What an era we live in. We get to witness arguably one of, if not the most dominant national teams the U.S. has to offer. Yes, I’m talking more dominant than U.S.A. men’s basketball, and I’ll justify that. The USWNT has four world cup wins in eight appearances. While the U.S. men’s basketball team essentially has a monopoly on the Olympics, they only have five gold medals in seventeen FIBA appearances. While that’s not a terrible ratio, there are historically few countries where basketball is a priority, and women’s soccer has skyrocketed in popularity and competition since the inaugural 1991 Women’s World Cup.
The only thing that separates the USWNT from the rest of the world is depth. They could lose their entire starting eleven to injury *knock on wood*, and the reserves would still prove to be a force to be reckoned with against the rest of the world. That’s where the U.S. wins. If France had more depth, if England had a better backup goalkeeper, if Spain had more veterans to supplement their young talent… this is an entirely different tournament. The United States was able to thrive on their ability to sub in and out their top forwards and midfielders, and perhaps more importantly, see their first full serious international tournament without Hope Solo in net. Alyssa Naeher showed the entire world that the U.S. is still a deadly team without their record setting goalkeeper, and that, to me, has cemented at least another four years of U.S. dominance over women’s soccer.
Megan Rapinoe was nothing short of perfect in terms of the role that she needed to play as a captain and a veteran. There were questions surrounding 36 year-old Carli Lloyd, and whether or not she would be able to produce, let alone come close to the ability she possessed in the 2015 tournament. That’s where Rapinoe took charge, starting every game except one where she was out with a hamstring issue, and winning the golden boot. There are many people who take issue with that saying that her penalty kick goals pad those stats, but I am not one of them. I don’t care if all of her goals were PK’s. A penalty kick is easy until you have to take one yourself.
What do I expect to see in the next Women’s World Cup four years from now? I do still expect a deep run from the U.S., I do expect at the very least a semifinal appearance, but the rest of the world is certainly catching up, and catching up quickly. Jill Ellis got by on depth, but be aware that it is not a large gap between the USWNT and the rest of the world anymore.
In the meantime, party like it’s 1991.

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