It all came down to the final day of the Four Nations Tournament in Chongqing, China to decide a champion, and with the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 2-0 victory over China, the U.S. won the tournament. Canada beat Sweden, 1-0, earlier in the day, so it came down to tiebreakers as both teams were tied for first place with 2-1 records. The first tiebreaker was initially goal difference, followed by goals scored, and then head-to-head, but that was changed prior to the tournament, according to U.S. Soccer. Head-to-head was the first tiebreaker, and since the U.S. beat Canada, the U.S. was crowned tournament champions.
After an evenly played first 30 minutes between the U.S. and China, the U.S. were finally able to make the most of its first corner kick of the game. Carli Lloyd played it short to Amy Rodriguez, who hit it back to Lloyd. She beat the defenders, got into the box, and scored just inside the post on the near side. The 31st-minute goal put the U.S. ahead, 1-0. The score remained the same until the 67th minute when Rodriguez scored off a feed from Tobin Heath to make it a 2-0 game. U.S. keeper Nicole Barnhart earned the shutout, and after the match was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Canada beats Sweden
By Alondra Hernandez
Canada played their last game of the Four Nations Tournament against Sweden. Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, who plays for Swedish club Pitea IF, started in goal for this match. In the first half, Canada was the more dominant team, keeping Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl busy, and earning five corner kicks. Labbe also came up with some big saves for Canada to earn the shutout.
Canada’s goal came in the 32nd minute when Lindahl’s drop kick was headed back towards her by Emily Zurrer. Three Swedish defenders ran back but Christine Sinclair beat them to the ball, and got her shot into the back of the net.
Neither team could score in the second half, despite their many attacks, and the score ended 1-0 in favor of the Canadians. This was Canada’s first win against a top-4 nation since November 2006.