The United States of America (USA) defeated Brazil to retain the SheBelieves Cup at Toyota Stadium in Dallas Texas.
Alex Morgan and the in-form Mallory Swanson found the back of the net for the hosts, who won the competition for the 4th straight time after going unbeaten in the tournament.
The warning signs were there from the start for Brazil as Crystal Dunn struck the post from a deflected effort after just three minutes on the clock.
Brazil, however, remained a threat on the counter as Beatriz Zaneratto almost singlehandedly helped her team get ahead with a surging run only for her teammate Kerolin to narrowly miss the goal with her shot.
Alex Morgan seemingly put her side ahead in the 44th minute with a toe-poke finish past Lorena only for the offside flag to bail Brazil out. She did not have to wait long for the opener as she expertly fired the opener with her left foot past the keeper two minutes into added time of the first half.
Brazil’s challenge remained alive in the opening stages of the second half as Adriana rattled the crossbar with a thundering shot from distance in the 48th minute before rolling to safety.
USA ended their resilience in the 63rd minute when Swason finished off a team move to take her scoring streak to 6 consecutive matches.
Brazil managed to pull one goal back in the 90th minute when substitute Ludmila headed past Alyssa Naeher but they ran out of time to find the equaliser.
Japan, meanwhile, finished second behind the USA in the SheBelieves Cup after getting the better of Canada who finished last behind Brazil.
USMNT will now turn its attention to defending its World title in the Women’s FIFA World Cup which will take place in Australia and New Zealand in July/August 2023.
