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BSP-01
FBL-WOMEN-USA-SHEBELIEVES
England hold US to draw in SheBelieves, Japan beat Brazil
LOS ANGELES, March 3, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – England handed World Champions the
United States their second 2-2 draw of the four-nation SheBelieves Cup
friendly tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday.
Manchester City duo Steph Houghton and Nikita Parris scored superb goals
as the Lionesses rallied in the wake of Megan Rapinoe’s sensational opener
for the United States.
Tobin Heath grabbed the equalizer for the Americans in the 67th minute,
poking the ball over in a wild goal-mouth scramble.
The Americans were coming off a 2-2 draw with Japan in their tournament
opener.
Rapinoe gave them the lead against England in the 33rd minute with a
brilliant volley.
Just minutes later a miscommunication between US goalkeeper Adrianna
Franch and her back line saw England awarded a free kick.
Houghton struck it well to knot the score at 1-1 in the 36th minute.
England seized the lead in the 52nd minute after Fran Kirby’s pass found
Parris, who finished at the far post.
The round-robin tournament will now come down to Tuesday’s final matches.
Japan top the table on goal difference and take on England while the
United States must beat Brazil and hope the two teams above them draw to have
any chance to retain their title.
It’s not where the mighty Americans would prefer to be in the warm-up
event for this year’s World Cup in France, and Rapinoe said they have to put
a stop to “too many technical errors, too many tactical lapses”.
“Obviously there are a lot of things we need to fix — the goals-against,”
she said. “There’s some great lessons in here for us, but we have to learn
them. We cannot keep making the same mistakes over and over again.”
Coach Jill Ellis — who gave Franch her international debut in goal with
Alyssa Naeher out with a “minor shoulder injury” — said she liked what she
saw from her team in the closing stages.
Now she wants to see her players “start the game with the same intensity
and enthusiasm (that) we finished that game”.
In the first game of the day’s double-header, Japan scored twice in the
last 10 minutes in a 3-1 victory over Brazil.
Rikako Kobayashi’s 81st-minute header put Japan up 2-1 and Yui Hasegawa
extended the lead in the 85th.
Yuka Momiki opened the scoring in the 44th, chipping a shot over Aline for
her second goal of the tournament, with Debinha grabbing the equalizer in the
57th.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0840 hrs