Aug 6, 2023; Melbourne, AUS; United States gamers together with defender Naomi Girma (4), ahead Lynn Williams (6), midfielder Kristie Mewis (22), defender Crystal Dunn (19) and midfielder Lindsey Horan (10) react after dropping to Sweden within the penalty kick shootout throughout a Spherical of 16 match within the 2023 FIFA Girls’s World Cup at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Necessary Credit score: Jenna Watson-USA TODAY Sports activities
The 2023 World Cup was the primary time the U.S. ladies’s nationwide group failed to complete within the high three at a Girls’s World Cup — ever. They have been eradicated by Sweden within the Spherical of 16 in a shootout, and by the requirements this program had set for itself, it was a historic failure. However perhaps a very powerful query within the postmortem will not be “how did they lose?” however “how did a team with that much talent become so disconnected?”
The reply was not one single second or one single drawback. The warning indicators have been there earlier than the penalty shootout in Melbourne. In opposition to Portugal within the group stage, for instance, the U.S. superior however regarded weak in a manner that may have been unfamiliar in earlier tournaments. They managed possession however struggled to constantly create hazard, and wanted the ultimate whistle to keep away from an nearly unthinkable exit on the group stage. It was a glimpse of the bigger problem: the Individuals nonetheless had the ball, however they didn’t all the time have solutions.
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