Alex Morgan fires a Steph Curry after playing USWNT hero

Oh, what a night (night)!

After Alex Morgan converted on a 78th-minute penalty and the United States Women’s National Team won the CONCACAF Women’s Championship 1-0 against Canada on Monday night to secure one of the places in the region at the 2024 Olympics, she took a page from Steph Curry. book.

Morgan, a two-time World Cup champion, struck the Warriors star’s signature pose – hands clasped against her face as if to say ‘time to go to bed’ – alongside the CONCACAF trophy and the best player of the tournament in a photo she shared on Instagram after the game with the caption « Night Night ».

Curry’s « Night Night » celebration went viral during the NBA playoffs and the legend continued to grow with it. ShoePalace creates exclusive swag.

“It always feels good to be called the champion, and this game just means a lot to us. It will always mean a lot,” Morgan said. “Obviously against Canada they gave us a hard time, but we prevailed and we are pleased with the performance. »

As FIFA President Gianni Infantino watched from a private box, USA finally broke a deadlock when Rose Lavelle was fouled in the box and Morgan trumped Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan on the penalty. It was Morgan’s 118th career goal.

« Alex is a great player, and great players are born for great moments, » USA coach Vlatko Andonovski said. « And that’s what makes her special. »

The United States is now 33-0 in World Cup or Olympic qualifying games since losing to Mexico 2-1 before the 2011 World Cup.

The match was a rematch of the Olympic semi-final a year ago in Tokyo. Canada beat the United States 1-0 on a late penalty to advance to the final, their first victory over the Americans in 20 years.

The Canadians won the gold medal in a penalty shootout with Sweden. Team USA finished with bronze.

Alyssa Naeher was in goal for USA instead of Casey Murphy, who started the tournament’s previous match. Defender Emily Fox also returned to COVID-19 protocol training.

The United States has changed since the Olympics, and Morgan is now one of the oldest players on the roster surrounded by up-and-coming talent like forward Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh.

But the team has clearly benefited from the constant presence of Morgan veterans Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn. All three are veterans of two World Cup titles and know what it takes to perform on the big stage.

Temperatures hovered in the 90s at the start of the match at Estadio BBVA. Sheridan made a big save in the 31st minute when Pugh broke down the right side and shot hard on goal.

She made another in the 45th, with an assist from teammate Kadeisha Buchanan, on Smith’s run to score on the goal line. Smith had another chance in the 64th, but it went wide.

Canada had plenty of chances late in the game, including a header from Jordyn Huitema that went wide.

« I think what pleased me the most was that after receiving that penalty, the rebound of the group after that, they showed that they were ready to do anything to recover the result. So we have everything given and that’s all you can ask for, » said Canada coach Bev Priestman.

The United States have appeared in every World Cup since the tournament began in 1991. The Americans have four titles, including the last two in 2015 and 2019.

— With AP