August 6, 2023

SCHADENFREUDE MANIA! The USWNT are out of the World Cup — and everyone seems delighted.

“Any men’s team that was as cocky as this US women’s soccer team and got eliminated this early in a shocking upset would get absolutely obliterated by sports media,” tweeted radio host Clay Travis.

“Maybe next time they can find girls who are proud to play on behalf of the United States and it might up the moxie,” wrote Grabien’s Tom Elliott.

After a languid and leggy group stage performance that saw the USWNT fail to win for the first time since 2015 and go through to the knockout stages in second place, America’s ladies looked much more positive in regulation time against Sweden. But a gargantuan performance from Swedish goalkeeper Zećira Mušović kept the US at bay in regulation time — and after 120 minutes it was time for penalties.

To the delight of many, Megan Rapinoe was one of the three to fluff her lines for the US. After coming on in extra time for Alex Morgan, who had a weak penalty saved in the opening match against Vietnam, Rapinoe skied her effort well over the bar — a dispiriting final kick of her career. Then for Sweden, Lina Hurtig’s shot was initially saved by Alyssa Naeher, but the ball rebounded off the woodwork and was shown by the video assistant referee to have fully crossed the line: the US were out.

Exit quote: “‘On a positive note, Ms. Rapinoe wants to pack the USWNT with biological males, so they should win everything going forward,’ joked Piers Morgan after the US defeat.”

Speaking of Piers:

And there’s even more good news. As America’s Newspaper of Record noted in December of last year when the original US men’s national team “was dealt a crushing 1-3 loss by the Netherlands:” Nation Relieved To No Longer Have To Pretend To Like Soccer.

Posted at 4:44 pm by Ed Driscoll