The United States Women’s National Soccer Team holds four World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019), four Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012), and Nine CONCACAF Gold Cups. They have medaled in every Women’s World Cup and Olympic tournament in women’s soccer except for the 2016 Olympic tournament and 2023 Women’s World Cup; on both occasions, Sweden eliminated them after a penalty shootout. Sweden does not have a World Cup Title.
In 2023, the US team was projected to win and favored by most watchers. The Arizona Republic stated in an article, “The United States is a big favorite to win the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in odds for the soccer tournament in Australia and New Zealand.”
The team did well in the group stage. They were placed in Group E with the Netherlands, Portugal, and Vietnam. The US team came in second and advanced to the knockout stage. Their first game was against was against Sweden on the 6th of August. The game was evenly matched and they were tied 0-0 at full-time.
If a game is tied after 90 minutes of play, there will be a five-minute break and then the match will go into overtime where an extra 30 minutes will be given. The time will be divided into two 15-minute periods.
If the score is still tied after extra time is given, the two teams will go into a penalty kick shootout to determine the winner. If there is still a tie at the end of the shootout, teams will be given additional rounds of one kick each until the tie is broken. Teams must pick the five best players to take the first five kicks.
The United States and Sweden went to penalty kicks. After the first five kicks, the score was 5-4 (Sweden with 5 and The United States with 4.) Meaning that Sweden went on to finish 3rd overall, while The United States was eliminated in the first round of the knock-out stage.
This was a disappointing loss for the team and their fans as it was the worst they have ever finished. It was especially disappointing when videos were posted showing Megan Rapinoe, the only player on the US Team to miss her penalty kick, smiling and laughing after she missed. Rapinoe stated before the World Cup started that 2023 would be the last year that she plays in a major tournament for the United States. After her performance and attitude during these games, many people are glad she was retiring.
The team has since had a couple of international-friendly games and they have been doing good. While they have still lost some games against Germany and a few other countries. However, their wins outweigh their losses and they are doing very well.
