VANCOUVER — The taut matches and upset scares along the American team’s troublesome path to Sunday’s World Cup championship game illustrate the evolving landscape of women’s soccer and the challenge faced by the United States to remain a dominant force.
Since women’s soccer was first recognized as a competitive international sport some 25 years ago, no country has enjoyed more success than the United States, which has won four of five Olympic gold medals and two World Cup titles.
But as the gap between standard-bearers and start-ups narrows, championships are harder to come by. The United States hasn’t won this tournament since 1999 and wasn’t favored this year; that honor went to Germany, which fell to the Americans in the semifinals. The victory cautiously raised American hopes that their 16-year wait is finally over.
“We haven’t done anything yet,” warned forward Abby Wambach, a four-time World Cup participant and the greatest international goal scorer in men’s or women’s history.
“I know beating a German team is something you want to celebrate, but we still haven’t won [the] World Cup. We can’t stop believing and never doubt it’s going to happen. We’ve been prepping for this for years.”
In fact, the entire U.S. campaign — which will culminate against Japan in Sunday’s sold-out final — has provided both high anxiety and gratification.
For years, the United States was ahead of the curve. At the top level, the Americans overwhelmed many opponents with superior physical and technical ability. But as the sport has grown more sophisticated, the Americans have had to become more tactically astute and defensively sound.
This summer, they slogged through the three-game group stage, were tested by unheralded Colombia, picked up steam against a young Chinese team and then gave their best performance of the four-week competition in defeating top-ranked Germany, 2-0.
The second-ranked Americans have not won the title since the epic 1999 final against China before 90,185 at the Rose Bowl, a penalty kick victory punctuated by Brandi Chastain’s jersey-peeling celebration.
Wambach and her contemporaries are seeking to escape the shadow of that squad, which featured superstar Mia Hamm and a band of personalities that lifted the profile of the sport. The U.S. program has remained on high ground, continuing the tradition of finishing no worse than third in all 12 World Cups and Olympics, but for 16 years it has fallen short of the ultimate prize.
The most notable change since 1999 is the competition.
In the World Cup that summer, Japan was outscored, 10-1, over three games; it entered this summer’s tournament as the defending champion. France failed to qualify for four of the first five World Cups; it is now ranked third behind Germany and the United States.
England advanced to the semifinals for the first time last week before losing to Japan on a last-minute own goal. A dozen years ago, Colombia lost a South American game by 12 goals; this year, it executed the greatest upset in World Cup history by defeating France. In its debut this summer, Cameroon became the first African nation in 16 years to advance out of the group stage.
Recognizing the sport’s growth, FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, grew the tournament this year from 16 to 24 teams. While expansion led to several predictable blowouts — Germany, for instance, defeated debutant Ivory Coast, 10-0 — it also paved the way for first-time participation by Spain and Netherlands, countries better known for men’s soccer excellence.
“Women’s soccer has absolutely exploded around the world,” said Briana Scurry, the starting goalkeeper on the 1999 U.S. squad. “In this World Cup, maybe half the teams had no semblance of a program of any kind in ’99. And if they did, it was terribly underfunded. These are proud footballing nations, and they have made inroads in the women’s sport.”
Consequently, traditional titans such as the United States face stiffer competition.
“Women’s soccer has made quite a development,” German Coach Silvia Neid said. “Players play harder, are more skilled and better trained. The games are faster.”
To remain at the forefront, U.S. officials recognize the need to develop players not only through the youth national teams but the National Women’s Soccer League, a nine-team pro circuit in its third season. The NWSL is the third go at a full-scale league following the failure of the Women’s United Soccer Association (2001-03) and Women’s Professional Soccer (2009-11).
The U.S. Soccer Federation, in conjunction with its Canadian and Mexican counterparts, underwrites the league by paying salaries of the respective core players. Of the 23 players on the U.S. World Cup squad, all but Wambach are affiliated with NWSL clubs. (She took this season off to prepare for the tournament on her own.)
Starting defender Ali Krieger and backup goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris are with the Washington Spirit, which plays home matches at Maryland SoccerPlex in Montgomery County. The U.S. squad also includes former University of Virginia standouts Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City) and Morgan Brian (Houston Dash).
Individual NWSL teams are responsible for the remainder of the payroll for lesser-known U.S. players as well as those recruited from abroad.
Through professional settings and weekly competition, the goal of the league is to broaden the player pool for the U.S. national team, coached by Jill Ellis, a Robinson High School and William and Mary graduate.
“It’s an evolution,” said Jim Gabarra, whose women’s coaching career has spanned 14 years. He oversees the NWSL’s New Jersey-based team, Sky Blue FC. “The men’s game continues to bloom. MLS [the men’s league in its 20th season] got through hard times and is now thriving. The women’s game is on the same trajectory, but we’re 10 to 15 years behind.”
Despite the USSF’s backing, the NWSL faces some of the same issues that doomed its predecessors. The Portland Thorns, featuring U.S. national team star Alex Morgan, average more than 14,000 fans, but only two other clubs draw more than 4,000.
USSF and league officials hope the national team’s success provides a bump after the World Cup. For now, though, the U.S. squad remains the focal point for women’s soccer — and the players remain rock stars. Morgan, a marketing and social media dynamo, counts 1.83 million followers on Twitter, more than the combined total for Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard of the U.S. men’s team.
The TV audience has grown each week through this World Cup, gaining 8.4 million viewers on Fox on Tuesday, the third largest in women’s history behind the 1999 and 2011 championship games.
Thousands of U.S. supporters have flooded across the border to attend matches. Aside from a far-off game in Edmonton, the stadiums have been packed with American fans. It’s not just teen girls and their families anymore. The number of male followers in their 20s and 30s — the core of the men’s team support — is noticeably larger.
Asked about the deafening partisan crowd of 51,176 in Montreal, Ellis said: “Oh, man, it was awesome.”
She and the players will enjoy massive support again Sunday. With fans streaming north from Seattle and beyond, tickets on the resale market are going for three times their face value. In several U.S. cities, fans will gather at large outdoor viewing parties.
“Sixteen years, it’s been a long time without the World Cup,” said Krieger, a Prince William County native. “It’s out there for us. It’s the moment we’ve trained for, played for, lived for.”
