U.S. women shut out host China to win soccer’s Four Nations Tournament
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The U.S. women’s national soccer team, rebounding from a 2-1 opening-game loss to Sweden, defeated host-nation China, 2-0, in Chongqing to win the annual Four Nations Tournament for the seventh time.
Goals by Carli Lloyd in the first half and by Amy Rodriguez in the second were enough to overcome the Chinese team on a cold afternoon at the Yongchuan Sports Centre Stadium.
Canada defeated Sweden in the day’s other game to finish second in the tournament, with the Chinese third and the Swedes fourth.
Lloyd’s goal was the 24th of her career for the national team, while former USC star Rodriguez notched her 14th for the U.S.
“We took some good things from the loss to Sweden, and that’s one of the reasons we stepped up a little bit against Canada,” said U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage. “We took certain things from the 2-1 win against Canada [on Sunday] and I think today we ended up controlling the game.”
Canadian forward Christine Sinclair was named the tournament’s top player, while Nicole Barnhart of the U.S. was named the top goalkeeper.
The U.S. squad, which is preparing for the June 26-July 17 Women’s World Cup in Germany, will regroup in Florida for a Feb. 3-9 training camp, after which Sundhage will select a roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal in early March.
— Grahame L. Jones