US claim fourth successive SheBelieves Cup

Mallory Swanson scored the decisive goal as the United States won their fourth consecutive SheBelieves Cup with a 2-1 victory against Brazil.

Alex Morgan gave the US the lead in first-half added time while Ludmila pulled a goal back for Brazil in the 90th minute.

The win caps a turnaround in form for the US side after a poor end to 2022.

Friendly defeats by England, Spain and Germany saw them record three successive losses for the first time since 1993.

However their confidence will surely have returned at the SheBelieves Cup and they will have belief they can land an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in the summer.

“The whole time throughout the tournament, while we’re in camp, we’re talking about how it’s not just about this tournament it’s about preparation for the World Cup,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

“The fact we were able to do well against such great opponents – all three of them, Canada, Japan and Brazil – is very motivating for us going forward because we believe we still have a few things to fix and get better from it.”

Victory over Brazil in Frisco, Texas, followed 2-0 and 1-0 wins over Canada and Japan respectively in the round-robin tournament.

The United States start their World Cup campaign on 22 July against Vietnam, before further group E games in New Zealand against the Netherlands and Portugal.