USA vs Canada live score, updates, stats as Adrianna Leon puts CanWNT up on USWNT in SheBelieves Cup final

By | April 9, 2024
0 Comment

The United States women will meet Canada for the second time in a month as the two sides clash in the first-ever SheBelieves Cup final on Tuesday in Columbus.

These two teams played a thrilling 2-2 draw on a rain-soaked San Diego pitch in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup final, with the U.S. winning the match on penalties to lift the trophy in its inaugural iteration. Amidst horrific field conditions, Alyssa Naeher was the hero in that shootout, despite conceding a penalty deep into extra-time, as she saved three Canada spot-kicks and scored the clinching one herself.

Now, in the first edition of the reorganized SheBelieves Cup, which features a final for the first time in its nine-year history, they meet once again. The U.S. put forth a quality performance in a 2-1 victory over Japan in the semifinals, shaking off conceding the opener 30 seconds into the match to advance, while Canada needed penalties to skate past Brazil after Vanessa Gilles scored a 77th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw.


The Sporting News is following the USA vs Canada match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

USA vs Canada live score

  Score (45′) Goal scorers
USA 0 –
Canada 1 Leon (40′)

Kickoff: 7:07 p.m. ET / 4:07 p.m. PT
Location: Lower.com Field (Columbus, OH)
Referee: Crystal Sobers (TRI)

Starting lineups:

USA (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Naeher (GK) — 23. Fox, 2. Dahlkemper, 12. Davidson, 19. Dunn — 14. Sonnett, 10. Horan, 17. Coffey — 8. Shaw, 13. Morgan, 11. Smith.

Canada (3-4-3, right to left): 1. Sheridan (GK) — 6. J. Rose, 14. Gilles, 16. Buchanan — 10. Lawrence, 13. Awujo, 17. Fleming, 16. Beckie — 19. Leon, 9. Huitema (Lacasse, 45′), 12. D. Rose.

USA vs Canada live updates, highlights, commentary

USA vs Canada: First Half

44th min: Chance, USA! Jaedyn Shaw blazes a big chance over the crossbar as the USWNT is pushing for a response before halftime!

Five minutes of stoppage time are shown, and shortly after Jordyn Huitema takes a knee down on the pitch again. It appears she will not be able to continue, looking in real pain and needing a bit of help walking off the field of play. Cloe Lacasse will be her replacement.

42nd min: Chance, USA! Alex Morgan appeals heavily for a hand-ball as her shot is deflected wide off a Canadian defender, but to no avail. That’s a big block from Jade Rose! The ensuing corner from Sam Coffey is too tight to the goal and collected by Kailen Sheridan.

40th min: GOAL! CANADA! Alyssa Naeher is caught in no-man’s land and is punished, as Canada scores the opening goal shortly before halftime! The U.S. goalkeeper comes flying out all the way to the top-corner of her penalty area and collides hard with Ashley Lawrence, and doesn’t stop the ball, leaving the goal wide open.

The ball bobbles right to the feet of Adrianna Leon, who finishes into the open net with two defenders not nearly enough to keep out the shot in place of the felled goalkeeper.

38th min: Crystal Dunn gets in a tangle with Jade Rose, and is slow to get up after no foul is called. Looks like she got her hand steps on, which is painful. Moments later, Jordyn Huitema is down and needs treatment, and the TV broadcast catches her mouth “it’s my back.” That could be a problem for Canada, as she’s a very important player at the head of the attack.

She stays on for now, but looks to be struggling. It will be something to watch as this game moves into and then beyond halftime.

32nd min: Canada have a half-chance on goal as a chipped ball from Jessie Fleming lands right at the feet of Deanna Rose, but her first-time whack is blocked by a defender. That could have been dangerous had it snuck through the trees.

29th min: Chance, USA! Jaedyn Shaw nearly makes it six goals in six starts, but Kailen Sheridan produces an excellent save! The build-up begins with a pinpoint long-ball off the foot of Sam Coffey, headed on by Alex Morgan right into the path of Shaw. The youngster takes an outrageous first touch to leave her defender in the dust, completely free on goal, but Sheridan saw it coming and smothered the shot. So close to a stunning goal, but great goalkeeping keeps the game scoreless in San Diego Wave on San Diego Wave crime.

23rd min: Jessie Fleming is booked for handling the ball after going down amidst a challenge with Jaedyn Shaw. The U.S. youngster did exceptionally well to get in position to shield the ball, and as Fleming went down she grabbed the ball, which draws the game’s first yellow.

20th min: Now Ashley Lawrence is down after a very awkward and scary fall while colliding with Lindsey Horan defending a corner. She’s able to continue which is a good sign, because that was scary.

15th min: Jaedyn Shaw wins a free-kick with her back to goal, and Sam Coffey’s delivery is dangerous but cleared with no blue jersey on the end of it. Lindsey Horan goes over after contact near the top corner of the penalty area while chasing the loose ball, but no penalty is called and she doesn’t appeal to the referee at all.

A few moments later Horan takes another pummeling in midfield and needs some treatment on what looks to be her ribs. She’s down for a while in a lot of pain, which is a concern, but eventually she’s up and ready to continue.

11th min: Canada have the first corner of the match as Adrianna Leon overlaps and wins the set-piece as Emily Fox blocks her cross. It’s taken short, but eventually floated to the far post where Vanessa Gilles heads it well wide of goal.

8th min: The U.S. have the first attacking move forward into the opposition penalty area, and while they’re able to recycle Crystal Dunn’s overcooked cross, it eventually peters out as another entry feed pings off the shins of Lindsey Horan and out of play for a goal kick. The USWNT are starting to cook a bit and have pinned Canada back a bit.

3rd min: At this point on Saturday, the USWNT were reeling from having conceded the opening goal 30 seconds in to the match. Today, it’s been a cagey start as both sides poke and prod at the other on the ball, with very little attacking intent through the opening stages. Plenty of physicality, though, as you might expect between these two top-ten sides.

Kickoff: They’re under way at Lower.com Field in Columbus! Thanks to the reorganization of this tournament to better accommodate the new FIFA international calendar, this is the first-ever SheBelieves Cup final!

It’s also the final match for Twila Kilgore as interim head coach of the United States, as incoming boss Emma Hayes will take charge for the friendly against South Korea on June 1 prior to the Olympics.

USA vs Canada stats

USA Stat (45′) Canada
3 Shots 5
1 Shots on target 2
62.4% Possession 37.6%
2 Corners 2
3 Fouls 6
0 Yellow cards 1

USA vs Canada prematch updates, commentary

15 mins to kickoff: The U.S. is looking to protect its sparkling record against Canada, having won 53 of their 65 all-time meetings, with just four defeats. Nearing kickoff of this rivalry match in Columbus! Officially, this game is a “friendly” as far as FIFA is concerned, but it feels anything but as there’s a trophy on the line.

30 mins to kickoff: How about the performance from Brazil goalkeeper Lorena in the third-place match, which just wrapped up in Columbus prior to kickoff of the final between the U.S. and Canada. She saves a penalty in regulation as part of a 1-1 draw, and then saves all three penalties faced in the shootout as Brazil emerges with the victory!

45 mins to kickoff: For Canada, they line up in their usual 3-4-3, with the only wrinkle being that Cloe Lacasse drops out for Deanne Rose, who came off the bench and was effective against Brazil on Saturday.

The two supporting forwards in Rose and Adrianna Leon will cut inside and play just behind the central striker in Jordyn Huitema. That leaves wing-backs Janine Beckie and Ashley Lawrence to provide the width. 20-year-old Simi Awujo starts in midfield, with Julia Grosso still unable to crack the XI.

1 hour to kickoff: The starting lineups are in. After experimenting with a 4-2-3-1 to good effect against Japan, Twila Kilgore has gone back to the more familiar 4-3-3, withdrawing a forward in Trinity Rodman while installing an extra midfielder in Emily Sonnett.

Jaedyn Shaw keeps her place up front, moving from the No. 10 role to the wing, while Sophia Smith comes in for Mallory Swanson. Expect both Swanson and Catarina Macario to come off the bench and provide a spark in the second half, as the former was exceptional against Japan on her return.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: The last time two times these teams matched up a month ago, the rain was the story as the pitch in San Diego couldn’t handle the precipitation. Looking forward to a match under more traditional conditions…could there be more weather? The forecast doesn’t appear to be too troublesome, but reports on the ground raise some questions…

1 hour 30 mins to kick: After debuting its special star-studded numbers on the white kits in the semifinal against Japan, the U.S. will now use the special lettering on the blue kits in the final in Columbus tonight.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: The emergence of Jaedyn Shaw, who became the first-ever U.S. player to score in each of her first five international starts, has given the USWNT an even deeper forward unit. Twila Kilgore addressed how Shaw can find the net so consistently despite not producing a high volume of chances.

“What makes her such a good goal scorer is her focus and calmness. She’s looking to beat the goalkeeper, not the defender in front of her, that’s almost a given at this point.” High praise, indeed!

2 hours to kickoff: While getting a win was the most important part of Thursday’s game against Japan, the return of Mal Swanson and Cat Macario from long-term injuries was a massive jolt for the U.S. Swanson was exceptional in her 80 minutes of play, creating chance after chance for herself and teammates, while Macario saw the final 10 minutes after one day shy of two years away from national team duty.

Having both back is an invaluable boost for the United States, as both were in exceptional form when they went down with their injuries, and their losses proved pivotal at last summer’s Women’s World Cup.

USA vs Canada lineups, team news

How many minutes Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario can play in this match is unclear, and there is reason to believe neither will be deployed from the start, even though Swanson was electric in the semifinal against Japan.

Having just completed 80 minutes in that game three days ago, Twila Kilgore has decided that Swanson will play a substitute role against Canada while recovering full fitness after injury, while Macario has been brought along very slowly by both club and country. Sophia Smith has earned a start here in her place with electric play off the bench in the semifinal.

Sam Coffey has cleared concussion protocol and starts, but Naomi Girma picked up a thigh injury in the semifinal and is “day-to-day” which leaves her to begin on the bench, and her availability to participate at all is up in the air.

USA starting lineup (4-3-3): Naeher (GK) — Fox, Dahlkemper, Davidson, Dunn — Sonnett, Horan, Coffey — Shaw, Morgan, Smith.

USA subs (12): Murphy (GK), Campbell (GK), Nighswonger, Girma, Gaetino, Krueger, Yohannes, Albert, Moultrie, Rodman, Swanson, Macario.

Canada head coach Bev Priestman deployed a whopping five forwards against Brazil in the semifinal, but she reverts back to a more traditional lineup against a very dangerous U.S. side here in the final. Priestman decides that Cloe Lacasse is the odd player out up front, while adding a midfielder in Simi Awujo who is chosen over Julia Grosso to fill the void.

They are missing veteran midfielder Quinn who dropped out of the squad after sustaining a concussion on club duty with the Seattle Reign, as did midfielder Olivia Smith who has a slight injury to her knee and was unable to participate. Longtime veterans Sophie Schmidt and Christine Sinclair retired after last summer’s World Cup and are no longer available for selection.

Canada starting lineup (3-4-3): Sheridan (GK) — J. Rose, Gilles, Buchanan — Lawrence, Awujo, Fleming, Beckie — Leon, Huitema, D. Rose.

Canada subs (12): D’Angelo (GK), Karpenko (GK), Zadorsky, Regan, Carle, St-Georges, Grosso, Scott, Alidou, Larisey, Viens, Lacasse. 

How to watch USA vs Canada

  TV Channel Streaming
USA TBS (English), Universo (Spanish) Sling, Max, Fubo, Peacock
Canada OneSoccer Fubo Canada


The SheBelieves Cup final will be televised in English on TBS in the United States, as part of U.S. Soccer’s 10-year rights deal with Turner Sports. TBS is available to stream on Sling as well as Turner’s dedicated streaming platform Max.

There is also a Spanish-language broadcast available on Universo, which can be streamed on Fubo as well as NBC’s platform Peacock.

In Canada, the official broadcast partner of the Canadian national team is OneSoccer, who will televise the SheBelieves Cup final. That channel can be found streaming on Fubo Canada.

Source