USWNT completes sweep over Ireland with 1-0 win in its penultimate game ahead of Women's World Cup
The U.S. women's football team won its second game in four days over the Irish, with a first-ever international goal by Alana Cook. 100 days remain until the World Cup kicks off.
Football
With the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 just 100 days away, two-time reigning champion USA has notched another win its final game before announcing its World Cup roster.
The USWNT overcame a tough Ireland team 1-0 in St. Louis, Missouri, in what is the football squad's penultimate game before leaving for Australia and New Zealand in July.
Defender Alana Cook tallied the game's lone goal at the 43-minute mark, launching a long-range ball that looked to be an intended pass, but caught Irish goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan off her mark.
Cook's goal is her first on the international stage - and it came on her 26th birthday.
The win came just three days after a 2-0 victory for the U.S. in Austin, Texas, on Saturday (8 April) over Ireland. The USWNT is now 7-0 in 2023, outscoring opponents 17-1.
While it will take on Wales on 9 July in a sendoff game, the Ireland contest offered the last chance for American players to plead their case to coach Vlatko Andonovski on the international stage, with the World Cup roster set to be named before the Wales clash.
The Americans' leading scorer this season, Mallory Swanson, was absent from the game after she suffered a left knee injury in the first match against Ireland. Swanson has a torn patella tendon, U.S. Soccer revealed, leaving her in doubt for the World Cup.
Kelley O'Hara: 'This is a stacked program'
With the potential of Swanson being out of the running for the World Cup, the roster selection only intensifies for the USWNT.
"The selection process for any international tournament is tough. It's emotional, it's a grind," said Kelley O'Hara, a two-time Olympic medallist who has been to three World Cups. "Ireland was a really good opponent. We're a stacked program. This is a step in our preparation in getting ready."
The U.S. never found its full flow, however, though it nearly got a goal from captain and St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn, in the third minute off the rebound from a corner kick, her header pinging just off the crossbar.
It would have been a first international goal for Sauerbrunn, too, who was honored for her 200th international cap to start the game. She was playing her 215th international game.
O'Hara was just off target in the 10th minute off a corner rebound, too, while Ireland challenged U.S. goalie Casey Murphy at the 24th minute when she had to make an awkward punch over the crossbar to force a corner kick.
Cook's long-range goal came just shy of the halftime whistle, a U.S. corner being sent out of the box to midfield. She launched a high, long ball that caught Brosnan off guard.
"It's pretty special," Cook said of her birthday goal. "It's on the list of the things you dream about... "
100 days to go: Women's World Cup 2023
The second half did not allow the U.S. to grow its lead, however, though it had a handful of chances.
Julie Ertz, a midfielder, was back on the pitch after return to the American line-up for the first time since the Tokyo 2020 tournament bronze medal match on 5 August 2021.
"They did a good job at surprising us," forward Trinity Rodman said after the game. "They played differently from the first game. We struggled a bit defensively. There's a lot for us to improve on."
With Swanson sidelined, 18-year-old forward Alyssa Thompson made her first international start, the first pick in the NWSL draft with an outside shot to be named to the World Cup team.
The USWNT will face Vietnam, Netherlands and Portugal in Group E at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which takes place from 20 July to 20 August 2023.
Ireland are in a tough-looking Group B with hosts Australia, Canada and Nigeria. They open the tournament against Australia on Day 1 inside Sydney's Olympic Stadium, Stadium Australia.