schneider.
"They are at another level," said Menzies about the US team. "Another level of us is something we can learn from.The best game we played so far was a defeat for Canada.We learned a lot from that, so we have to take these situations and add them to the training and see if we can solve these problems and use them against Panama. "
The match slowed down in the second half, under heavy rain. But the predicted storms never materialized.
Seventeen teams have won trips to the World Cup. There are seven points to be determined.
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