Wet conditions were the main talking point during the US women's soccer team's shootout victory more Canada In the W Gold Cup semifinals on Wednesday.
the Game It was played on a severely waterlogged field at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego after heavy rain during construction, with huge sections of standing water affecting the ball's path and playersAbility to run at a fast pace with it at their feet.
after Snowy conditions for Real Salt Lake and LAFC Played over the weekend, San Diego's wet field was once again a point of controversy.
Difficult circumstances were highlighted in 11y On the minute when American striker Trinity Rodman raced through on goal and was outdone by only the keeper, but the ball stopped in the water and stopped any scoring chance.
Just minutes later, the USA was the beneficiary of the circumstances, when Canadian defender Vanessa Gill's pass to goalkeeper Kailyn Sheridan stopped dramatically in the puddle, giving Jayden Shaw the lead for the USA.
Throughout the match, the players constantly struggled to cope with the conditions, with the ball bouncing around in the water making it almost impossible to maintain any sense of flow in the game.
Former American midfielder Julie Foudy strongly criticized the decision to hold the match on social media, describing it as “…crazy“.
“Why doesn't CONCACAF call this match? Play it (tomorrow). Someone is going to get hurt,” the two-time World Cup winner He said on X – formerly known as Twitter – too Use Hashtag “water park game”.
After the game, Canada coach Bev Priestman echoed Foudy's thoughts.
“The game was clearly not playable,” Priestman said. Per ESPN. “We put a lot of work into the game plan, and within a minute, it was thrown away.”
Priestman added: “I'm not going to make excuses about whether it was fair or not. We played the game in front of us and both teams had to play according to the circumstances and whoever could adapt more was able to adapt.”
CNN has reached out to CONCACAF — the governing body for soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean — for comment.
There was no shortage of excitement in the match, as the two teams tied 2-2 after extra time, before the United States won 3-1 on penalties.
Shaw opened the scoring, taking advantage of the watery conditions to score into the net. become The first American player to ever score in each of her first four appearances. Jordin Huitema equalized for Canada eight minutes before the end of normal time, sending the match to overtime.
Sophia Smith gave the United States its second lead of the game in overtime, but Adriana Leon equalized again, this time from the penalty spot, three minutes from time to send the game to penalties.
American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher proved to be a difference-maker, saving three Canadian penalty kicks and scoring a goal of her own to send her team to the W Gold Cup final where they will face Brazilianafter to choose Let's overcome Mexico 3-0 in the semi-final.
The final will take place at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday at 8:15 PM ET.
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