USA, Canada book Olympic women’s football berths

LOS ANGELES, California: The United States will try to follow their women’s World Cup triumph with Olympic gold after punching their ticket to the Tokyo Games on Friday with a 4-0 victory over Mexico.

Samantha Mewis scored twice and Rose Lavelle and Christen Press added a goal apiece as the United States secured one of two Olympic berths on offer in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF regional qualifier at Dignity Sports Park in Carson, California.

They’ll face Canada in Sunday’s tournament final, but the main objective has been achieved by both teams, with Canada securing their Tokyo berth with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in the first semi-final on Friday.

The United States were heavy favorites against Mexico — who were trying to get back to the Olympics for the first time since 2004. But in Tokyo, the Americans will attempt to become the first nation to follow a World Cup triumph with an Olympic title. Past US World Cup winning teams faltered in 2000 and 2016.