U.S. Women Win World Cup
July 10, 2019
On Sunday, July 7, at the Stade de Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France, the United States Women’s National Team defeated the Netherlands 2-0 to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer championship. It was the fourth world title for the U.S. women, who first won the tournament in 1991, the year it was first held. For the Netherlands, it was the team’s first trip to the World Cup final. FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football). Soccer is called football or association football in much of the world. FIFA is soccer’s world governing body. Held every four years, the Women’s World Cup is the world’s most important and prestigious women’s soccer tournament.
Members of the United States Women’s National Team celebrate winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 7, 2019, at the Stade de Lyon in France. Credit: © Philippe Desmazes, AFP/Getty Images
The United States, the defending champions, entered the 2019 World Cup as heavy favorites. The team thumped Thailand to open the group stage, 13-0—the largest winning margin in World Cup history (men or women). They then took down Chile, Sweden, and Spain on their way to the quarterfinals, where the U.S. women eliminated host France, 2-1. A tough 2-1 semifinal victory over England sent the Americans to the title match against the Netherlands. The Dutch women, playing in the team’s second World Cup, also rolled through the tournament undefeated. The Oranje (Orange) allowed just three total goals in their wins over New Zealand, Cameroon, Canada, Japan, Italy, and Sweden before reaching La Grande Finale in suburban Lyon.
Before 57,900 fans crammed into the Stade de Lyon, the Dutch did what no other team had yet accomplished: they held the vaunted U.S. offense scoreless in the first half (45 minutes of play). A penalty in the 58th minute, however, gave U.S. star Megan Rapinoe the opportunity to break a 0-0 tie. Sporting a pinkish-purple mop of normally blonde hair, the veteran midfielder calmly stuck home a penalty kick to give the Americans a 1-0 advantage at the 61-minute mark. Eight minutes later, U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle drilled a left-footed strike into the net for what turned out to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead. Emotions built on the U.S. sideline as the clock steadily counted toward 90, and after the final whistle blew, the U.S. women rushed the field for a joyous celebration.
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was played in nine stadiums in various French cities. The 24 entrants included 4 teams making their Women’s World Cup debuts: Chile, Jamaica, Scotland, and South Africa. The opening group stage of the World Cup divided the entrants into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group advanced after playing the other three teams in their group, as did the four best third-place teams. The round of 16 then trimmed the field to 8, and the quarterfinals reduced the tournament to a final 4. The United States downed England in the semifinals, and the Netherlands beat Sweden. The day before the United States took the final, Sweden beat England 2-1 in the anticlimactic battle for third place. All four semifinalists received automatic bids to the women’s soccer tournament at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan.
U.S. manager Jill Ellis, who also led the 2015 championship squad, became the first head coach to win two Women’s World Cup titles. The U.S. team set a record by scoring 26 goals during the tournament. Rapinoe earned the Golden Boot Award as the leading goal scorer (6), and she was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Sari van Veenendaal of the Netherlands earned the Golden Glove Award as the World Cup’s top goalkeeper. The U.S. Women’s National Team returned home to cheers and numerous honors, including a ticker tape parade down a section of Broadway in New York City known as the “Canyon of Heroes.”
Sunday, July 7, was a busy soccer day elsewhere in the world, too. Shortly after the end of the Women’s World Cup, the Brazilian national men’s team defeated Peru 3-1 to win the Copa América, the championship of South American soccer, at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. That night, at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Mexican national men’s team beat the United States 1-0 to win the Gold Cup, the championship of Caribbean, Central American, and North American soccer.
