Tag: United State Of America

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USA OVERCOME HONDURAS IN WORLD CUP QUALIFYING WIN

Weston McKennie and Walker Zimmerman scored first-half goals to give the US an early spark on a frigid night and a fresh Christian Pulisic scored after entering in the second half to lead the Americans to victory over Honduras 3-0 in their World Cup qualifier.

Matt Turner didn’t have to make a single save for the Americans, who emerged from the pandemic-prompted winter session in second place in the Concacaf qualifying table with three matches remaining.

The kickoff temperature on Wednesday night was 3F (-16C) with a -14F (-25C) wind chill at a site picked by US Soccer along with Columbus, Ohio, for optimal home-field advantage over opponents from tropical countries. The Americans beat El Salvador 1-0 on Thursday, when it was 29F in Ohio and lost 2-0 to host Canada on Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario, when it was 22F. The weather in Minnesota was another level of cold, the lowest in US team history.

“It was freezing out here. I’m looking forward to getting into the locker room,” Pulisic said after the game.

McKennie had on two sets of gloves, peeling off one pair as he came to the bench after being replaced in the 84th minute. The star midfielder scored a header in the eighth minute, fittingly after joking the day before that his big head ought to minimize any discomfort from a frozen ball in the February chill. It was McKennie’s ninth international goal, his second in World Cup qualifying, and it would prove to be enough.

After failing to score from set pieces in the first 10 qualifiers, the US scored three on Wednesday.

The second goal developed from a free kick by Kellyn Acosta, who started as a defensive midfielder for the first time since the October loss at Panama. The ball whizzed past the head of a leaping Jordan Morris and Zimmerman pivoted around defender Denil Maldonado in the 37th minute. The ball glanced off Zimmerman’s left leg, and he kicked it in with his right from five-yards out for his third international goal. Zimmerman wore the captain’s armband for the night.

Pulisic scored three minutes after entering. Acosta’s corner kick was headed by Ricardo Pepi to Zimmerman, and the ball bounced off a leg to Pulisic. He scored from near the penalty spot with his second touch of the game, his 18th international goal.

“It’s my time to come in and make a difference, and I’m glad I did,” Pulisic said

The Americans played without Tyler Adams and Chris Richards, both of whom were injured against Canada. The US are also still missing midfielder Gio Reyna, sidelined by a hamstring injury sustained in the opening qualifier at El Salvador on 2 September.

The top three nations from Concacaf qualify for this year’s tournament in Qatar and fourth place advances to a playoff against the Oceania champion, who will most likely be New Zealand.

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RAPINOE, LLOYD SCORE BRACE AS USWNT WINS OLYMPIC FOOTBALL BRONZE VS AUSTRALIA

The United States women’s national team beat Australia 4-3 to win the Olympic bronze-medal match Thursday, with Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd both scoring braces.

It was a record-breaking evening for Lloyd, who became the USWNT’s top scorer in Olympics history with 10 goals and its second-most-capped player of all time, after Kristine Lilly, with 312 appearances.

Sam Kerr also became the Matildas’ all-time top scorer with her first-half strike, while Caitlin Foord added a second for Australia.

Emily Gielnik scored in the final moments of the game to set up a tense finish.

The seven-goal thriller was a marked difference to the group-stage game between the two, which ended 0-0.

Rapinoe — who said during the week she was “gutted” not to be competing for the gold medal — opened the scoring after eight minutes with an Olimpico goal.

Kerr pulled one back to bring the game level on 17 minutes. Foord found the Chelsea star in plenty of space, and while USWNT goalkeeper Adrianna Franch did get a touch on the ball, it wasn’t enough as it slid under her and into the goal.

Rapinoe added her second on 21 minutes after Australia defender Alanna Kennedy failed to clear the ball in the box and instead handed it straight to Rapinoe, who volleyed the ball perfectly into the back of Teagan Micah’s net.

Lloyd scored her first goal at the end of the first half with an assist from Lindsey Horan and completed her brace on 51 minutes after another mix-up from Kennedy.

It looked like the USWNT was going to dominate for the rest of the second half, but Foord headed home for Australia on 54 minutes after a cross from Kyah Simon to keep Vlatko Andonovski’s side on its toes.

Lloyd could have had a hat trick 20 minutes from the end of the match but was called offside, the 10th time the USWNT have been found offside in this tournament.

Gielnik’s superb strike on 89 minutes gave the Matildas a final chance to draw the game level, but they were unable to find an equalizer.

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SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN SMASHES OWN 400M HURDLES WORLD RECORD TO TAKE GOLD

USA's Sydney Mclaughlin competes to win the women's 400m hurdles final setting a new world record during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 4, 2021. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP) (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

The USA’s Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record to clinch the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

The 21-year-old clocked 51.46 seconds having previously set a world best of 51.90secs to become the first woman to break the 51-second barrier in June.

Dalilah Muhammad was second in 51.58s – which also broke McLaughlin’s previous record. The Netherlands’ Femke Bol claimed bronze.

“I’m absolutely delighted. What a great race. I’m just grateful to be out here celebrating that extraordinary race and representing my country,” she said.

“I saw Dalilah ahead of me with one to go. I just thought ‘run your race’.

“The race doesn’t really start until hurdle seven. I just wanted to go out there and give it everything I had.

“It’s just about trusting your training, trusting your coach, and that will get you all the way round the track.

“I can’t really get it straight in my head yet. I’m sure I’ll process it and celebrate later.”

McLaughlin powered through in the last 20 metres to take the title and beat defending champion Muhammad having been third on the final bend.

It came after the men’s 400m hurdles on Tuesday – already labelled one of the greatest races – when Karsten Warholm broke his own world record to win in 45.94s.

He took almost a second off his previous world best of 46.70s he set in Oslo at the start of July.

The USA’s Rai Benjamin (46.17s) was second with Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos (46.72s) third – with both coming inside Kevin Young’s long-standing previous world record of 46.78s the American set 29 years ago.

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OLYMPICS: SIMONE BILES WINS BRONZE MEDAL IN BALANCE BEAM FINAL

Simone Biles retook the gymnastics stage on Tuesday after a week’s absence, electrifying the Tokyo Olympics on a day that saw world records smashed and organisers probe Belarus’s treatment of an athlete now in diplomatic protection.

The return of the American, considered by many the greatest gymnast ever, ensured a blockbuster finale. She scored 14.000 on the balance beam to finish third.

She had abruptly dropped out of the team event earlier in the Games citing mental health issues and increasing the global spotlight on the pressures elite athletes face.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it expected a report later in the day from the Belarusian team on the case of sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought protection in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday after refusing her team’s orders to fly home.

She was expected to fly on Wednesday to Poland, which has offered her a humanitarian visa. The IOC spoke twice on Monday to Tsimanouskaya, who was in a safe and secure place, spokesman Mark Adams said.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken accused Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko’s regime of intolerable “transnational repression” in the matter.

On the track, Norway’s Karsten Warholm shattered his own world record in the men’s 400 metres hurdles final with a blistering 45.94-second run, besting American Rai Benjamin, who also beat last month’s record of 46.70 seconds.

“Man, it’s so crazy. It’s by far the biggest moment of my life,” Warholm said after carving his name among the greats of athletics history and crouching in apparent disbelief on the track. “You know the cliche that it hasn’t sunk in yet? I don’t think it has, but I feel ecstatic.”

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US BEAT MEXICO AET IN THRILLING GOLD CUP FINAL

Miles Robinson headed home an extra-time winner as the United States beat Mexico 1-0 in the 2021 Gold Cup final Sunday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Matt Turner made a stellar save just after 10 minutes — his 20th of the tournament — from a goal-bound Rogelio Funes Mori header to keep the score level early.

The U.S. missed a great chance to take the lead at 25 minutes when, after dispossessing Mexico in its own half, Sebastian Lletget sprang Paul Arriola in the area, but his shot came back off the post with only the keeper to beat.

Despite having the better of the shots and possession, Mexico failed to score as a scrappy U.S. side went into halftime tied 0-0.

Orbelin Pineda wasted two opportunities to put Mexico in front to start the second half: one from a wide-open shot in the penalty area and the second from close range on a ball in from the right flank.

The U.S. was undeterred though, and Matthew Hoppe had two good chances blocked away by the Mexican defense, while Arriola had a shot on the doorstep impossibly stopped by El Tri keeper Alfredo Talavera as the second half progressed.

A thrilling end to regular time saw both sides fashion decent chances without scoring and the game headed to extra time.

The extra 30 minutes continued the theme of the game: Plenty of action but no goals, until Robinson hooked on to a Kellyn Acosta free kick in the 117th minute and beat Talavera to give the U.S. a massive win.

The U.S., which secured its seventh Gold Cup title, beat Mexico in the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League final with a Christian Pulisic extra-time winner on June 6 in the teams’ last meeting.

“All losses are painful, especially in circumstances like these,” Mexico manager Gerardo Martino said after the match. “I believe we’ve competed well against the United States. We had really great moments in our favor tonight. This loss shouldn’t be a catastrophe for the team, of course it hurts, but we’ll look to improve.

“It’s true we lost two finals, and it’s true we’ve lost those games on set pieces, but I don’t see why we should change our style of play.

“We didn’t prepare this team for 2.5 years to play one way [in the Nations League and Gold Cup] and then to play a different way in the qualifiers.”

The U.S. went into the match Sunday as the underdog because many of its top players from the Nations League tourney were not on the Gold Cup roster so they could prepare for their European seasons.

In fact, there were only three holdovers from the Nations League tournament compared to Mexico fielding eight starters Sunday, who also played in the Nations League final.

“We were aware that [the United States] could hurt us on set pieces and they did, again,” Mexico veteran Hector Herrera said. “I don’t agree [with the honeymoon with Martino being over]. We have to evaluate ourselves and reload for qualifying. If we win, we’re criticized. If we lose, we’re criticized.

“It definitely hurts [to lose]. But I think we’re calm and we’re good though because we dominated throughout — we just couldn’t score.”