USWNT boss after rare Mexico defeat: No more “easy games.”
interim United States The coach of the women's national team, Twila Kilgore, explained that after a year her team had “no more easy games” to play impressive 0-2 defeat compete Mexico in a Concacaf W Gold Cup group stage game on Monday.
“It just shows how far the game has come, and there are no easy games anymore,” Kilgore said after the USWNT’s first loss to Mexico since 2010. “If we don’t take care of business and execute, then that’s it Fall.” is to be expected, and we will advocate for it and take responsibility for it.”
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It was only Mexico's second win ever against the USWNT and comes after a disappointing run at the Women's World Cup last summer that led to the United States' elimination in the round of 16. Since Kilgore took over as interim coach after the World Cup, the USWNT had gone eight games undefeated, including a loss to Mexico.
Entering the game, the U.S. held a lopsided lead in the Concacaf rivalry with a record of 40-1-1.
Monday's result meant Mexico led Group A with seven points, while the USWNT finished second with six points. Argentina finished third with four points and the Dominican Republic came last with zero points.
“I think they had a good game plan, I think we had a good game plan and they just executed theirs better than ours,” Kilgore said. “While some of it has to do with intensity, it can generally be measured by things like pace with the ball, but also defensive things like winning first tackles and winning second balls.”
Both Mexico goals – scored by Lizbeth Ovalle And Mayra Pelayo — came from moments of restarting, an area where Kilgore said her team needed to improve.
“The first goal came from a goal kick and [we] “Probably should have taken care of the first ball, should have taken care of the second ball, had the opportunity to finish the game and then didn't, and then the second goal came from a throw-in,” Kilgore said.
Mexico coach Pedro Lopez is unbeaten in all competitions since 2023 and said Monday's result was the best he has achieved since taking over in September 2022.
“I guess, yeah, because of the opponent,” Lopez said. “I loved that [8-0] I really enjoyed the game in the Dominican Republic, but of course playing it against the USA is special.
Lopez described his team before the tournament as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and said he wanted more.
“Apparently this wolf was seen today,” he said. “But I insist that it would be of no use to us if we lost in the next game.” [W Gold Cup] Quarterfinals and we will go down in history as the team that beat the United States just one day.
Both Mexico and the USWNT have qualified for the quarterfinals of the inaugural W Gold Cup, but will have to wait for final results from Group B on Tuesday and Group C on Wednesday to find out their next opponents. After Wednesday, the top two teams in each group and the two best third-place teams qualify for the knockout rounds.
After the quarterfinals at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on March 2 and 3, the semifinals and final will be played at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on March 6 and 10, respectively.
After the tournament and later this spring Chelsea Boss Emma Hayes will do it Take charge of the USWNT.
