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Anyone who still believes the world is catching up to the U. S. Women’s National Team is living in the past.
The world had been catching up to the U. S. for a decade as countries invested in their women’s systems and national leagues. The 2023 World Cup, in which Spain triumphed for the first time and the USWNT suffered its worst result in history, a tangible confirmation that the aggregate had already been lifted.
But it was the USWNT’s infrequent February loss to Mexico that brought things to light. The international game has not only become more complicated at the highest levels: even in a Concacaf tournament, perceived beyond as a superficial step towards genuine competition, the USWNT can no longer wait for a piece of cake.
“There are no simple games anymore,” U. S. interim coach Twila Kilgore said in February after the loss to Mexico, only the USWNT’s second loss in 43 meetings between the teams. “And if we don’t take care of the business and execute that’s to be expected, and we’re going to take responsibility for it. “
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When the U. S. takes on Japan on Saturday in an abbreviated edition of the SheBelieves Cup, victory will be on the table. But, more than at any time in the history of the USWNT, so too will the defeat. Uncertainty is the new generality of the U. S. Women’s National Team. , which won the first Women’s World Cup in 1991 and 4 of the nine in its history. The Americans are now playing in a World Cup where the group of the most sensible groups has been expanded and, in particular, the number of formidable opponents capable of winning by knockout round. Gaming has grown exponentially.
The U. S. ‘s elimination from a primary tournament via old foes Sweden, as was the case in last summer’s round of 16, is no surprise in a vacuum. To occupy the position of goalkeeper at the organizational level against the debutant in the World Cup Portugal?It’s positive evidence of the new landscape for those who hadn’t been paying attention.
Now the question is how the U. S. adapts and responds – or, perhaps, how it coes. Future head coach Emma Hayes will look to cater to those with X and O in the coming years. There will be excellent victories and frustrating defeats, but one thing they want to replace in this new world is the assumption that the United States will win it all. Such expectations are disconnected from reality.
Admitting this is awkward for anyone who plays an elite sport, where the very precept of the festival is confidence that one can and won. From an early age, American players know that the criterion is not only to win, but also to dominate. It wasn’t unusual in recent years for American players and coaches to face a series of tongue-in-cheek questions after a win: Sure, you won, but it was only 3-0. What did you fight for?
With just over 3 months to go until the 2024 Olympics, the USWNT is a contender, but not the favorite. Getting out of Group B, which includes Australia, Germany and Morocco or Zambia, will be a tricky task, the progress of 8 of the 12-group combination is really helpful. If the Americans fail to win, it will be the first World Cup and Olympics cycle in which they fail to win one of those tournaments.
“We’ve made people one of the most productive groups for a long time,” current U. S. captain Lindsey Horan told ESPN ahead of the 2023 World Cup. “Now everyone is saying that everyone will catch up with us. We need the rest of the world to be in this place, so it’s like the men’s World Cup where everyone can win, and all the most productive players, all the most productive groups have the most productive resources and everyone is struggling. for the same reason. “
The media is partly to blame for the brutal adaptation to this new global order. The Americans’ historical dominance (racking up three consecutive Olympic gold medals between 2004 and 2012) validated the concept that American triumph was inevitable, that intangibles such as mentality and hard paint set the team apart from its competitors.
Fans and media alike expected the USWNT to pass behind groups perceived as inferior (though they were pleased with that, as evidenced by the 2019 uproar after the USWNT beat Thailand 13-0) and then strategically outmaneuver the few warring parties deemed worthy. deviated in confidence.
Back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2015 and 2019 have only added to those unrealistic expectations. Away from the spotlight, however, new contenders emerged with talented players, attracting more capable coaches and pouring cash into women’s football, realising how there is possibly a lot more luck in primary tournaments than in men’s football.
Spain’s victory at the 2023 World Cup, for example, caps a decade of progression at youth level. The Spanish U19 team has won 4 of the last five European Championships after 3 consecutive years as runners-up. The under-17s have won the last two World Championships in this age category, in 2018 and 2022, and the U-20s won the 2022 World Cup after finishing second in the last edition.
The USWNT, on the other hand, last won a U-20 World Cup in 2012 and never won a U-17 World Cup. The history of the U-17 team is marked by eliminations and mistakes at the organizational level. to qualify.
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The effects of the Junior World Cup make it perfectly possible to hope for long-term good luck at the senior level (the United States has prevailed at recent Senior World Cups), however, the dichotomy of progression is striking between the reigning world champions and the United States.
Morocco, the United States’ possible opponent at the Olympics, is the best example of how fortunes temporarily change. The country only started making big investments in women’s football in recent years, but postponed its World Cup in 2023 and exited. The organization along with their wonderful compatriots Colombia at the expense of South Korea and world heavyweight Germany. Morocco ranked 83rd in the world after the last World Cup and had missed nine consecutive Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Jamaica, despite the mismanagement of its federation, kept 3 blank pages in the organization stage, adding one by getting rid of Brazil.
Last month, the Americans bounced back from that loss to Mexico by winning 3 qualifying matches, including the Gold Cup final against Brazil. It’s a strong reaction from an American team that reshuffles its roster while awkwardly waiting for its new coach, Hayes, to come to the sidelines. The impressive victories over Colombia, Canada (via penalty kicks) and Brazil were a quick reminder that yes, the U. S. can still win those games and lift trophies, but that’s no longer inevitable.
There are no longer simple games, which are the kind of competitive landscape that everyone, including American gamers, has long desired. Whether the U. S. wins fewer trophies or faces more adversity on the way to victory is an outcome that will require sensitive sensitivity. point of self-acceptance.