The US women’s national team put themselves in a tough position at the Brasilia International Tournament on Sunday, blowing an early two-goal lead to fall 3-2 to Brazil and drop to third place at the tournament.
Marta scored all three goals for Brazil, scoring in the 19th, 55th and 65th minutes to wipe out the US’s early advantage. Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe had given the Americans a great start with goals in the sixth and ninth minutes.
- US SOCCER RECAP: US women fall 3-2 to Brazil
With one point through two games after tying their opener against China, the US now trail second-place China by three points for second place in the four-team tournament, The top two teams from the round-robin stage of the tournament will qualify for the championship match, while the third- and fourth-place sides will play in the consolation match. Both placement games will be played on Dec. 21.
The US still have a shot at qualifying for the championship game against first-place Brazil, who have already clinched their spot in the final. To do so, China must lose to Brazil in their group-stage finale, and the US must beat last-place Argentina and make up the gap in goal difference; China, who beat Argentina 6-0 on Sunday, are currently +6, while the US are -1. Both the US-Argentina game and the Brazil-China contest will be played on Wednesday.
