The Tokyo Summer Olympics may be looked back on as a transitional chapter in the storied history of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, one of the most successful national teams ever to compete for the United States. Prior to Tokyo, the team had won the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019 and 2015, in addition to a runner-up finish in 2011, and had won four Olympic gold medals, plus a silver, from seven appearances. The team arrived in Tokyo eager to make up for a disappointing fifth place showing in Rio at the 2016 games.
Team USA struggled to find a start, losing 3-0 to Sweden to open the games. The team ultimately edged Australia on points to finish second in Group E with a record of 1-1-1, good enough to advance to the elimination rounds. In the quarterfinals, a 2-2 tie with the Netherlands resulted in a shootout, which the US women won handily, 4-2. Unfortunately, the momentum did not carry over into the team’s semi-final bout with Canada.
The United States’ defense proved strong as ever throughout the contest, with Canada’s lone score coming off of a Jessie Fleming penalty kick in the 75th minute. However, that goal was enough to allow Canada to advance to its first ever gold medal match. It was a contentious sequence of events, with the penalty area foul on Tierna Davidson only being called following a video assistant referee review, followed by substitute goalkeeper Adrianna Franch guessing correctly on Fleming’s kick, but narrowly missing the save.
Star midfielder and team leader Megan Rapinoe summed up the team’s mood succinctly after the loss, saying, “Not our best game, not our best tournament.” It was not all doom and gloom for America, however, as Rapinoe and the rest of the team immediately looked ahead to a bronze medal match up with Australia.
It was Rapinoe herself, along with fellow veteran Carli Lloyd, who ensured the national team would not go home empty-handed, despite failing to become the first team to follow a World Cup victory with a gold medal. Rapinoe scored in the 8th minute and again in the 21st, while Lloyd put the US up 3-1 in first half stoppage time. Lloyd then ran up the score to 4-1 in the second half. While Australia managed to pull within one goal as the game entered final stoppage time, America’s defense proved too strong, delivering the women victory and a bronze medal.
While the sky is not falling for the United States, the team will look ahead to an uncertain future for the first time in years. Rapinoe is 36 and Lloyd is the team’s oldest player at 39. The initial 22-player roster, in fact, had an average age north of 30, though an expanded reserves rule change by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) brought that average down some. Names to look for at the 2023 World Cup in Australia/New Zealand and the 2024 Paris Olympics include 21-year-old Catarina Macario, 25-year-old Midge Purce, and 23-year-old Mal Pugh, not to mention veterans who still have years of international play ahead of them like Christen Press and Alex Morgan.
