Caribbean representative Dominican Republic ended their Concacaf Women's Gold Cup campaign winless, as they went down 0-3 to Argentina, while Mexico stunned tournament favourites United States 2-0, in the final round of Group A fixtures at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on Monday.
The results saw Mexico finishing tops in the group on seven points, with United States second on six, while Argentina improved their chances of being one of the two best third-place teams to progress to the quarterfinals, as they end third on four points. Dominican Republic finished without a point and conceded 16 goals.
Dominican Republic vs Argentina
With two third place spots up for grabs at that point, both Dominican Republic and Argentina started purposefully and with some intensity as they went in search of their first win. The fact that Argentina held Mexico to a goalless stalemate to start the tournament, while Dominican Republic lost 0-8 to the same opponent, meant the South Americans were a bit more confident, and they put that on display in the early exchanges.
They pushed back their Spanish-speaking Caribbean rivals into a defensive posture and fired a few warning shots from a distance, before they inevitably broke the deadlock in the 30th minute. Midfielder Dalila Ippolito fired home from a one-on-one situation with Dominican Republic's goalkeeper Paloma Pena, after the opponents defence failed to take care of possession.
Argentina doubled their lead in the second half through Celeste Dos Santos's 76th-minute effort, which polished off a tidy one-two combination with Mariana Larroquette.
And the win was capped by Maricel Pereyra in the 90+4, who fired home from just outside the 18-yard area.
United States vs Mexico
The feature contest of the group ended with Mexico securing a historic 2-0 win over four-time World champions United States to take top honours.
It is the first Mexico win against the United States since 2010, a span of 16 matches. The two goals also snap a streak of 33 straight matches in which the United States kept a clean sheet in Concacaf competitions.
Both teams gave as good as they got in end-to-end action, with strikers Sophia Smith of United States and Mexico's Maria Sanchez testing the goalkeepers Esthefanny Barreras and Alyssa Naeher, who both proved equal to the task.
Mexico eventually found the go-ahead goal in the 38th minute when Jaqueline Ovalle capitalized on a defensive error by Becky Sauerbrunn and fired past the hapless Naeher, who was left for dead after advancing off her line.
Karla Nieto went close to doubling the lead on the stroke of half time, but her well-struck shot from just outside the 18-yard box, rattled the crossbar.
United States went in search of the elusive equaliser, but their hunt ended fruitless, as Lindsey Horan fired a freekick over the crossbar in the 56th, while Trinity Rodman's 89th-minute effort went just wide of the upright.
And if that wasn't bad enough, Mayra Pelayo rubbed salt in the United States wounds in the 90+5, when she rifled home a right-footer from outside the box, that lodge in the top right corner, to gift Mexico an historic victory.
After clinching a 1-0 preliminary phase win over Guyana, Caribbean representative Dominican Republic will bow into group stage action at the inaugural Concacaf Women's Gold Cup on Tuesday evening.
However, their task will be as tough as it can get to kick off a tournament, as they are up against four-time World Champions United States in the feature contest of a Group A double-header at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Mexico and Argentina will lock horns in the curtain-raiser, with the games scheduled for 7:30pm and 10:15pm Eastern Standard Time.
United States vs. Dominican Republic
Having won all there is to win in the Concacaf region and also on the world stage, there is no doubt that United States, the reigning Concacaf Women's Championship title holders, start as one of the favourites, if not the overwhelming favourite to become the first champions of this Women's Gold Cup. That basically underscores the difficulty of Dominican Republic's assignment to get things underway.
Rated as the most decorated team in the world, United States qualified to the Women's Gold Cup after topping the 2022 Concacaf Women's Championship, with victory in all five games played. They’re returning to the main stage after they exited the 2023 Women's World Cup at the Round of 16 stage and will be under the guidance of interim coach Twila Kilgore, until new Head Coach Emma Hayes takes the reins.
With this new leadership, United States women's outfit will try to get another Concacaf trophy under their belt, and players like striker Sophia Smith, who has 15 goals within major tournaments like the World Cup and Women's Championship, will be integral to their chances of achieving the feat.
Midfielder Lindsey Horan, who captained the team in Australia/New Zealand, where she scored two goals, and was one of the difference-makers during the qualifying tournament, will also be a key factor in a stacked United States team.
Still, Dominican Republic will be optimistic of giving a good account of themselves, as rubbing shoulders with United States will certainly give their women's programme a great deal of confidence going forward.
In fact, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean women have grown in confidence since their Gold Cup qualifying run, where they amassed five wins and a solitary loss in six League B games, with 24 goals to their credit. The likes of Kathrynn González, who scored the banger against Guyana in the preliminary, and Mia Asenjo, who had nine shots on Saturday, will be key to Dominican Republic's chances of possibly finding the net.
Goalkeeper Paloma Pena, who made key saves against Guyana, will be hoping to repeat her clean sheet feat on this occasion.
Mexico vs. Argentina
Prior to the United States and Dominican Republic clash, Mexico and Argentina will square off. The two are familiar with each other, having shared the pitch at the Pan American Games, where Mexico won 2-0 in the semi-finals to improve to an overall record to four wins and a loss against Argentina.
Under Head Coach Pedro Lopez, Mexico registered victory in all four games in Group A of League A, and with the disappointment of missing last year's World Cup still fresh in their minds, they will be hoping to make amends to an extent, with a deep run in this tournament.
Players like Maria Sanchez, who scored two goals and had the most shots (13), and Natalia Mauleon, who made an impression with the Under-17 and Under-20 National Teams, will again be aiming to make an impact as they did in the qualifiers.
Argentina, who placed third at the CONMEBOL Copa America Femenina in 2022, with four wins and two losses, will be intent of showing their class to get a win on North American soil.
Head Coach German Portanova has generational talent in players like Yamila Rodriguez, who was the top scorer of the 2022 Copa America with six goals. Another Argentinian sensation is Sophia Braun, who got on the scoresheet at last year's World Cup.
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