Arsenal lifted the inaugural edition of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup on Sunday thanks to Caitlin Foord’s game-winner over Corinthians, who took the Gunners to extra time in a dramatic finale.
The Gunners opened the scoring in the 15th minute, the goal a natural reward after a handful of players disrupted Corinthians’ momentum in front of goal. Alessia Russo attempted to play a pass towards Stina Blackstenius but instead sent it straight towards an opponent, whose touch was too heavy. The ball got away from her and Blackstenius claimed it instead, making a diagonal run into the box from the right flank and taking a shot on goal. Goalkeeper Lele made the save but put the ball straight back into play, allowing Olivia Smith to finish things off after making a well-timed run.
Six minutes later, though, Corinthians had their equalizer on a set piece. Andress Alves curled the ball into the box from the corner spot, with Gabi Zanotti getting a head on the ball. Arsenal goalkeeper Anneke Borbe threw the ball out of the goal quickly but goal line technology confirmed that the ball had crossed the line, ensuring that Zanotti had her second goal of the tournament after scoring in Corinthians’ 1-0 win over Gotham FC in the semifinals.
Lotte Wubben-Moy restored Arsenal’s lead in the 59th minute, the Gunners’ persistence paying off. The play started with Katie McCabe whipping the ball into the box hoping to meet a teammate, though Corinthians slowly clear the ball away from goal. Frida Maanum, though, capitalizes on a loose ball on the edge of the box and sends it to Emily Fox on her right. The U.S. international wastes no time putting a cross into the penalty area and Wubben-Moy rises to the occasion, getting a head on the ball and ensuring the Gunners had a 2-1 advantage.
Arsenal were moments away from the title when McCabe was called for a foul on Gisela Robledo in the box, the referee eventually awarding Corinthians a penalty after a lengthy VAR review and a trip to the monitor. Victoria converted the spot-kick with ease in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, ensuring her side would force the game to go to extra time despite only mustering a handful of opportunities in the second half.
The Gunners went back in front in the 104th minute, capitalizing on a loose ball in their own half. Maanum got ahold of the ball and went off to the races, two teammates in front of her to choose from as Arsenal searched for their game-winner. Maanum eventually chose Caitlin Foord, who was the Arsenal player who was furthest ahead, who then dashed closer to goal and made her way inside the penalty area before sliding the ball into the back of the net from an angle.
Arsenal, though, did not come out of the match unscathed. Borbe came off in the final moments of the match as a concussion substitute, with Daphne van Domselaar coming on in her place to close out the match.
It marks the first trophy of the season for Arsenal, for whom the Women’s Champions Cup is a follow-up to their UEFA Champions League title last May.
Gotham take home third place
Earlier on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium, Gotham FC beat Morocco’s AS FAR 4-0 in the third-place match. Khyah Harper connected with 2025 NWSL rookie of the year Lily Reale to score the game’s opening goal in 27th minute, while Savannah McCaskill, Jaedyn Shaw and Midge Purce also got on the scoresheet by the 48th minute.
Sunday’s match offered a chance at redemption for Gotham, who outshot Corinthians 20 to nine and posted 1.22 expected goals to Corinthians’ 0.69 but failed to score in the process. They put several chances away against AS FAR, something Shaw admitted was a final piece they were missing in an otherwise promising performance against Corinthians on Wednesday.
“I think it’s ultimately looking at the game as a whole,” Shaw said. “Obviously, the result build-outwasn’t what we wanted but I think also zooming out a little bit and being like, well, okay, this is our preseason and I know that we didn’t get the result that we wanted, we played well and we found really good spaces. We were combining, our build out was really good. I think it’s just knowing it was that last piece that we needed to clean up on and as an attacker, as a forward, that’s on us and to continue to improve those moments so I think for us, just not being too hard on ourselves knowing that was ultimately a good overall performance for us but getting that last bit to get a result is also so important for us to focus on.”
The win over AS FAR marks the end of Gotham’s stint in Europe for preseason, which began earlier than usual to prepare for the first-of-its-kind FIFA competition and kicked off with a lengthy training camp in Spain. They now enter the next stage of their preseason, which includes a long wait for their opening match of the NWSL season on March 14 at Boston Legacy.
Add Comment