Christen Press leads USA women to Algarve Cup title over France
FARO, Portugal -- That wasn’t a win. That was dancing in the Algarve.
Led by a defense-shredding forward Christen Press, the U.S. women’s national team took a fleet-footed gambol against France to claim a 2-0 victory and notch a record 10th Algarve Cup championship.
Press put the U.S. up 2-0 in the 41st minute of the first half with an exclamation point run through the French defense before slicing the ball past French goaltender Sarah Bouhaddi. If the celebration of this goal at midfield by the U.S. side produced a little longer and more heartfelt hugging, no one can blame them.
“It was a run with confidence,’’ said U.S. coach Jill Ellis.
“She’s been picking up those balls underneath and it’s a great spot for her. She has great acceleration. It was a world-class goal,’’ Ellis said.
Press said that as an attacking player, she’s always eager to find a little hole in the defense.
“It doesn’t often work out so I was just excited that it worked out today,’’ she said.
Hope Solo was also stellar in her third clean sheet of the year for the U.S. – a performance that Press said proved why Solo is an invaluable part of the team.
“She’s a rock and we never doubt her. She knows what she’s doing and the other teams know it too, so she imposes herself on the whole game and that’s huge for us,’’ Press said.
When a penalty was called against Meghan Klingenberg in the 81st minute with the U.S. up 2-0, Solo stood firm at the goal line and perfectly read the shot by Amandine Henry, aggressively punched out the penalty shot, drawing kudos from her teammates.
“I can’t give away my tricks,’’ Solo said after the game, grinning.
“They say it’s one of the toughest things to do in sports. I stayed calm and stayed relaxed,’’ she said.
She also loved the high-stakes game.
“It was just great to play in a final. The atmosphere, the nerves and you have to manage the nerves and have a different game plan going in. It was just awesome. It’s just great going into the World Cup, great for me, great for the team,’’ Solo said.
It was Solo’s third blank sheet of the Algarve Cup tournament – her first four appearances in 2015 after serving a 30-game suspension that appears to have taken nothing from her world-form performance.
“Hope has settled in and did very well,’’ Ellis said, who was able to test Ashlyn Harris in matches against France and England last month but now has a solid backup for Solo heading into the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada in June.
The standout performances by Press and Solo helped the U.S. combine for a pretty perfect win over the stalwart French and allow the Americans to breathe not just a sigh of relief but reignite the old storyline that the U.S. are back on top of the favorites’ pool going into the World Cup.
France had steamrolled through the World Cup qualifying with a perfect 10-0 record. Likewise, they were undefeated in group play here in southern Portugal in a high-level tournament in which France was aimed toward demonstrating it is one of the most skilled and talented teams in the world.
Ranked No. 3 in the FIFA rankings, France was not able to finish on many scoring chances Wednesday. Head coach Philippe Bergeroo said his team seemed to lack concentration. The side played without leading defender Wendie Renard, though Bergeroo said he was pleased with his defense’s work.
For the U.S., however, the return to winning form was overdue and very welcome.
“France is one of the best teams in the world, but Jill had a great game plan. We had an organized defense, which led to our counter attack. It was a better tactical game plan,’’ Solo said.
It has been a long year since their 2014 Algarve Cup swoon. Last March, the U.S. finished in 7th place here and saw head coach Tom Sermanni fired soon after. The change brought player development director Jill Ellis in as the new head coach, a move that has made the past 11 months a time for lineup shuffling and tryouts and a handful of disappointing match results in Brazil and in France.
But in the title match at Algarve Stadium, Ellis called on veteran Carli Lloyd to anchor the midfield and installed a back line of Ali Kreiger, Julie Johnston, Becky Sauerbrunn and Meghan Klingenberg. Their work proved enough to keep prodigious French goal scorer Eugenie Le Sommer from getting her 4th goal of this competitive Algarve Cup.
Up front for the U.S., Alex Morgan and Press were paired in an attack that failed to launch much pressure in the opening minutes of the game. However, Press used the space that was much more gamely created by the U.S. formation today to cut a swath through the French defense and give the U.S. its first flicker of exciting offense in months.
The U.S. got on the board quickly on a questionable foul in the 6th minute. The referee called Jessica Houara for pushing Christen Press. The ensuing free kick by Lauren Holiday from the left side curved to the net and was headed in by Julie Johnston. It was Johnston’s first goal for the U.S. Women’s National Team.
The U.S. will leave the Portugal coast with a 56-12-11 record all-time at the Algarve Cup in 15 appearances – the most wins and most appearances of any country.
