The US were always the hot favourites to win again this year, and they didn't disappoint
The USA has won back-to-back titles in the 2019 World Cup defeating the Netherlands 2-0 in Lyon on Sunday, with goals to Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle. It is the fourth time the US women's team has won the World Cup, having previously won in 1991, 1999 and 2015, and they set a goalscoring record in a single World Cup of 26 goals.
Putting aside their opening round match against Thailand that resulted in a 13-0 whitewash, it wasn't all one-way either. In their knockout rounds, they faced Spain (#13 in the world going into the finals tournament), France (#4), England (#3) and, in the final, Netherlands (#8).
Here are our five takeaways from the game.
1. Megan Rapinoe cements her legacy
You knew that when the VAR ruled a penalty in favour of the USA in the 61st minute, with the score at 0-0, it would be Megan Rapinoe who would step-up to take the penalty. She oozed confidence and calm and sent Dutch goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal the wrong way for her sixth goal of the tournament. That goal took her to equal top scorer along with team mate Alex Morgan and England's Ellen White, but because she had more assists than Morgan or White, Rapinoe won the Golden Boot award as top scorer, as well as the Golden Ball as the best player. This was despite sitting out the semi-final because of injury.
But it's off-the-field where Rapinoe has also been immense. Unlike so many players – female or male – who have failed to use their status and audience as players, Rapinoe has been unafraid to take a stand on social issues, domestic political issues and gender equality issues in world football. Her tit-for-tat tweets with US President Donald Trump were entertaining for some, “too much” for others, and might have put even more pressure on an 'ordinary' person, but Rapinoe was up to the challenge.
2. Sari van Veenendaal had a good tournament too
While the focus is rightly on the US for their win, the Netherlands also performed well and they held the Americans scoreless for longer than any previous tournament. Goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal let in two goals (one being Rapinoe's penalty) in the Final but she also made, by our count, four impressive saves in the game – against Julie Ertz, Samantha Mewis and twice against Alex Morgan, which is no mean feat. Against a different 'keeper early on, the score could have been very different. Van Veenendaal won the Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
3. Jill Ellis made history too
Jill Ellis becomes the first person in history to win consecutive World Cup tournaments as a coach in what was only the second Women's World Cup Final contested by two female head coaches. The previous two were Tina Theune of Germany and Sweden's Marika Domanski-Lyfors in 2003. The first three editions of the Women’s World Cup were won by male coaches but, of the next five, only one has been one by a male coach (Norio Sasaki of Japan in 2001).
While there is no argument that the national team coach should be a decision made by a football association on the basis of merit and merit alone, Ellis' achievement should be a clarion call to young women everywhere who want to be coaches. Certainly, there is a dearth of women coaches at top level with FIFA data showing that only 7% of coaches worldwide are women. While Australian data is not known, the W-League last season had two female coaches (22%).
4. USA didn't let the critics or the pressure get to them
The US were the team to beat, the favourites to win, the team most neutral fans love to hate, and they had a tough knockout phase. But none of that meant a thing to their determination, ability, confidence and resolve. On top of that, the goal celebrations against Thailand and England drew fierce critics, and others accused the team of arrogance, but the team not only proved themselves immune to it, they continued to improve throughout the tournament.
5. Is this the end of an era for the US or is there another 'golden generation'?
The US knockout games showed that experience counts, especially in tightly contested games. Rapinoe is 33. Morgan is 30. Tobin Heath is 31. All three started in this game upfront, but they are no guarantee of being there in 2023. Defender Becky Sauerbrunn is 34 and another striker, Carli Lloyd who came off the bench in the second half, is 36. The average age of the team is 29, and there are seven other players aged 30 or more in the 23-person squad.
On the other side of the equation, goalscorer Rose Lavelle is only 24 and, along with Mewis (26) and Lindsey Horan (25) will be important members of the next generation US team. There are also big wraps on 21-year-old Mallory Pugh who hasn't yet started a game for the US but has already scored one World Cup goal in the 118 minutes she played in this tournament.
The legacy of back-to-back championships puts them in an elite position of being only the second team to win consecutive tournaments (Germany did in 2003 and 2007). Will there be a three-peat? It could – and should – be a tough call when European nations in particular are improving all the time, and nations like our own are there or thereabouts (we were ranked #6 going into the tournament) and will – and should – want to push forward after the Matildas relatively disappointing performance at the 2019 World Cup.
Check out the highlights of the match on our home page.