Sophia Smith believes the United States have "so much potential" after her extra-time winner sent them through to their first Olympics final since 2012.

The 23-year-old's 95th-minute strike proved the decisive goal of the USWNT’s 1-0 semi-final victory against an injury-stricken Germany.

The result means new coach Emma Hayes will have the chance to go for gold in her first major tournament at the helm.

Smith dedicated her goal to the effort of the whole US squad under the ex-Chelsea boss.

"I just saw an open net in front of me and knew I had to step up in the big moment," Smith told NBC. "I felt I had to do that for this team, we've been working so hard.”

Sophia Smith's extra-time strike booked the United States a place in the Olympic Games final with a 1-0 win over Germany on Tuesday.

Mallory Swanson was denied a winner in normal time, and though Germany pushed for a late equaliser, Emma Hayes will take charge of a final in her first tournament as the USA's head coach. 

Unlike in the group-stage meeting between these sides, which finished 4-1 to the dominant Stars and Stripes, it was Germany who almost took a first-half lead, with Alyssa Naeher reacting quickly to get down and push Jule Brand's low shot wide.

In the 86th minute, Mallory Swanson thought she had snatched a late winner – she latched onto Trinity Rodman's throughball and drilled her low shot across goal into the bottom corner, but the offside flag denied her.

Swanson turned provider five minutes into extra time, as Smith timed her run to perfection, darting in behind to beat Berger for power with a wonderful effort.

There was late drama though, as Naeher brilliantly smothered Laura Freigang's close-range header before Smith was denied a second goal at the other end by Berger's quick thinking.

Data Debrief: Smith's touch of gold

Smith has been in top form during the Olympics and netted her third goal in the competition as she carried her team into their 11th major tournament final.

She is also the second USA player to score in at least three consecutive appearances against Germany, after Abby Wambach - five straight from 2009-12.

Meanwhile, it was familiar heartache for Germany as they were eliminated in the knockout rounds of a major tournament (Olympics and World Cup) for the 10th time, with half of those coming at the USA's hands. 

Jamaican superstars Leon Bailey and Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw have both been shortlisted in the male and female categories for the Concacaf Player of the Year Awards, following their exploits for both club and country in the 2023–24 campaign.

The nominees, who were selected for the coveted Confederation Award based on performance statistics and the input of football experts, were announced on Tuesday as fan voting also opened to allow football enthusiasts to vote for their favourite players.

To be eligible to be shortlisted, players must have played for a Concacaf Member Association's senior Men's or Women's national team in eligible Concacaf and FIFA competitions and matches. Additionally, regardless of nationality, players must have represented a club in the 2023–24 season in a Concacaf and FIFA-sanctioned top division Men’s or Women’s professional league in the Concacaf region.

Bailey, 26, had a superb season with English Premier League (EPL) outfit Aston Villa last season, in which he earned a few Player of the Month awards. He scored 10 goals and registered nine assists to help the club to a fourth-place finish in the league.

Though his appearances, or lack thereof, on the international scene were marred by controversy, the dynamic winger did enough to make the shortlist, which also includes Adalberto Carrasquilla of Panama and Houston Dynamo.

Jonathan David of Canada and French club Lille; Canada’s and Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies; Santiago Gimenez of Mexico and Feyenoord; and American Christian Pulisic, who also represents AC Milan, are the other nominees.

Meanwhile, Reggae Girlz and Manchester City striker Shaw, had an unforgettable 2023–24 season in which she was named the 2023–24 Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) Player of the Season and was named the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Women Footballer of the Year.

The 27-year-old, whose season was cut short due to a broken leg, registered 21 goals in just 18 appearances and also provided three assists.

Shaw was the first player to score three WSL hat-tricks in a calendar year last year, and between November 2023 and January 2024, the forward again registered three trebles in just four matches.

Finding the net in both WSL Manchester derbies, the Jamaican’s clinical finish at the Etihad Stadium in March also saw her become City’s record goalscorer, as she swept past Georgia Stanway in the process.

By all indications, Shaw, who won the Concacaf Player of the Year award in 2022, seems set to repeat the feat on this occasion, but she will have five other nominees to contend with.

They are Charlyn Corral of Mexico and Pachuca Femenil; Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay of Olympique Lyonnais; Adriana Leon of Canada and Aston Villa women; Mexico’s Jacqueline Ovalle of Mexico and Tigres Femenil; and American Sophia Smith of Portland Thorns.

The voting process, which includes players, coaches, media, and fans, will determine the winners.

A total of 100 votes will conclude the process, with 41 votes to be cast by Men’s national team head coach—one for each Concacaf Member Association—and 41 Men’s national team captain with the same stipulation.

One vote each for the nine representative members from the Concacaf region will make up the nine media votes, while the remaining nine van votes will come through www.concacaf.com/awards. The player with the most fan votes will receive four votes in the overall voting process, second place three votes, and third place two votes, regardless of how many people vote online.

The process is the same for the Women’s award.

At the conclusion of the voting period, on August 2, the player in each category with the most votes out of the 100 available will be named 2023/24 Concacaf Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year.

Caribbean representative Dominican Republic ended their Concacaf Women's Gold Cup campaign winless, as they went down 0-3 to Argentina, while Mexico stunned tournament favourites United States 2-0, in the final round of Group A fixtures at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on Monday.

The results saw Mexico finishing tops in the group on seven points, with United States second on six, while Argentina improved their chances of being one of the two best third-place teams to progress to the quarterfinals, as they end third on four points. Dominican Republic finished without a point and conceded 16 goals.

Dominican Republic vs Argentina

With two third place spots up for grabs at that point, both Dominican Republic and Argentina started purposefully and with some intensity as they went in search of their first win.  The fact that Argentina held Mexico to a goalless stalemate to start the tournament, while Dominican Republic lost 0-8 to the same opponent, meant the South Americans were a bit more confident, and they put that on display in the early exchanges.

They pushed back their Spanish-speaking Caribbean rivals into a defensive posture and fired a few warning shots from a distance, before they inevitably broke the deadlock in the 30th minute. Midfielder Dalila Ippolito fired home from a one-on-one situation with Dominican Republic's goalkeeper Paloma Pena, after the opponents defence failed to take care of possession.

Argentina doubled their lead in the second half through Celeste Dos Santos's 76th-minute effort, which polished off a tidy one-two combination with Mariana Larroquette.

And the win was capped by Maricel Pereyra in the 90+4, who fired home from just outside the 18-yard area.

United States vs Mexico

The feature contest of the group ended with Mexico securing a historic 2-0 win over four-time World champions United States to take top honours.

It is the first Mexico win against the United States since 2010, a span of 16 matches. The two goals also snap a streak of 33 straight matches in which the United States kept a clean sheet in Concacaf competitions.

Both teams gave as good as they got in end-to-end action, with strikers Sophia Smith of United States and Mexico's Maria Sanchez testing the goalkeepers Esthefanny Barreras and Alyssa Naeher, who both proved equal to the task.

Mexico eventually found the go-ahead goal in the 38th minute when Jaqueline Ovalle capitalized on a defensive error by Becky Sauerbrunn and fired past the hapless Naeher, who was left for dead after advancing off her line.

Karla Nieto went close to doubling the lead on the stroke of half time, but her well-struck shot from just outside the 18-yard box, rattled the crossbar.

United States went in search of the elusive equaliser, but their hunt ended fruitless, as Lindsey Horan fired a freekick over the crossbar in the 56th, while Trinity Rodman's 89th-minute effort went just wide of the upright.

And if that wasn't bad enough, Mayra Pelayo rubbed salt in the United States wounds in the 90+5, when she rifled home a right-footer from outside the box, that lodge in the top right corner, to gift Mexico an historic victory.

 

 

After clinching a 1-0 preliminary phase win over Guyana, Caribbean representative Dominican Republic will bow into group stage action at the inaugural Concacaf Women's Gold Cup on Tuesday evening.

However, their task will be as tough as it can get to kick off a tournament, as they are up against four-time World Champions United States in the feature contest of a Group A double-header at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Mexico and Argentina will lock horns in the curtain-raiser, with the games scheduled for 7:30pm and 10:15pm Eastern Standard Time.

United States vs. Dominican Republic

Having won all there is to win in the Concacaf region and also on the world stage, there is no doubt that United States, the reigning Concacaf Women's Championship title holders, start as one of the favourites, if not the overwhelming favourite to become the first champions of this Women's Gold Cup. That basically underscores the difficulty of Dominican Republic's assignment to get things underway.

Rated as the most decorated team in the world, United States qualified to the Women's Gold Cup after topping the 2022 Concacaf Women's Championship, with victory in all five games played. They’re returning to the main stage after they exited the 2023 Women's World Cup at the Round of 16 stage and will be under the guidance of interim coach Twila Kilgore, until new Head Coach Emma Hayes takes the reins.

With this new leadership, United States women's outfit will try to get another Concacaf trophy under their belt, and players like striker Sophia Smith, who has 15 goals within major tournaments like the World Cup and Women's Championship, will be integral to their chances of achieving the feat.

Midfielder Lindsey Horan, who captained the team in Australia/New Zealand, where she scored two goals, and was one of the difference-makers during the qualifying tournament, will also be a key factor in a stacked United States team.

Still, Dominican Republic will be optimistic of giving a good account of themselves, as rubbing shoulders with United States will certainly give their women's programme a great deal of confidence going forward.

In fact, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean women have grown in confidence since their Gold Cup qualifying run, where they amassed five wins and a solitary loss in six League B games, with 24 goals to their credit. The likes of Kathrynn González, who scored the banger against Guyana in the preliminary, and Mia Asenjo, who had nine shots on Saturday, will be key to Dominican Republic's chances of possibly finding the net.

Goalkeeper Paloma Pena, who made key saves against Guyana, will be hoping to repeat her clean sheet feat on this occasion.

 

Mexico vs. Argentina 

Prior to the United States and Dominican Republic clash, Mexico and Argentina will square off. The two are familiar with each other, having shared the pitch at the Pan American Games, where Mexico won 2-0 in the semi-finals to improve to an overall record to four wins and a loss against Argentina.

Under Head Coach Pedro Lopez, Mexico registered victory in all four games in Group A of League A, and with the disappointment of missing last year's World Cup still fresh in their minds, they will be hoping to make amends to an extent, with a deep run in this tournament.

Players like Maria Sanchez, who scored two goals and had the most shots (13), and Natalia Mauleon, who made an impression with the Under-17 and Under-20 National Teams, will again be aiming to make an impact as they did in the qualifiers.

Argentina, who placed third at the CONMEBOL Copa America Femenina in 2022, with four wins and two losses, will be intent of showing their class to get a win on North American soil.

Head Coach German Portanova has generational talent in players like Yamila Rodriguez, who was the top scorer of the 2022 Copa America with six goals. Another Argentinian sensation is Sophia Braun, who got on the scoresheet at last year's World Cup.

 

Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson says his team simply wasn’t good enough in their 0-5 hammering by defending World Champions the USA in the Concacaf Women’s Championship on Thursday.

The Americans sprinted out to a 2-0 lead through goals from Sophia Smith in the fifth and eighth minutes before adding three more goals in the second half through Rose Lavelle (59th), Kristie Mewis (83rd) and Trinity Rodman (86th) to complete the 5-0 demolition at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer.

“I didn’t think it’d take 10 minutes. We gave up two goals in six minutes and you’re not going to play the World Champs and expect anything out of the game playing the way we did. We weren’t good,” Donaldson said in a post-match press conference.

“The Americans are the best team in the world. When you play the champions at the top of their game, bad things will happen if you don’t play well and we didn’t,” Donaldson added.

The Reggae Girlz are now third in Group A with three points after two games with their third and final preliminary encounter coming against Haiti on Monday.

The Haitians also have three points and will go into that game with supreme confidence after a convincing 3-0 win over Mexico on Thursday.

The winner of Monday’s match will join the USA as automatic qualifiers to next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand while the loser will most likely have to book their spot through an inter-continental playoff.

“I think we’re going to be fine and ready,” Donaldson said.

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