Captain Horan and Coffey lift the USWNT to CONCACAF W Gold Cup title over Brazil

Queens of a CONCACAF competition. We've heard that many times before. To achieve a Sunday night filled with celebration, the USWNT had to battle a bit more than it had been used to. With the entire international football world watching, the Red, White, and Blue pieced together an incredibly professional 90 minutes against a fellow top-10 outfit, Brazil, to seize the first-ever CONCACAF W Gold Cup title.

Just a few weeks ago, a new-look Mexico national team confidently took down the Stars, and Stripes for just the second time in its history. As it has throughout its run of success, the United States responded, getting the best of three teams in FIFA's current top 25 en route to a piece of silverware to aid in marking a new chapter.

Coming off a tough last few months, this team desperately needed last night. Twila Kilgore's crew worked through a rocky start in which the attacking threat of the South American nation was out in full force. You could just feel it, though. Brazil was missing a lot of assurance in the back three without Rafaelle, one of just two players who competed in every minute of the W Gold Cup up to the final. A goal just before the half completely changed the complexity of the game on both sides.

Captain Lindsey Horan did what leaders and big-time players tend to do — net winning goals in finals. What a true team goal it was. Starting with some vital defensive midfield play from Sam Coffey, the USWNT was off to the races against Brazil's back three. The patience of Trinity Rodman and a quality cross off the boot of Emily Fox were rewarded thanks to the strength of Horan in the air.

"It was a difficult game. Brazil challenged us in a different way," Horan explained, per ESPN. "I'm really, really proud of us finding a way to get a goal and finishing out the game and getting a trophy."

Even with more of the possession, Brazil could not create much of anything significant, failing to put a single one of its 11 shots on target. It was just the third time this side has been held scoreless since its elimination from the 2023 World Cup in the group stages. Credit that to individuals like Tierna Davidson who was immense all Gold Cup long, continuing the top form she had post-ACL injury in the NWSL last season.

Even with just 20 caps combined after Sunday, Sam Coffey and Korbin Albert were remarkable in the double pivot, acting as the workhorses in the middle of the park. Don't let that tucked-in shirt fool you, Coffey is a straight-up baller at the No. 6 position. That midfield work few want to do, well she does it better than the majority. The 20-year-old Paris Saint-Germain midfielder had an international coming-out party over the last few weeks, taking the trust Kilgore instilled in her in stride. We all saw that dance between three Brazilians. That'll for sure be on her career highlight reel someday.

Brazil's new sideline leader Arthur Elias gave a whole lot of credit to what his opponent was able to do in the final.

"The American players are very strong physically speaking and I believe that we had a great performance during the game," Elias stated after the game. "We had chances to score goals today. The U.S. had some strengths that we were able to stop, but they were very well prepared as well to play our team today."

The run into the Paris Olympics is going to be incredibly competitive with just 18 spots available. The pool of potential contributors increased quite a bit since the Dominican Republic triumph. Albert, Coffey, and Jenna Nighswonger among other young studs showed that even on a stage this bright, the lights aren't all that bothersome.

Jaedyn Shaw earned the tournament's "Golden Ball", finishing as the leader in goals scored for the USWNT with four. Veteran Alyssa Naeher unsurprisingly took home the "Golden Glove", keeping a clean sheet in her fifth competitive final per Opta, the most in team history. In the pre-game on CBS, ex-professional Jessica McDonald showered Naeher with praise.

"Just seeing her from the youth stage up until now, and just seeing the grind she had gone through...It's been an amazing journey to see what Alyssa Naeher has done...She is just that incredible of a player and leader on and off the field."

Under a lot of criticism and pressure following that group stage finale loss, this team demonstrated a whole lot of character. The W Gold Cup saw the stars of tomorrow begin to blossom while the ones of yesterday had something to prove in the first major tournament since the World Cup.

"I'm just so happy for the team," the USWNT interim leader stated, per ESPN. "This is a team and a program that will always have attention and expectations on it. We always say that pressure is a privilege and it is, but it's another thing to walk the walk."

Sure, the new era under Emma Hayes hasn't officially begun, but it feels like this is the kickstart of something new, something fresh in fact. The USWNT knows the road back to the top isn't going to be smooth. This tournament made that quite clear. The good thing is -- this crew seems to be up for the challenge.

The Red, White, and Blue are back between the lines on April 6 against Japan in the 2024 SheBelieves Cup semifinals.