The U.S. women's national team added a new prize to their stacked trophy cabinet on Sunday, winning the first-ever Concacaf W Gold Cup following a 1-0 win over Brazil.
It is not the most illustrious trophy the USWNT have won, but will likely rank high amongst the team's priorities. This year's edition of the tournament served as an important measuring stick as the Americans embark on a rebuild and is poised to do so in future years, especially amidst the rapid development of women's soccer programs in North America and around the world.
The continued investment into the women's game shakes up the ranking of trophies available to all teams, much of it a positive development as more competitions exist for more teams.
Here's a look at the accolades that the USWNT can now claim, and where they might fall in the list of accomplishments.
Golazo Starting XI Newsletter
Get your Soccer Fix from Around the Globe
Your ultimate guide to the Beautiful Game as our experts take you beyond the pitch and around the globe with news that matters.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
Top-tier: Women's World Cup, Olympics
The Women's World Cup and Olympics have always been career-defining achievements in the women's game and continue to be just that, especially as the level of competition heats up. The World Cup will always outrank the Olympics as a soccer-specific showcase, especially one that fields more teams. Last year's World Cup will have 20 more teams than the Olympics, serving as a better indication of the state of women's soccer globally as long as that disparity remains.
Next rung down: Concacaf W Gold Cup
This may be a new competition, but it's one designed to serve a big role for the USWNT and other teams in North America. The Gold Cup is now the official continental championship, which is a high-ranking prize in every confederation in the men's and women's game and will likely be treated that way by the teams competing in it. From the USWNT's perspective, this is one of several must-win competitions -- it's a chance for the team to assert themselves as the dominant force in Concacaf.
Considering the Americans have yet to be knocked off that regional pedestal, a tournament like the Gold Cup could act as a chance for some experimentation, just as it did this year. The rising level of competition, though, means that it can also be a strong measuring stick for how the USWNT will fare against a wide range of opposition, including regional heavyweights Canada and rising talent Mexico.
Somewhere in the middle: Concacaf W Championship, Concacaf Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament
The former serves as a World Cup qualifying tournament while the latter is obviously meant to decide Olympics berths, so there's plenty of importance attached to these competitions. Winning the trophy is almost a secondary task, though, since qualification is usually wrapped up by the time teams reach the final. Like the Gold Cup, though, this is another must-win for the USWNT to confirm their status as the best in North America.
Last place: SheBelieves Cup, Tournament of Nations
These competitions are just a few of several high-profile invitationals that usually take place in the winter and spring on the women's soccer calendar, both organized by U.S. Soccer. They're fairly notable occasions -- each of these tournaments, when they take place, usually host several top-tier teams. This year's edition of the SheBelieves Cup is no exception with Canada, Brazil and Japan invited to take part, but who wins the trophy is less memorable than the actual games themselves. It's objectively a good thing to win these competitions but that's because it means whoever lifts the trophy had to beat some strong teams to get there, but these games serve more as glorified friendlies than anything else.
