Los Angeles: Was that another indication that the rest of women’s football has caught up?
Or is this another sign that a once-dominant squad is in terminal decline?
Or perhaps both?
Whatever the cause, the United States’ 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup has left the Americans with a lot to prove as the quarterfinals begin this weekend.
The four-time world champions will face Colombia in Los Angeles on Sunday in a game that was previously considered a formality for the host nation.
The US women had never lost in their previous 12 meetings with the South Americans, winning ten times and drawing twice for a total of 38-2.
The most recent of these victories was a 3-0 friendly win in October, indicating that the United States should be favorites in Sunday’s match at BMO Stadium.
However, Monday’s setback to Mexico, only their second against ‘El Tri’ in 43 games, has highlighted the Americans’ inability to take any opponent for granted.
“It shows how far the game is coming,” concluded US interim coach Twila Kilgore after watching her team struggle against a dynamic Mexico team.
“There are no easy games anymore. And if we don’t take care of business and execute, this is to be expected.
The setback comes six months after the Americans suffered their earliest-ever World Cup exit, losing to Sweden in the round of 16 in Australia last August.
Veteran striker Alex Morgan agreed with Kilgore’s judgment.
“The whole world is continuing to raise its level,” Morgan went on to say.
“Over the previous five years, you’ve only seen it. The scorelines were much different ten or fifteen years ago compared to now.Teams are always improving and evolving, and they can compete at the greatest levels. There isn’t much of a space between the bottom and the top anymore.”
‘Nobody fears us.’
For some detractors, the US team’s recent troubles are as much about American decline as worldwide improvement.
Former US striker Carli Lloyd, a crucial component of the squad that won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012 before winning the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, says the Americans are paying the price for their complacency.
“Yes, the whole world has caught up… but I actually hate when people say that because the USWNT started to regress at the 2020 Olympics and have gone backwards,” Lloyd wrote in a social media post with the hashtag “NoOneFearsTheUswntanymore.”
“Teams used to lose the game before they played us because of fear and intimidation,” Lloyd said. “As the complacency and lack of hunger crept in during 2020 it has given teams the confidence to know the US is beatable so that edge is lost.”
Kilgore, who will be succeeded by English coach Emma Hayes later this year, expects her team to respond to Lloyd and other criticism on Sunday.
“One thing that is always expected from us is a response,” he remarked. “Generally, that answer is in-game and moment-to-moment. We are now tasked with doing a little more. It’s about getting back to who we are, keeping things simple, and following through.”
The quarter-finals begin on Saturday, with Canada taking on Costa Rica before Brazil faces Argentina in a heavyweight South American duel.
Costa Rica advanced to the quarter-finals by a lottery on Wednesday after finishing with the same record as Puerto Rico at the end of the group stages.
That prompted CONCACAF officials to hold a hurriedly organized lottery in Houston, with Costa Rica’s name picked first ahead of Puerto Rico to determine who would progress.
Mexico, meantime, will fancy their chances of moving against Paraguay on Sunday, before the United States women face Colombia in the final last-eight encounter.
