The United States Women's National Team headed into this World Cup on a high. They had finally reached a deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation and won equal pay to the men's team in 2022 after a six-year legal battle. They were defending champions, having won not only in 2019, but 2015 too, and hoped to become the first team to win three World Cups in a row for either gender. All of their momentum on and off the field made the U.S. an obvious team to watch, but they were eliminated from the tournament on Sunday, exiting with their worst outcome ever and inspiring a barrage of hate from the right.
Ultimately, the U.S. fell to Sweden early Sunday morning after a still-scoreless overtime and penalty kicks that reached a sudden death round. It was their best game of the tournament yet . . . and a crushing defeat. Based on performance, the U.S. didn't necessarily deserve to move past Portugal after their 0-0 tie in the group stage, but they deserved to beat Sweden. While the team still clearly had kinks to work out, they started to look like their old selves again, and maybe this was what set off alarm bells for conservatives who have a long history of crying over athletes who protest inequality and women who dye their hair blue. Trump rushed to Truth Social to celebrate his country's loss. "WOKE EQUALS FAILURE," he wrote. "Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!!"
