Does global soccer win?
Going into this year’s World Cup tournament, the U.S. Women’s National Team was looking to secure a three-peat—that is, win their third World Cup in a row. Now they are struggling. On Tuesday, they eked out a tie against ninth-ranked Portugal in a generally sloppy showing, and on Sunday they face a challenging game against third-ranked Sweden. For fans, this is heartbreaking. In the past two decades, the team has turned out talented players, scored a victory in the fight for equal pay, and showcased a viable model for girls to become successful athletes. It would be miserly to root against them, and yet it might be time.
While the U.S. has been shoring up its women’s soccer league, teams around the world have been taking note. The U.K. franchises have started investing in their women’s teams, although to some they may be seen as second-class to the men’s teams. Women’s teams across the globe are tasting fandom and legitimacy, and to build on that momentum, maybe the world is ready for a surprise winner. There is no drama in dominance. For women’s soccer to truly become a global sensation, the U.S. needs worthy rivals.
In this episode we pose that theory, as awkward as it is, to Tobin Heath and Christen Press, who host a YouTube series called The RE-CAP Show. They’ve both played for pro teams abroad and for the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League. And they were on both of the most recent World Cup–winning teams. No surprise, they disagree with this premise.
“No, no, no. I see what you were trying to do there,” Heath says. “But, no, absolutely not. I still think the U.S. Women’s National Team are torchbearers for not just the fight to increase investment in women’s football, but for all of pay equity, globally. I think the U.S. Women’s National Team being successful is the No. 1 driver in our sport globally.”
Listen to the conversation here:
The following is a transcript of the interview:
Hanna Rosin: Christen, one dynamic that I’ve been watching is: at some point earlier, most of the players on the U.S. Women’s National Team came from a small pool of college teams. Now so many more of them come from professional women’s teams. I wonder how that changes the dynamic.
Christen Press: Yeah, that’s really interesting. I think that we’re in a landscape that’s changing quite quickly. I remember when the first group of players decided to leave college early, or not go to college, our generation of player was shocked and horrified by that. Because we didn’t have that faith in the stability of the league quite yet.
And now it’s common, and I think that that speaks to how much progress we’re making at a league level. The NWSL [National Women’s Soccer League] is pushing really hard to set a professional standard that can put players in the position to play for their national team.
And Title IX, and the strength of the college program, was so instrumental in the success of the U.S. Women’s National team. And as that evolves, it does fall on our league to continue to help players develop and find the quality that they need to win at the international level.
Rosin: It’s kind of cool and unique to be you guys. Because you’re moving through this living history. Women’s soccer in the U.S. is changing so quickly. Women’s soccer around the world is changing so quickly. And you’re sort of watching it being built.
Tobin Heath: Yeah, I love that. Living history. It’s really true. And what I always say is [that] we’re kind of building the dream and doing it at the same time. Because a lot of the things that we’ve achieved in our careers, when we first started playing, those things didn’t even exist yet for us.
As Christen referenced now, the NWSL is in year 11 or 12, which is phenomenal. The past two leagues had failed. Hadn’t gone past the five-year mark. So, even looking at that progress, it’s really unique. Each World Cup, there’s a massive change in the landscape of women’s football—and women’s sports globally.
So we’re always curious to see what’s going to happen. I think the winner of the World Cup really dictates that as well. Between 2015 and 2019, we’ve witnessed the massive shift in the landscape. And the opportunities that you both just shared about that came out of those. This is the unique time to see what that next shift looks like.
Rosin: Wait, do you guys actually think anything can happen? Because it’s interesting, every article out there right now is about how the U.S. is going to have an uphill battle to win its third title in a row, because the other teams are catching up. And I can’t tell if that’s just juice to make the whole thing interesting.
Press: Oh, they say that every single World Cup.
Heath: Every World Cup, if you go back to any headline of every single World Cup.
Press: But it is also true. It’s both at the same time. I remember my first World Cup. The U.S. hadn’t won in a very long time, and they were still using the rhetoric: Oh, the world’s catching up. It’s going to be harder than ever to win.
And you know, now with successful leagues in multiple continents, the world is catching up when it comes to investment. And I think as the prize money continues to go up, it’ll only encourage federations to continue to invest, which is going to make the tournament better.
And ultimately the way I always felt, from my first World Cup ’til now is: Great, you want to beat the best. You want everyone to be at their best. We’re not trying to win this World Cup because we’re the most invested-in team. We want everyone to be invested. And we want to win the World Cup.
And then when you talk about the three-peat, it’s a really interesting phenomenon because it’s the same thing as when you flip a coin. Each time you flip a coin, the odds reset. But emotionally, for me, it’s unfathomable that the team could win three in a row.
Because every single World Cup, I would go in being like, It’s almost impossible for us to win. It’s so hard. You have to be perfect. You have to have so much luck on your side. You have to have so much excellence. It’s almost impossible. And then we would win, and I would be like, Oh my gosh. Like, that’s unfathomable. So to imagine doing that three times in a row, it’s overwhelming.
Rosin: Oh, you know, here’s now the big scary question. Given everything you just said, maybe it’s better—can I even say this?—I mean, I know you guys are rooting for the U.S. and I’m rooting for the U.S., but maybe it’s better for global women’s soccer for the U.S. not to win?
Heath: No, no, no, I see what you’re trying to do there. But, no, absolutely not. I still think the U.S. Women’s National Team are torchbearers for not just the fight to increase investment in women’s football, but for all of pay equity globally. I think the U.S. Women’s National team being successful is the No. 1 driver in our sport globally getting the recognition and the investment that it deserves.
I think we’re still the team, and the following, that is greatest. And I think we still affect the landscape of the sport the most. So I think, as much as we want to root sometimes for other countries, I think the best thing that can happen for the sport is actually the U.S. Women’s National Team winning again.
I think a lot of opportunity comes from that just because of who we are and what we stand for. But, like Christen said, with the three-peat, it’s crazy. It would be even more devastating not doing it, because then you go back to zero, right?
That’s like a lot of years, of history, gone. I don’t want it to reset. But yeah, we’ll see what happens. I mean, everyone says anyone can win it. I think, at the end of the day, it is the U.S. Women’s National Team’s to lose.
Rosin: Just indulge me, though, because you guys do debates on your show; give me one more round of debate. What if it was another team that won? A surprising team?
It would be so exciting. And then women’s sports would just take root all over the world, and so many people would be watching everywhere. And then even American players would have lots of places to go, and it would just establish the whole global sport.What do you think, Christen?
Press: I think the problem is you kind of need a bit of infrastructure to effect change, right? And so, England was a great example. Because the English league is doing really well, they have the opportunity to quickly move into large stadiums to capitalize on the success that the English national team had in the Euros.
