Catarina Macario scored her first national team goal in nearly three years as the USA beat Colombia 2-0 in their opening game of the SheBelieves Cup on Thursday.
Macario’s highly promising progress was halted by an ACL injury in June 2022 and she has suffered a number of setbacks in her return to action.
Although she played four games for Emma Hayes’ team last year, the Chelsea forward had not scored for the USWNT since April 2022.
The goal came in the 33rd minute and it was created by the talented 17-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes, who floated a lovely pass over the top to Yazmeen Ryan, who fired across the face of the goal for Macario to slide home.
The USA had gone close earlier when a Macario corner reached Jenna Nighswonger at the back post and her volley crashed out off the bar.
Hayes was forced, by injuries, to pick a squad missing many of her first choices and Olympic gold medal winners and opted to give several of the next generation their chance for Thursday’s game in Houston.
But despite the absence of the ‘Triple Espresso’ frontline – Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Wilson (previously Smith) – the USA looked dangerous.
Yohannes, who plays in the Netherlands for Ajax, was the stand-out with the teenager’s elegance and poise on the ball matched only by her impressive passing range.
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Publish date : 2025-02-20 15:38:00
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