After the U.S. Women’s National Team throttled Thailand 13-0 in their opening 2019 FIFA World Cup match, Ali Krieger confidently told the media the U.S. are not only the best team in the world, but also the second-best team. She was referring to the substitutes.
Yeah, that’s a bold statement, but this is a bold American team. In fact, they might be the best women’s soccer team of all time.
The USWNT won the 2019 FIFA World Cup on Sunday when they beat the Netherlands 2-0 in Lyon, including a goal from Cincinnati’s own Rose Lavelle.
The national team claimed its fourth World Cup title and second-straight for just the second time in history. The next closest team, Germany, only has two and they were back-to-back.
The USWNT’s World Cup journey
The campaign started with the most-lopsided result in World Cup history, for both men and women. The U.S. beat Thailand 13-0 in a match that saw Alex Morgan score five goals and Lavelle add two more.
From there, they beat Chile 3-0, but with a roster that saw seven changes from the starting XI against Thailand. (Queue Krieger’s comment about the team’s quality and depth.)
The national team closed the group stage with a 2-0 win against Sweden, who finished third in the tournament when they beat England in the third-place match on Saturday.
In three group stage games, the U.S. finished with three wins and a +18-goal differential. They didn’t concede a single goal.
Once the knockout stage started, the USWNT beat Spain 2-1 in the Round of 16 before besting France, the host nation, 2-1 in the quarterfinals. That match was when Megan Rapinoe, fresh off some beef with the president about attending the White House, scored the opening and game-winning goal.
In the semifinals, the Americans beat England 2-1 – the third-straight match to finish with that score line – to advance to a third-consecutive World Cup final.
The U.S. finished their 2019 FIFA World Cup campaign with the win over the Netherlands, the reigning European champions.
Krieger was right from the very beginning.
