USWNT: They are not going anywhere

The USWNT head into a quarter-final match against France with attention being put on the hosts. But that is no reason to panic for American fans because win or lose, they are not going anywhere.

The World Cup knockout round is upon us and the U.S. Women’s National Team have a date set with host country France in the quarter-finals. The French are a good side regardless if they’re on home soil or not, but playing them in Paris makes it all the more daunting of a task. So much so that for the first time in a while, it feels like the USWNT are supposed to lose.

That in part is due to the world-class quality of the French, players like Le Sommer and Amandine Henry have proven that they have more than enough to hang with the Americans and possibly knock out the defending champions.

Getting knocked out of any tournament — or even the possibility of getting knocked out — seems like a reason to push the panic button for Jill Ellis’ side, regardless of how far they make it. And with the amount of un-American talent this tournament has, fans are already beginning to push that panic button, way too early.

By now, you’ve seen the tweets of every armchair analyst out there reminding you for the thousandth time that the women’s game outside the United States is growing. And they’d be correct, but that does not automatically mean that the USWNT team as we know it today is going to magically fade away in four years.

This year’s roster is loaded with veteran leadership, players like Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe know how to win a World Cup as well as anyone. But just as there is veteran leadership, there is a fresh amount of young blood that is making an instant impact this summer.

Perhaps the United States’ strongest weapon so far has been the midfield with Sam Mewis, Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan making elite runs, earning assists, and scoring goals. But what makes these players even more special is their age. Mewis is the oldest of the three at 26. Lavelle is 24, and Horan 25. All three of these players are making their World Cup debuts this summer and we can expect to see these same players once again taking the field in four years.

More from MLS Multiplex

And the youth goes outside the midfield as well. In defense, Abby Dahlkemper is learning and excelling as a 26-year-old center-back. Even younger is 20-year-old Tierna Davidson, who, admittedly, has not appeared as much in France as she would have liked, her lone performance against Chile showed fans how good she is.

But every time you talk about the USWNT, the attention goes to the goalscorer. But fear not, for the future looks bright up top with 21-year-old Mallory Pugh learning from arguably the best forwards in the world. Pugh is already making headlines as one of the most exciting young prospects the United States has ever seen.

The women’s game is growing, and that is a good thing for every soccer fan, American or not. But to think that the USWNT is going to fade away in distant memory is simply not true.

This year’s team has young talent that is already shining, and there is even more that missed the cut that we don’t even know about waiting for their turn at World Cup glory. Are they never going to lose again? Of course not, this is sports and there are other good teams in the world who want to knock down Goliath.

Next. USWNT Vs Spain: 3 ways USA silenced haters. dark

But they’re Goliath for a reason, that reason simply being that they are really good. And that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Home/U.S. Soccer