USWNT Turns Back the French Revolution

FIFA's top-ranked women's side has had quite the run since the 2015 World Cup final.

The American women have played 75 matches and lost just five of them. Two of them came against France:

• March 2017 in the SheBelieves Cup ... France 3-0 USA, and
• January 2019 in a friendly ... France 3-1 USA

This is part of what ignited the hype when the 2019 Women's World Cup draw set a path for the host nation's dudettes to meet the Americans in the quarters if both held serve.

 

They both did, so it definitely was.

As a result this could go down as one of the biggest quarterfinal matches in football history.

 

One of the reasons for American dominance in the women's game is its college sports structure after Title IX forced equality in athletics. It created the sorta development program that the NFL has used to its cost-effective advantage.

It's taken longer, but with the European system of sports teams -- even the big brands such as FC Barcelona -- being part of multi-sport athletic social clubs, those nations' women's football leagues began to grow, attracting top players from their ranks and beyond.

 

The French top divison has featured stars such as ...

• Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan with Olympic Lyonnais, and
• Tobin Heath and Lindsey Horan with Paris St-Germain.

Olympique, for example, has equal access to facilities the men's teams do. It's one reason why they've won four straight Champions League titles.

Thus, the French have evolved into a much faster, more athletic team that isn't intimidated by the Americans.

 

Frankly, the USA could have just as easily not made it to the party.

Perhaps they were looking ahead to France, but dudettes were totally beatable in their match with Spain. Only a controversial penalty allowed Rapinoe to step to the spot and clinch a 2-1 victory.

 

That appeared to be a pretty weak call in a bracket game. Especially in the biggest women's tournament that's held once every four years.

Whatever, it bagged the need for extra time and maybe penalties to determine who moved on and saved the USWNT added wear and tear.

 

So, here it was, at a sold out Parc de Princes where some tickets were going for €1700, with two-thirds of the 45,595 in attendance beltig out Le Marseillaise so loud, it woulda drowned out jet engines.

The other one-third did their volume thing at the end, after the USA advanced with a 3-1 result:

 

Rapinoe's been a lightning rod throughout this tournament. That'll happen when you score five times in the four games played to date and don't give a damn what a president says.

Here's where the bracket stands now:

As high-profile as this match was, in the cold light of harsh reality, it was still only a quarterfinal.

Other teams who believe are waiting.