USWNT: Did they go too far in World Cup win over Thailand?

The USWNT’s opening match victory against Thailand at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup brought controversy with many criticizing their celebrations for the latter goals. Did they go too far?

Victory in a World Cup match is often met with celebration and emotional displays of joy that come with the big stage competition. The result of four years of hard work is at hand which makes for an understandable release of emotion when a win is achieved.

On Tuesday, the United States Women’s National Team faced Thailand in the opening match of their 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign. The defending World Cup champions wasted no time proving they mean business as they defeated Thailand 13-0 in emphatic fashion.

Although the result itself did not cause any controversy, in the aftermath, the USWNT celebrations following their goals were met with backlash.

As the goals began to pour in for the USWNT, it was clear that the result was going to be a runaway victory. Yet, each goal was celebrated in stylish and exuberant fashion by the USWNT players. This is where pundits began to have an issue with what was displayed.

After going up 8-0, the ninth goal celebration was perhaps what garnered the most criticism. Megan Rapinoe’s goal celebration could be seen as a bit overboard for the direction the match was going in.

Thailand were in shambles at this point and it was obvious that they were completely outclassed by the USWNT. Here’s where the American player’s reactions to scoring should have shifted.

There is an element of class and sportsmanship that goes into a World Cup competition and it’s fair to say the USWNT might want to take this as a lesson learned for future situations such as the one they were involved in on Tuesday night. As mentioned, the emotions of the first match of the competition can be overwhelming and may have clouded the judgment of the celebrations.

https://twitter.com/Changsuek_TH/status/1138657357414641665

There shouldn’t be criticism for the scoreline itself but rather for how it was handled. Celebrating a goal is fine, but doing so with such exuberance, especially by those on the bench, does leave a sour taste in the mouth.

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With that being said, the USWNT players were very respectful of their opponents following the match as was displayed by Alex Morgan and others.

Despite the perhaps apparent unsporting behavior during the goal celebrations, it is important to remember this was the worst defeat for a country in World Cup history. This was the first time the U.S. had achieved a victory of this margin. The overly harsh criticism, although somewhat accurate, doesn’t take in to account the other factors at play in this situation.

Goal differential can also come into play massively during the group stage and you just can’t fault a team for wanting to set themselves for success down the line in the competition. This is something we’ve seen in Men’s World Cups, U-20 World Cups, U-17 World Cups, and the Women’s World Cup.

Did the USWNT make a mistake with a few of their celebrations? Yes. Does it make them a villain team? No. There’s no question this team has class and respect on their roster. This was just an unfortunate mistake that should be learned from.