What You Missed: SheBelieves Day 3 In Review
Feb 25th, 2021
After a lot of ups and downs and ins and outs the SheBelieves Cup has come to an end. The world champions have won their fourth SheBelieves Cup and their second consecutive Cup. They demolished a tired and defeated Argentinian team last night, asserting for one last time in this tournament, their authority on the field. The U.S. are a strong, powerhouse, highly competitive team. In fact, they didn’t concede a single goal in the entire competition! They have maintained this goal-free rhythm for their last 6 matches.
Kudos to the Champions!
On a personal note about the Argentine team:
At times my heart went out to the Albiceleste knowing all too well the mountain(s) these women have to climb — everyday — just to be on the field. In the end, the real underdog of this tournament ended up last. But in my mind and heart, the underdog still won. They won because they played tirelessly and unrelentlessly despite their all-too-clear inferior state of physical stamina; they won because despite having little-to-no resources and training time, they gave both the Brazilian and Canadian teams a run for their money; and they won because they played with true heart and left their very souls on the pitch.
The very chance that Albiceleste were even at the games gives them a little more elbow space in their fight for equality in football. This is a global fight, not simply one in Argentina, but the Argentine women’s league has a long
way to go compared to its competitors at the SheBelieves Cup as far as gender equality in sports goes. In fact, Gen-Z is the first generation of Argentine girls that have been allowed rather than completely discouraged from playing football. Up until a few years ago, an Argentine girl wearing a football jersey out of the house was as taboo an act as a Canadian child not minding their P’s and Q’s.
Alas, I digress…
If you didn’t get the chance to watch these games yesterday here are some of the high and low lights.
LOWLIGHTS
Canada vs. Brazil
Canada suffered major losses for this Cup without their key players including team Capitan Christine Sinclair, midfielder Diana Matheson, veteran goalkeeper Erin McLeod and uncapped defender Bianca St-Georges. Three other players were denied release by their French clubs: centre back Kadeisha Buchanan, fullback Ashley Lawrence and forward Jordyn Huitema. If that wasn’t enough, Canada’s best defender Vanessa’s Gilles left the tournament after the first game as part of a pre-tournament agreement with her club FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Her absence was felt intensely after her stellar performance in the game against the U.S. Unfortunate, because I believe her presence on the field would have made a huge difference in this game against Brazil, and possibly even brought Canada the cup (they went into this game with the possibility of 1st or 3rd place by points). The game was overall a disappointing one if you are a Canadian fan. Jenine Becky, Adriana Leon, Jessie Fleming and Shelina Zadorsky dominated the field and appeared to be the only players on the Canadian Team pulling their weight.
In the end the Brazilian Verdeamarela took full advantage of Canada’s losses and banked their win. So much so that they tied for first place with the United States, pressuring the U.S team to go all out when faced with Argentina — which they did.
HIGHLIGHTS
Canada vs. Brazil
On the upside, the Brazilans came hungry for a win. It was a delight to see that some of their young blood showed up to play. Brazil won with a comfortable match of 2–0 keeping them tied with Canada in the 8th place in Worldwide FIFA standings. If they keep this kind of play it won’t be surprising at all if they move up in the rankings.
It could not be denied that all you could hear throughout the game were the Brazilains communicating to each other on the pitch. The Canadians were relatively silent, leaving me to wonder if team cohesion and collaboration are not one of their fortes?
LOWLIGHTS
Argentina vs. U.S.A
Tactically, the Argentine coach has had the same strategy for the last 23 years of coaching the Albiceleste team and it’s getting old. The old adage “these girls will improve with experience” doesn’t seem to be working. They need a coach who brings fresh ideas to their strategy, and it’s sorely apparent.
Aside from that, the absence of both Agus Barroso and Lorena Benitez (due to injuries from the game on Day 2) was painfully evident, and frankly made the game difficult to watch. Barroso and Benitez are two of Albiceleste’s top players and having them out of the game tipped the odds in the favour of the U.S. to towering proportions.
HIGHLIGHTS
Argentina vs. U.S.A
The U.S national team bulldozed over Argentina like a tractor in a field full of crops. They won 6 -0. By the 23rd minute of the first half Argentina was already down 3–0. Although they tried to counter attack at various times throughout the game, it was to no avail. They were defeated in every corner of the field.
My takeaways were few, but most prominent was Alex Morgan’s performance — scoring her first goal after becoming a mom! Despite
having a rather eventful year in her personal life — having a baby, suffering a rather severe knee injury, and testing positive for COVID — she still managed to get her A-game on. She played well and scored a beautiful goal. What a wonderful example to other up and coming female athletes that overcoming obstacles is merely a state of mind.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
And last but not least, the hug I saw on Yamila Rodriguez’s Twitter account summed the entire tournament up for me in a heartbeat. These young Latin girls look up to Megan Rapinoe and the rest of the stars in the American team. Undoubtedly, they will take these memories home to inspire up-and-coming female athletes in their countries, and perhaps (hopefully) help them shape a new and bright tomorrow for South American Women’s Football.
“The picture of the game” @YamiiRoddriguez and @mPinoe
