US beat Brazil to clinch SheBelieves Cup

Texas, Feb. 24: In-form Mallory Swanson scored again as the United States beat Brazil 2-1 to clinch a fourth straight SheBelieves Cup crown Wednesday.

Striker Swanson has now netted in six matches in a row, the longest such run for the US women since Christen Press did the same from November 2019 to February 2020.

Swanson is hitting form at the right time, with the top-ranked United States preparing to defend their crown in July’s Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

The 24-year-old scored twice in the tournament opener against Canada and again in the 1-0 win over Japan. She kept her streak going with a 63rd-minute strike that put the United states up 2-0.

She seized on a through ball from Rose Lavelle and fired past Brazilian  goalkeeper Lorena.

Alex Morgan had put the United States ahead in first-half stoppage time, curling a left-footed shot past Lorena. 

Brazil clawed back a goal in the 90th minute as substitute Ludmila headed past Alyssa Naeher -- the first goal conceded by the USA in 2023. 

It wasn’t enough to stop the tournament hosts from winning the event for the sixth time overall.

Japan snatched second place on goal difference after snapping a four-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over Olympic champions Canada earlier Wednesday.

Japan will be breathing a sigh of relief after ending a four-match skid that included defeats to England and Spain last November.

They broke out in a big way with goals from Kiko Seike, Yui Hasegawa  and Jun Endo.

Seiki fired Japan ahead in the 26th minute against Canada, slotting in after  a cross from Rikako Kobayashi.

Hasegawa converted a penalty after Kadeisha Buchanan’s clumsy tackle on Endo, and Endo capped the scoring with a left-footed blast in the 77th minute.

Brazil were third and Canada  were fourth. (AFP)