If the U.S. Women’s Team Loses the World Cup …
Going into this year’s World Cup tournament, the U.S. Women’s National Team was looking to secure a three-peat—that is, win their third World Cup in a row. Now they are struggling. On Tuesday, they eked out a tie against ninth-ranked Portugal in a generally sloppy showing, and on Sunday they face a challenging game against third-ranked Sweden. For fans, this is heartbreaking. In the past two decades, the team has turned out talented players, scored a victory in the fight for equal pay, and showcased a viable model for girls to become successful athletes. It would be miserly to root against them, and yet it might be time.
While the U.S. has been shoring up its women’s soccer league, teams around the world have been taking note. The U.K. franchises have started investing in their women’s teams, although to some they may be seen as second-class to the men;s teams. Women’s teams across the globe are tasting fandom and legitimacy, and to build on that momentum, maybe the world is ready for a surprise winner. There is no drama in dominance. For women’s soccer to truly become a global sensation, the U.S. needs worthy rivals.
In this episode we pose that theory, as awkward as it is, to Tobin Heath and Christen Press, who host a YouTube series called The RE-CAP Show. They’ve both played for pro teams abroad and for the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League. And they were on both of the most recent World Cup–winning teams. No surprise, they disagree with this premise.
“No, no, no. I see what you were trying to do there,” Heath says. “But, no, absolutely not. I still think the U.S. Women’s National Team are torchbearers for not just the fight to increase investment in women’s football, but for all of pay equity, globally. I think the U.S. Women’s National Team being successful is the No. 1 driver in our sport globally.”
Listen to the conversation here:
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The following is a transcript of the interview:
Hanna Rosin: Christen, one dynamic that I’ve been watching is: at some point earlier, most of the players on the U.S. Women’s National Team came from a small pool of college teams. Now so many more of them come from professional women’s teams. I wonder how that changes the dynamic.
Yeah, that’s really interesting. I think that we’re in a landscape that’s changing quite quickly. I remember when the first group of players decided to leave college early, or not go to college, our generation of player was shocked and horrified by that. Because we didn’t have that faith in the stability of the
