USWNT to conclude Tournament of Nations vs. Brazil on Thursday

USA vs. Brazil
Toyota Park; Bridgeview, Ill.
Aug. 2, 2018
Tournament of Nations

(Via U.S. Soccer) – After a 4-2 win against Japan on July 26 to open the 2018 Tournament of Nations and a 1-1 draw with Australia on July 29, the USA heads into its tournament finale against Brazil on Aug. 2 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. (7:30 p.m. CT on FS1) with a chance to clinch the tournament title.

The USA and Australia are currently tied on points with four each atop the group in this four-team tournament. They are also tied on goal difference (both teams are at plus-2), but the USA has a slight edge in goals scored with five to the Matildas four. The USA has not lost since the Tournament of Nations last summer, a 1-0 setback to Australia, and has gone 16-0-2 over the past year which includes an 8-0-2 mark in 2018.

USA WINNING SCENARIOS: Because Australia faces Japan (4:45 p.m. CT on ussoccer.com) in the first game on the tournament’s final match day, the USA will know prior to its clash with Brazil what result it will need to win the tournament for the first time. If both the USA and Australia win, that will give both teams seven points, and to finish first, the USA will need to compile a superior goal difference, or if tied in that first tiebreaker, maintain its edge in total goals scored. The USA can win the tournament with a tie, but only if Australia and Japan tie (and the USA maintains its edge in goals scored), or if Australia loses to Japan, as it did in the championship game of the 2018 AFC Asian Women’s Cup, despite the Matildas dominating that game. Australia has scored four goals from four shots on target during its first two games, and as they benefited from an own goal vs. Brazil, that means the Matildas have scored on three of its four shots on frame. READ: Tournament Winning Scenarios

AFTER THE TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS: The USA will have two friendly matches against Chile (Aug. 31 in Los Angeles and Sept. 4 in San Jose) before entering World Cup qualifying. Chile will be a Women’s World Cup debutante next summer after qualifying for the tournament for the first time by finished second in the 2018 Copa América Femenina. The USA’s 2018 has so far featured wins over Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (twice), China PR (twice), and Japan, along with ties vs. France and Australia.

GETTING SOCIAL : Follow all the #USWNT and tournament action on Twitter using #ToN2018 on@ussoccer_wnt and @ussoccer_esp, and also on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM TON2018 ROSTER BY POSITION (CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): 21- Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), 24- Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 16/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 31/0)

DEFENDERS (6): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 21/0), 12- Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 9/0), 11- Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 1/0), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 140/0), 14- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 23/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 19/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): 6- Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 77/6), 2- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 63/15); 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 53/6), 16- Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 10/2), 10- Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 256/100); 3- Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 37/7); 20- Allie Long (Seattle Reign; 39/6), 25- McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 4/0)

FORWARDS (6): 19- Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 66/23), 17- Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns; 135/19), 13- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 144/89), 23- Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 102/44), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 139/38), 12- Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC; 131/30)

2018 TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS SCHEDULE
The competition tournament format is same as the SheBelieves Cup and last year’s Tournament of Nations with the four teams each participating in three doubleheader events at three different venues over an eight-day period. The winner of the tournament will be based on total points (three for a win, one for a tie), with the first tie-breaker being overall goal difference, followed by most total tournament goals scored, then head-to-head result and lastly, FIFA Ranking if necessary.

2018 TOURNAMENT OF NATIONS STANDINGS

HISTORY IN BRIDGEVIEW: TheU.S.Women have played 12 matches in Chicago/Bridgeview, seven at Soldier Field and five at Toyota Park, including the 1-0 victory against Italy in the World Cup playoff that sealed the USA’s berth to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. Amy Rodriguez scored on a chilly day in late November to complete a two-game sweep over the Italians on a 2-0 aggregate score. The USA has never lost in Chicago/Bridgeview, with the only blemish being a 1-1 draw with Germany in October of 2012.

IN FOCUS: Brazil
FIFA World Ranking: 7
CONMEBOL Ranking: 1
Women’s World Cup Appearances (7): 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015
Best Women’s World Cup finish: Runners-Up (2007)
Record vs. USA: 3-27-5
Head Coach: Oswaldo Alvarez, aka “Vadão”

BRAZIL WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Barbara (Kindermann), 12-Aline (UDG Tenerife, Spain), 22-Letícia (SC Corinthians)

DEFENDERS (8): 3-Daiane (Avaldsnes Idrettslag, Norway), 4-Kathellen (FC Girondins, France), 6-Tamires (Fortuna Hjorring, Denmark), 13-Rilany (Atletico de Madrid, Spain), 14-Poliana (Orlando Pride, USA), 15-Tayla (Santos FC), 19-Joyce (UDG Tenerife, Spain), 21-Mônica (Orlando Pride, USA)

MIDFIELDERS (5): 5-Thaisa (Unattached), 7-Camila (Orlando Pride, USA), 8-Juliana (CR Flamengo), 17-Andressinha (Portland Thorns FC, USA), 23-Rayanne (CR Flamengo)

FORWARDS (7): 2-Millene (SC Corinthians), 9-Debinha (NC Courage, USA), 10-Marta (Orlando Pride, USA), 11-Adriana (SC Corinthians), 16-Beatriz (Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, South Korea), 18-Thaís (Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, South Korea), 20-Raquel (Ferroviária)

BRAZIL NOTES:

• Brazil started out the 2018 Tournament of Nations with a 3-1 loss to Australia. The Matildas were the better team in the first half, and for part of the second before Brazil turned it one and took the game to the Australians. Most of Brazil’s danger came from Debinha and Marta, who absorbed two yellow card fouls from the Australians and few more that didn’t elicit card. It was Marta and Debinha that combined for Brazil’s lone goal in the 79th minute, but Australia already had a 3-0 lead at that time, and despite having more of the possession, they were out-shot by Brazil by a 12-6 margin, while Brazil had four shots on goal to Australia’s two.
• In its second match, Brazil battled Japan through 75 minutes before Marta finally broke the deadlock with a classic dribble inside the penalty area. Beatriz tallied her first goal of the game in the 90th minute, and Japan’s Moeno Sakaguchi’s brilliant finish on a diving header in the third minute of stoppage time pulled her team to within one but final whistle sounded soon after.
• Brazil goalkeeper Aline, making her first appearance of the tournament, pulled off several nice saves in the first half against Japan to keep the game scoreless.
• Against Japan, Brazil made two changes to the starting eleven that lost 3-1 to Australia on July 26. The evenly-played match saw Brazil out-shoot Japan 13-12 with five shots on target to Japan’s three. Possession was split almost evenly, as where the number of passes attempted by both teams, and Brazil had a slight edge on corner kicks, 6-4.
• Brazil is one of the few nations that have qualified for every Women’s World Cup. After failing to get out of the group in 1991 and 1995, Brazil have steadily improved from major tournament to major tournament. Brazil made a big leap forward at USA 1999, finishing third. Brazil finished second in China in 2007 where they lost to Germany in the Final and they have also twice finished fifth (in 2003 and 2011). Brazil fell in the Round of 16 in Canada in 2015, where they finished ninth.
• Brazil has always been a major contender in the women’s game, producing legendary players like Sissi, Formiga, Cristiane and Marta. But even though it has come very close, it has yet to win a Women’s World Cup or an Olympics – a dream that on more than one occasion has been ended by the USA.
• Brazil qualified for the Women’s World Cup by finishing in first place in the final stage of the 2018 Copa América Femenina in Chile. They won seven matches in row, scoring 31 goals along the way while conceding just two – one in the first round against Argentina, who went on to finish third, and one against eventual runners-up Chile in the final stage.
• Brazil won its four opening-round games by a 22-1 margin to advance to the four-team final stage, where it beat Chile (3-1), Argentina (3-0) and Colombia (3-0). In front of huge home crowds, Chile finished second in the final stage group to also qualify for France, while Argentina finished third and will face the fourth-place finisher from the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in a two-game playoff for a final World Cup berth.
• Brazil averaged 4.42 goals a game during qualifying, the most prolific strike rate since the tournament switched to its current format. Despite having Marta and other big names such as Formiga, Andressinha, Thais and Cristiane, their leading scorer was Beatriz, who scored six goals.
• Fourteen of Brazil’s 19 outfield squad members at the Copa America Femenina 2018 found the net during the competition. Cristiane, who is playing in China and is not on this roster, had four goals, as did Monica, who plays for the Orlando Pride. Andressinha and Debinha had three goals each. Marta tallied just once.
• Oswaldo Alvarez, better known as Vadão, has enjoyed a distinguished coaching career spanning almost 30 years, including taking the likes of Rivaldo and Kaka under his wing when they were youngsters. He had never coached women before his first stint in charge of the Brazilian National Team, which lasted from 2014 to 2016. During that time, he won his first Copa America Femenina, triumphed at the Pan American Games and led Brazil to the Round of 16 at the 2015 Women’s World Cup and to a fourth-place finish in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, a tournament in which the Brazilian women gained some intense popularity. Ten months after being replaced by Emily Lima, Vadão returned to the job in September of 2017 and guided the squad to the Copa America title. France 2019 will be his second Women’s World Cup in charge.
• Brazil has five players on its roster who play in the NWSL, four for the Orlando Pride in Marta, Monica, Camila and Poliana. Debinha plays for the first-place North Carolina Courage.
• Midfielder Thaisa was on the books at Sky Blue FC, but was released just before the start of this tournament.
• Without a strong and organized domestic league, 13 of Brazil’s 23 players play outside the country, two in South Korea, three in Spain and one each in Norway, France and Denmark.
• Marta is of course one of the world’s all-time greatest female players. She was the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year five years in a row from 2006-10 and has been in the top-three in the voting six other times.
• Brazilians brought most of its Copa America roster with 16 players at the ToN who were in Chile, with the most notable absences being 40-year-old Formiga and star striker Cristiane.

USA VS. BRAZIL

• The USA and Brazil have a long history dating back to 1986 when the teams met in just the eighth match ever played by the U.S. Women, a 2-1 U.S victory in Italy.
• The USA has played Brazil seven times since the start of 2012 and has a record of 4-1-2 over that span.
• The most recent meeting was one of the most memorable, as Brazil took at 3-1 lead into the waning minutes of last year’s meeting at the Tournament of Nations before the Americans roared back with three goals in a nine-minute span to win 4-3.
• Samantha Mewis scored the first U.S. goal in the first half to equalize after an early Brazil goal, but Brazil scored in the 63rd and 78th minutes through Andressinha and Bruna Benites, respectively to seemingly clinch the match before the USA started the comeback with a goal from Christen Press in the 80th minute. Megan Rapinoe equalized in the 85th minute before Julie Ertz scored that dramatic game-winner in the 89th minute to send the crowd into a frenzy. The win began the USA’s current 18-game unbeaten streak.
• The U.S. team has for the most part dominated the series, going 27-3-5 over the years, but Brazil picked up a historic win at the 2007 Women’s World Cup, a 4-0 semifinal victory that remains the worst loss in U.S. history.
• Brazil has won or tied in three of the last five most recent meetings between the teams, with the first two of those matches taking place at the International Tournament of Brasilia at the end of 2014. The USA lost 3-2 in group play as Marta scored all three goals. Brazil only had four shots on goal during that match, but scored on three of them, to hand U.S. head coach Jill Ellis her first loss at the helm of the U.S. team and one of just six total.
• In the match in Brasilia, the USA had a 2-0 lead after nine minutes in that game as Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe scored early, but Marta brought her team back with three fantastic individual goals.
• The teams finished first and second in the group phase of the four-team tournament and met each other in the championship match. The USA played without forwards Alex Morgan (injury), Sydney Leroux (suspended due to a red card) and Christen Press (family commitment) and managed just four shots, with one goal. Brazil also had just four shots with one on goal, but the 0-0 draw gave Brazil the tournament title.
• Before last year’s Tournament of Nations match, the most recent meetings between the teams came during the post-World Cup Victory Tour in 2015, a 1-1 draw in Seattle on Oct. 21 (Carli Lloyd scored for the USA) followed by a 3-1 victory in Orlando on Oct. 25 as the USA got goals from Morgan, Crystal Dunn and Stephanie McCaffrey.
• The teams met in the gold medal games of the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, with the USA winning 1-0 in Athens, Greece and 2-1 in Beijing, China, both after extra time. Wambach scored the game-winner in 04 and Lloyd bagged the game-winner in 08.
• One of the most well-known matches between the countries was the quarterfinal of the 2011 Women’s World Cup as Wambach famously tied the match at 2-2 at the very end of overtime and the USA triumphed in penalty kicks to move on to the semifinal. Marta scored both goals for Brazil in that match.
• Nine players on Brazil’s roster played against the USA in last year’s ToN, including seven starters.
• Twelve players on the USA’s 2018 ToN roster played against Brazil last year, including nine starters.

Last Time On the field for the USA vs. Brazil:
July 30, 2017 – Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego, Calif.
2017 Tournament of Nations

USA 4 Mewis 18, Press 80, Rapinoe 85, Ertz 89
BRA 3 Andressinha 2, 78; Bruna Benites 63

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 16-Taylor Smith (8-Julie Ertz, 57), 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 14-Casey Short (2-Sydney Leroux, 76), 5-Kelley O’Hara; 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 3-Samantha Mewis (20-Allie Long, 86), 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.); 19-Crystal Dunn (22-Mallory Pugh, 53), 13-Alex Morgan (23-Christen Press, 57), 15-Megan Rapinoe (12-Lynn Williams, 90+1)
Subs not used : 6-Morgan Brian, 9-Lindsey Horan,11-Ali Krieger, 17-Margaret Purce, 18-Jane Campbell, 21-Abby Smith
Head coach: Jill Ellis

BRA: 1-Barbara; 15-Leticia (8-Maria, 71), 21-Monica, 3-Bruna Benites 22-Jucinara (6-Tamires, 46); 5-Djenifer, 7-Gabi Nunes (20-Camila, 22), 17-Andressinha; 9-Debinha (13-Andreia Rosa, 82), 10-Marta, 16-Beatriz (19-Ludmila, 86)
Subs not used: 2-Maurine, 14-Chu, 18-Fran
Head coach: Emily Lima