United States secure SheBelieves Cup with win over Colombia to complete perfect tournament

[p]Chelsea forward [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/thompson-alyssa/QPnYNXdi/"]Thompson[/a] curled a superb strike into the top corner in the 82nd minute [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/colombia-WQkVEUzt/usa-KQv9BO32/?mid=jw3CufDE"]to settle a contest[/a] the US women had dominated at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey.[/p][p]Thompson's long-range effort broke a valiant defensive effort from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/colombia/WQkVEUzt/"]Colombia[/a], who had frustrated the hosts for long periods by dropping deep to keep the Americans at bay.[/p][p]Thompson's opportunistic goal left manager Emma Hayes purring with satisfaction as she builds towards next year's World Cup.[/p][p]"[b]Everyone in world football is quite compact and well coached now, and sometimes you're going to need something from deeper areas when you can't break blocks,[/b]" Hayes said.[/p][p]"[b]It was a wonderful finish from her and one I think we deserved based on the second half.[/b]"[/p][p]The victory ensured Hayes' squad finished the four-team round robin tournament with a maximum nine points from three games after earlier wins over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/plYnaK7E/"]Argentina[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/canada/t6MpFusl/"]Canada[/a].[/p][p]Saturday's win completed a successful campaign for Hayes and her players as they prepare for the World Cup.[/p][embed guid="f650ef4e-47f7-4325-86fc-673bf827687f" url="https://x.com/USWNT/status/2030409053810085941?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Hayes, one of the most successful managers in English football history, took over as US coach in 2024 following the team's early 2023 World Cup exit.[/p][p]She led the US to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics and is now firmly focused on helping the American women regain their global crown at next year's finals in Brazil.[/p][p]Hayes said the US performances in the SheBelieves Cup augur well for the squad's development.[/p][p]"[b]I think we've shown how to win when we're not at our best, I think we've shown versatility, I think we've shown depth and I think we've shown maturity,[/b]" Hayes said.[/p][p]"[b]As a coach, I'm happy about those things... even when we're not at our best, we still have a belief and a trust that we can keep improving and we'll find a way.[/b][/p][p]"[b]I've coached enough teams to know that that is golden, and this team is together, but also enjoying themselves and committed to the process of improving[/b]."[/p]