Commerce City, Colo.– kennedy wesley Scored his first international goal and got an assist when coming on as a substitute after halftime. Naomi Girma And Rose Lavelle each added a goal and United States of America Beat Japan 3-0 in a Friday night friendly.
claudia dickey There were three saves for the United States.
Wesley, who replaced tierna davidsonplayed a header from the left post for Girma, who fired a finish from point-blank range to make it 1–0 in the 47th minute.
Davidson suffered a heavy foul in the 30th and was assessed for a few minutes, but was able to finish the first half.
Lavelle gave America a 2-0 lead in the 56th minute. After being dispossessed near Japan’s midfield, trinity rodman A through ball was played to Lavelle, who outran the defense in the middle of the field and slid a shot from the edge of the penalty box inside the left post.
Lavelle has played a role in his last 10 games, scoring 10, five goals and five assists.
Wesley scored on a volley from a corner kick for him Jadyn Shaw Made the score 3-0 in the 64th minute.
“I really have no words,” Wesley said. “I mean, it was a perfect ball from Jayden and I was in the right place at the right time. I’m very happy.”
Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
The US team defeated Japan 9–1 in the first half, but the game was tied at halftime.
from japan Miyabi Moriya Replaced hikaru kitagawaHe was taken out by the trainers in the 25th minute due to injury.
“I think it’s an amazing scoreline to beat Japan 3-0, to be honest,” USWNT coach Emma Hayes said after the game. “Pleased to score three goals against a top team.”
The game was played in temperatures around zero at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids in MLS. Snow that fell early in the day covered the field several hours before the game.
It was the final match of an unusual three-match series against Japan. The United States won the first match 2-1 in San Jose, California, last week.
Japan won the second match 1-0 on Tuesday night in Seattle, snapping a 10-match American winning streak. The United States had not lost since going down 2–1. portugal On October 23 last year. The Americans were not eliminated in 42 games.
Hayes changed his entire starting lineup in the second game as the team looks to develop its player pool for World Cup qualifying later this year. This was the fourth time in Hayes’ tenure that he started a completely different lineup in consecutive games.
Hayes said, “You don’t become elite by dreaming about it. You have to work very hard at it and that’s something I promise you, every single one of us will work hard to make sure we’re in the best place possible. There’s only so much we can control.”
Japan was falling out of the championship race in the Women’s Asian Cup. The team outscored its opponents 29–1 and defeated the host team. Australia 1-0 in the final.
Japan, famous for its technical prowess, had defeated the United States last year also. SheBelieves Cup.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
