USWNT kickoff SheBelieves Cup with shutout win
· Yahoo Sports
For the 11th season running, SheBelieves Cup has returned! This year Argentina, Canada, Colombia and the USWNT have all been invited to take part in the tournament, with the United States looking to secure their eighth SheBelieves Cup win. This year, the tournament means just a little bit more as it serves as a launching point for the run-up to the 2027 World Cup, with qualifiers at the end of the year, along with this being the first roster for the U.S. that will give us a much better idea as to who’s in contention for the coveted World Cup roster next summer. With several key players still missing, this is another chance for some of the youngsters on the bubble to stake their claim with a solid performance in this tournament. The first test for the United States tonight is Argentina in a battle of teams looking to start the competition off with a win, and some momentum.
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Argentina came into tonight unbeaten in their last nine outings, making it all the more important that the United States got off to a fast start and they were able to do just that. In the 20th minute Jameese Joseph lost the ball, but immediately won it back and laid it off to Emma Sears who cut right towards the box from the flank. She put in a great ball backwards into open space where it found Lindsey Heaps outside the box with plenty of time to unload and she did just that, sending a shot past the keeper for the first USWNT goal of SheBelieves 2026, giving them the early lead. The score was also the first goal of 2026 for Heaps while representing the National Team.
Despite giving up the early goal, Argentina did a really great job at locking down defensively and limiting the chances the United States had the rest of the first half. USWNT maintained 60% possession in the first 45 minutes of the match, but were only able to manage three shots, one being the goal scored. Argentina weren’t faring much better going into break with just four shots and none posing a real threat to find the back of the net. It was very much a half where USWNT did enough to get the lead, but it definitely felt like everyone expected more. Things get really weird in this sport the more you let teams hang around, so it was important for United States to put this match to bed and secure the win early into the second half. Otherwise they could risk some Argentina magic salvaging a result near the end.
Just 15 minutes into the second half, USWNT got the all-important second goal courtesy of a corner. The initial corner kick wasn’t much of a threat, but with Argentina unable to clear it out of danger the U.S. had another chance at finding a score. Lindsey Heaps tapped a pass to Jaedyn Shaw who, in all fairness, didn’t have much time or space but found just enough of both to get a shot off. The effort curled and while Argentina keeper Solana Pereyra did get a hand on it, the shot was too strong to stop and in the 56th minute Shaw had doubled the lead.
The second goal early into the half would be the last goal scored on the night, and it would be enough to get USWNT the win over Argentina to kickoff their 2026 SheBelieves Cup campaign. While it wasn’t the most dominant of performances from the United States, it was one of those nights where the team did enough offensively to get the win, and were able to shut down the opposition defensively, keeping Argentina from getting anything going in attack. The team now set their sights on match two, where they will take on Concacaf rivals, Canada.