It didn’t start off so well, but Jill Ellis’ first CONCACAF Championship has seen her United States women’s national team roll through the competition with the flair of former greats.
And now they’re officially going to Canada for next summer’s World Cup.
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While that was rarely a question, Friday’s 3-0 win over Mexico in their semifinal was yet another note struck for the harmony of a potential championship side. After struggling through a 1-0 win over plucky Trinidad and Tobago to open group play, consider what the USWNT have achieved recently:
-- 4-0 record, 15-0 goal mark in tournament
-- 7-game winning streak in all competitions
-- 13-game unbeaten streak in all competitions
-- 560-minute shutout streak in all competitions.
Not to mention that, if we’re being honest, that 1-0 win was against a Randy Waldrum-led side with plenty to prove that has since put itself in position to qualify if they can win against Mexico in Sunday’s third-place match.
But the States can put out an emphatic message with a win in Sunday’s final against Costa Rica. Before the tournament, we asked whether they’d roar, and so far they have. Now they can scream out their intentions. Judging by the past few days, they will.