For the first time in eight years, the United States didn’t win a match at the Women’s World Cup this year held in Australia and New Zealand. At the very least, however, you can’t blame their loss on too much patriotic fervor before the game began.
In fact, it’s questionable whether some of the women even want to be there at all, judging from the reception to the national anthem before the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands on Thursday.
The game was a rematch of the 2019 final, in which the women’s team blanked the Dutch squad 2-0 on a penalty shot from Megan Rapinoe and another goal from Rose Lavelle.
However, this time the Dutch drew first blood, with Jill Roord scoring 17 minutes into the match at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, according to an Associated Press report.
Lindsey Horan would tie things up with a header in the 62nd minute, but neither squad could break the tie.
The match was a disappointment for the U.S. Women’s National Team, which has won four of eight World Cup finals, has never finished worse than third, and won its first contest by a 3-0 score over Vietnam.
Out of 51 matches they’ve played in the World Cup, they’ve won 41 vs. four losses and six draws. Their last draw was during the 2015 Women’s World Cup, when they finished 0-0 against Sweden during the group stage. (The team’s last loss was in penalty kicks against the Japanese team during the 2011 World Cup final after tying 2-2 after regulation and extra time.)
Moreover, the tie could put the team in a position where they’re overtaken by Portugal in the final match of the group stage. While the United States still leads the group by a dint of its better goal differential than the Dutch — both teams have one win and one draw with no losses — a loss to the Portuguese combined with a Netherlands win against the Vietnamese would eliminate the American women at the group stage for the first time.
Which would be fitting, considering they appear to be tired of representing their country, anyway. Check out the national anthem before the game against the Netherlands:
Well, at least one can’t accuse them of being rabid nationalists. In fact, quite the opposite: social media users noted how few seemed to put their hand over their heart or sing along with the lyrics.
I love cheering on Women’s Sport, especially American National team. Are these girls being forced to represent the nation almost every other player would love to live in? What are they trying to prove but ruin the experience and most likely great financial gain the could have .
At least there was no anthem-kneeling a la Megan Rapinoe. The 38-year-old wokeista is coming off the bench this year after being a pivotal part of the last few American World Cup teams. Former teammate Hope Solo criticized Rapinoe’s approach to the anthem, telling an interviewer in 2021 that she saw the star “almost bully players into kneeling because she really wants to stand up for something in her particular way.”
Rapinoe may not be a starter anymore, but its not like the women out on the field seemed any more into it than the pink-haired anime-character wannabe was; I counted five singers and six who weren’t singing, although those who were singing didn’t exactly seem enthused about it.
Nor is this something new. SirusXM’s Megyn Kelly looked at the disgrace that was the anthem-singing line during the game against Vietnam and contrasted it against the Vietnamese team:
And apparently, they didn’t even get a morale boost from a visit from a Biden administration bigwig: “U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the team at its hotel on the eve of the match and was at the game. He was in Wellington for a formal bilateral meeting with New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta, and Blinken also will meet with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins,” the AP reported.
So, not even a meeting with the wokest secretary of State in the most painfully woke presidency the United States of America has ever seen could make them feel proud of their country. One assumes that nothing will.
Why, then, should America be proud of them?