USWNT 'just getting started' after Gold Cup win over Brazil - ESPN

United States interim coach Twila Kilgore said the women's national soccer team is «just getting started» after winning the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup with a 1-0 decision over Brazil in Sunday's final.

«This is a group that's moving forward together, that still wants more time together. It's time to go back to club [seasons] for them and do those things, but we genuinely enjoy being together and feel like we're just getting started,» Kilgore said after clinching the title at San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium.

«This is a group that's just getting started.»

Played in front of a crowd 31,528 — a record for a Concacaf women's game — the U.S. squad was able to sneak past Brazil thanks to a 46th-minute winner from captain Lindsey Horan.

With the trophy in hand, the Americans have bounced back after an underwhelming round-of-16 finish in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Following last summer's early exit by the four-time World Cup champions, former coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned from his position, thereby leaving Kilgore as interim coach.

«This is a team and a program that will always have attention and expectations on it, and we say that pressure is a privilege,» Kilgore said.

«We've regrouped, we've set new goals, we've set a new style of play. We're working towards something together, and it's a very public process, and that's just not easy. I'm just so proud of them, and I'm just so happy.»

Regarding Sunday's final, she noted the impact of Horan's goal.

«We were pinned in for quite a bit of the first half, and it took us some time to work our way out of that,» Kilgore said. «Then the timing of our goal was really critical, just before half, [it] means we come back with a slightly different strategy in the second half.»

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