It's full steam ahead in the Concacaf W Gold Cup for the new-look U.S. women's national team. The tournament favorites defeated Argentina 4-0 on Friday to take control of first place in Group A, clinching a spot in the knockout stage in the process. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore used 10 different players in her starting lineup from her initial group match and the adjustments paid off. Jaedyn Shaw netted a brace while Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan rounded out the scoring in the victory. As always you can catch all the W Gold Cup action across Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network.
Next up for the USWNT is Mexico on Monday to close out the group stage and their result against their Concacaf rivals will determine their knockout round path.
On Tuesday, 18-year-old midfielder Olivia Moultrie recorded a brace, but on Friday it was the 19-year-old Shaw who continued the trend of teenagers running the show. Shaw scored two goals in seven minutes during the first half, her first coming off a heads up set piece play with Horan.
"As a team, we just really executed the game plan. We really trusted the process and we came out on fire," Shaw said after the game. "I'm just taking as much information as I can in training and asking a lot of questions, going over film, and doing what I can to make the team better."
Shaw's efforts were on both sides of the ball and even added a yellow card to her resume with her defensive tenacity. Her ability to make difficult things look easy is just part of what makes her game so impressive at a young age. It's still early in the tournament but that just means there's more time for her to have an impact in more ways.
The USWNT have nine goals scored through two games with zero conceded, a result that captain Horan wants to maintain moving forward no matter the opposition.
"It's a big success. I mean, you look at this team, you know, [Argentina is] a difficult team to play against," Horan said. "They're feisty, they're a little cutthroat playing against them. So, they made it difficult for us. A good game for us to get four goals, and again, we move on to the next game."
As the group continues to navigate the Gold Cup, the coaching staff is still evaluating players as it is getting closer to the Olympics. Kilgore still feels like it's too early to narrow down an ideal 18-player Olympic roster and mentioned that those conversations are for her and the incoming Emma Hayes, but she will continue to make adjustments throughout the competition.
The USWNT will now prepare to square off against Concacaf rivals Mexico. The Mexican team is coming off a dominant 8-0 win over the Dominican Republic on Friday night. First place in the group is still up for grabs, but USA's victory against Argentina means they have sealed their spot in the knockout round.
77' Jaedyn Shaw gets an early brace for USA! Alex Morgan extends the lead with a third goal with service provided out wide by Casey Krueger. After VAR review, Horan converts a penalty, and it's 4-0 USA.
USA defeat Argentina 4-0 and the victory confirms their place in the knockout rounds! They need one more result to determine their path to the quarterfinals.
An agonizing amount of time close out the game if you're Argentina.
Horan steps up to the spot and converts the penalty! She makes it 4-0 with her right and sends the ball toward the left side netting.
After a lengthy review, the official sees enough that the ball goes off Mayorga's extended elbow! USWNT will have a chance to extend the lead. Mayorga is sent off after receiving a second yellow.
The official is checking for a possible handball on the deflection off Nighshwonger's shot.
USA recycles the ball through the final third. Nighshwonger takes a shot and a deflection causes some chaos in front of goal where Shaw and Smith have a pass at the ball that's off the post.
Shaw is still active on the pitch and wins another set piece. Rose Lavelle provides the service from the corner flag and it's accuracy finds a soaring Sonnett on a header but it's redirected just wide of the post. USWNT retains possession.
It's a positional substitution by Kilgore at the hour mark. Emily Fox and Jenna Nighswonger come into the match for Krueger and Dunn.
The squad doesn't have any signs of slowing down, especially with Smith involved in the game. Defenders are very active in the run of play as well with Krueger getting on the end of a recycled ball. Her shot from outside the box leaves Argentina's Sophie Braun with a half-red face by the canon of a shot attempt.
Center official takes a double check on a possible penalty. Rodman appeared to go down in the box after some contact off the ball. USWNT didn't initially protest but VAR thought there may have been enough for a look. Center official thinks otherwise and things are back in action after a brief explanations to the captains.
Alex Morgan and Korbin Albert are done for the evening, Sophia Smith and Emily Sonnett sub on in their place. Pretty like for like adjustment as the USWNT get back to work.
Tempo has shifted a bit as both teams settle a bit before halftime. A foul off a free kick has sapped up some of the clock as Argentina keeper Laurina Oliveros gets some treatment. We're into six minutes of stoppage time now.
18-year-old Olivia Moutlire netted two goals on Tuesday against Dominican Republic and now Shaw has two goals of her own during a singular Gold Cup match. Young ones making history.
Morgan scores for USA and makes the lead 3-0 before 20 minutes. The team is taking back control of the game and not letting it go. Morgan heads home her 123rd international career goal with the assist by Krueger.
Lots of quick touches by USWNT to progress the ball. Lavelle delivers a ball and Shaw is there in the box like a magnet to slot it home for another goal.
Argentina not resting on their heels. Larroquette is doing it herself and keeping the South Americans active in the final third.
Jaedyn Shaw with the opening goal! A quick reset by Lindsey Horan after the USWNT win a free kick. She quickly finds Shaw who slots it near post.
Larroquette with the effort from 40 YARDS OUT. Her attempt from distance tests Murphy early, nearly catching her out of position, and it nicks the far post.
Some early physicality by Argentina early to try to combat some of the aggressive press by the USA. Morgan was on the receiving end of a shove inside the box but not enough there for a penalty.
USWNT is setting the tempo early again. Have had all of the ball and kept Argentina in their half the opening five minutes.
We're just 15 minutes away from kickoff! Let's have some fun with a little prediction:
Player rotation might impact both sides of the ball, and Argentina's sense of urgency might stifle some goal-scoring, but the stars and stripes will walk away with the win. Pick: USA 3, Argentina 0.
Elsewhere, Mexico completely dominated their second group match against the Dominican Republic. Tri Femenil was up by six goals before closing with an eight-goal shutout. They hold the top place in the group on goal differential.
Coach Kilgore goes with 10 changes to her lineup from opening night. MIdfielder Korbin Albert is the only player to get a consecutive start. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy is in goal as Kilgore stated during a pregame press conference.
There are five players in the lineup who played against Argentina during their 2021 SheBelieves Cup win, Tierna Davidson, Casey Krueger, Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan and Alex Morgan.
Morgan featured off the bench in Tuesday's win over the Dominican Republic. She converted a penalty kick late in the game. It was her 122nd career international goal and she's just eight away from tying her childhood idol Kristine Lilly for fourth on the USA's all-time goals list.
Take a look at her goal:
Starting XI: 18-Casey Murphy; 4-Naomi Girma, 7-Alex Morgan, 8-Jaedyn Shaw, 10-Lindsey Horan (Capt.), 12-Tierna Davidson, 15-Korbin Albert, 16-Rose Lavelle, 19-Crystal Dunn, 20-Casey Krueger, 22-Trinity Rodman
Available Subs: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 2-Abby Dahlkemper, 3-Jenna Nighswonger, 5-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Lynn Williams, 9-Midge Purce, 11-Sophia Smith, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 14-Emily Sonnett, 17-Sam Coffey, 21-Jane Campbell, 23-Emily Fox
Interim HC Kilgore tweaked the lineup and the USWNT got off to a quick start against the Dominican Republic last match. Make sure you take a look at what we learned from the opening match. Here's a key point to watch out for tonight:
Fast and furious fluidity
The start and stripes got off to a strong start on the ball and never really let go. They held possession nearly 80 percent of the game and took 31 shot attempts over 90 minutes compared to just one attempt by the Dominican Republic. Still, five goals with ten attempts on target might be reflective of some offseason form for U.S. players still in preseason with NWSL clubs.
It's such a minor criticism in terms of the bigger picture which is finally looking a bit clearer after game one. Since her time in the interim role, Kilgore has been vocal about getting the team back into playing with more freedom and fluidity. Building off their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup elimination to Sweden, where the squad felt they had their best game in terms of ball progression and movement, they could not convert their chances but here it was different.
Forward Midge Purce had an impressive match on Tuesday, providing width and assists. The winger was constantly in strong positions to receive the ball and put it into play multiple times throughout her time on the pitch.
"We're playing against a low block so it gives an opportunity for a lot of creativity and we have a lot of creative players in the front line. So, it was it was really fun," Purce said after the game.
It's exactly the type of fluidity Purce wants the team to keep with them in their next group match against Argentina.
"I want to take the freedom into that game. We had some really good moments, some good build-up moments, and re-attacking over and over again. Keeping the possession in the final third instead of like having big transitions and just going straight to goal," she said.
USA
Argentina
The Stars and Stripes got off to a quick start against the Dominican Republic, connecting on goal early off a corner kick that was ultimately disallowed due to an offside call. Still, the team got on the scoreboard in the opening 10 minutes with a goal by Oliva Moultrie and never looked back. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore will want the team to aim for a similar start here.
The South Americans had a rough start against Mexico. They were unable to settle into the game early and conceded a penalty kick in the opening 20 minutes. Mexico captain Rebeca Bernal was unable to convert, and eventually, Argentina frustrated the opposition by matching their physicality and settled for a goalless draw. They'll need to do better than three shot attempts against the United States if they want a chance to pull off a result.
