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Just in the nick of time, Hope Solo's return to the USWNT was just what the doctor order as the Americans took the Algarve Cup, beating France 2-0 in the final.
After struggling to a 0-0 tie with Iceland earlier in the tournament, the US took charge early against France with goals from Julie Johnston and Christen Press and then had to hold on for dear life when France made a late charge at the end of the game.
But the big story was the return of Solo and how her spectacular stop of a penalty kick at the end of this game preserved the win for the US as they won their tenth Algarve Cup.
The reaction by the Solo's teammates is all you need to know about how much they missed and needed their leader.
Moving forward for the US what does this all mean? First of all, it avenges the US's earlier loss to France when they were Solo-less a few weeks ago. This also should give them more confidence going into the World Cup.
France is also one of the top teams going into the World Cup too, and for the U.S. to defeat them without getting points from Alex Morgan or Abby Wambach makes the US even more dangerous because they have depth.
This tournament also allowed Solo to get any rust out of the way she may have gained while she was benched for 30 days.
But it seems that the US may be back on track which is a scarey thought for their upcoming opponents in the World Cup.
