The popularity and fame of the U.S Women’s National Soccer team (USWNT) rose tremendously over the last five years. It all began in 2011 at the Women’s World Cup held in Germany. The U.S Women’s National team blew past the group stage and made it past the quarterfinals and semifinals. Soccer and sports fans’ eyes were glued to the TV as the U.S went up against Japan in the 2011 World Cup final. The U.S and Japan battled for two forty-five minute halves and double overtime, but came up short in the end and lost to the Japanese team in penalty kicks. Losing in the final of the 2011 World Cup was a devastating loss for the U.S Women’s National Soccer team and was the beginning of their fire to come back and improve. Over the last few years, the USWNT became incredibly popular by their amazing, record-breaking games and star players. This sparked much debate over whether the U.S Women’s team was better than the U.S Men’s National Soccer team (USMNT). Although many people debate and go back and forth between which team is better, here’s 5 reasons why the U.S Women’s National team is better than the U.S Men’s National Team:
1. The USWNT Dominates in the Olympics
The U.S Women’s National Team is a beast when it comes to the Olympics. In the first USWNT’s Olympic tournament in 1996 held in Atlanta, they won their first gold medal. Four years later at the 2002 Sydney summer Olympic games, the USWNT didn’t come away with a gold medal, but were close and came away with a silver medal. Although they lost, they still made the final and beat out many other teams. To make up for not winning gold in Sydney, at the 2004 Olympics in Greece, the 2008 Olympics in China and the 2012 Olympics in London, the U.S Women’s National team won gold at all three Olympics. Other than this year at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the USWNT haven’t done worse than a second place finish in the Olympics. Yes, the USWNT lost in the quarterfinals at the 2016 Rio Olympic games this past summer, but they still played their hearts out and did their best. The U.S Men’s National team have failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2004, 2012 and 2016. The U.S Women’s national team may not have done as well as everyone thought they would this summer at the 2016 Rio games, but their excellent, 4 gold medal record at past Olympics definitely speaks for itself.
2. Popularity
The U.S Women’s National team breaks records, win awards and are generally far more popular and well-known than the U.S Men’s National team. The Women’s team is popular because they actually qualify for the Olympics, win major tournaments and have the best female athletes in the world. The majority of people will know and recognize players like Alex Morgan or Hope Solo over any of the U.S Men’s national team members, with the exception of Clint Dempsey or Tim Howard. Why? Athletes like Alex Morgan, Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd and many of the other USWNT members are in ads and often promote soccer. They are in commercials like Nike and Adidas, do interviews and are in magazines and the newspapers. The star players of the USWNT are the perfect role models for young girls and soccer fans all over the world. It’s hard not to love them.
3. Star Players
The USWNT has some of the best athletes in the world. Players like Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath and Hope Solo and more are not only changing women’s soccer but are also changing how the world looks at women’s sports. These athletes are huge role models for younger girls and inspire so many athletes to be great like them, not to mention their talent for the game. Alex Morgan is definitely one of the most popular female soccer players in the world. Alex has been playing soccer since she was a kid and has played professionally for the USWNT since 2011. At the senior level, Alex has scored 71 goals for the USWNT and is number eight for most goals scored all-time. Another stand out player is Carli Lloyd, who has been on the USWNT for eleven years. Carli has 230 appearances for the team and is number six for most goals scored all-time. She is currently the USWNT’s captain and will continue to lead the team to more wins. Another player often overlooked is Tobin Heath. Tobin has been on the team since 2008 and 124 appearances for the United States. Tobin is known for her talented ball-handling skills and great defensive and offensive skills. Tobin has two gold medals and a World Cup Championship—she is a vital part of the team. All of these girls are incredible athletes and star players. They are what make up the USWNT.
4. The USWNT is ranked #1 in the World
On the 2016 FIFA Women’s Soccer world rankings, the U.S Women’s team is currently number one in the world. The U.S Men’s Soccer team does not even make the top 10 teams in the world on the 2016 FIFA Men’s Soccer world rankings. The U.S Men’s team is currently number 22 in the world. The USWNT are better than any other country in the world right now, and that alone should be a good enough reason as to why they are more successful than the USMNT.
5. World Cup Champions
In case you didn’t know before, the U.S Women’s National Soccer team has won 3 World Cup Championships. The most recent World Cup win happened summer of 2015 in Canada. The USWNT went up against their rival, Japan, in an epic final at the World Cup. Carli Lloyd easily put away 3 goals, a hat trick, in the final, making this the fastest hat trick in World Cup history for men’s and women’s soccer. Lauren Holiday and Tobin Heath also had goals making the final score 5-2, USA coming away with a victory. This World Cup final broke multiple records. The United States are now the only country to have won three Women’s World Cup finals. This is also the most watched soccer game ever with 26.7 million viewers. The U.S Women’s National team has never placed lower than 3rd place at a World Cup. This is huge, considering the Men’s National team has never won a World Cup. The best the U.S Men’s National team has done at a World Cup is a fifth place finish at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. It’s obvious the U.S Women’s National team dominates at the World Cups just like the Olympics.
Overall, the U.S Women’s National team is one of the best teams in the country, if not the world. Their impeccable records, outstanding accomplishments and star players are the reason why they dominate in the soccer world. I’m not saying that the U.S Men’s National team is bad; however, looking at records and comparing the two, it’s easy to say that the U.S Women’s team is more successful.