Tag: FIFA Women's World Cup

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Christine Sinclair. Megan Rapinoe. Sarina Bolden.

Like many players in the Women’s World Cup, all three stars built their skills at the U.S. collegiate level.

Of the 736 players competing at this year’s Women’s World Cup, 137 have roots in American college-level soccer, according to the NCAA. The total includes 16 players who currently compete for Division I schools or lower divisions.

Across the 32 teams that qualified for the group stage, more than one in every six players has had a career stop at an American school.

Not all the NCAA athletes in the tournament are tied to the United States.

Canada has 22 of 23 athletes who played or still play on U.S. college teams, most of any team in the tournament. That includes Sinclair, the the all-time leader in international goals for men and women, who played at the University of Portland.

The United States ranks second with 20 players. Rapinoe also played at Portland, but Alyssa Thompson, Trinity Rodman, and Lindsey Horan all turned professional without playing a college match. Horan also did not play for a high school team.

More than 70 U.S. schools are represented in the 2023 tournament, with Florida State the leader with eight current or former players competing. Stanford and North Carolina each have six, Penn State has five and four universities have four former players.

Even schools with lesser-known soccer programs have players competing in New Zealand and Australia. Hilary Jaen of Panama plays for Jones County Community College in Mississippi, Carleigh Frilles of the Philippines plays for Coastal Carolina and Chiara Singarella of Argentina plays for South Alabama. Erin Nayler of New Zealand previously played at Purdue Fort Wayne in Indiana.

TITLE IX

The success of American college soccer can trace its roots back just over 50 years, with the introduction of Title IX. As the U.S. government required universities to establish equal opportunities for men and women in education, those protections – and funding – spread to college athletics.

“The U.S. was providing one of the only games in town so to speak, in terms of opportunities for women to get some kind of compensation,” said Ellen Staurowsky, a professor in sports media at Ithaca College.

Title IX drew female athletes from outside the United States to American schools. Since the passage of Title IX, the number of female athletes competing in NCAA athletics has increased seven-fold and currently represents 44% of all university athletes, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

NCAA TRENDS

In 2021, there were 1,464 international student-athletes playing in NCAA Division I and Division II women’s soccer.

Traditional soccer powerhouses such as Germany and Sweden are sending significant numbers of players to college soccer, even though they have developmental programs of their own. There were 114 from Sweden and 128 from Germany in 2021.

In that same year, NCAA teams had 38 players from New Zealand, 35 players from the Netherlands, 16 players from Japan, and 5 players from South Africa.

“Then you would see those women going back to their own countries, taking what they learned with them,” Staurowsky said. “And you can begin to see how the sport begins to expand out.”

Penn State women’s soccer coach Erica Dambach has seen the collegiate process up close for some time. She’s coached at the Division I level since 1997, won the national title in 2015, and worked as an assistant coach for the U.S. women’s national teams at both the youth and senior levels.

“Until these players are making millions, I think an education is going to be the most important thing for these young women,” Dambach said. “I don’t think it’s for everyone, you have to be invested in getting your education.”

THE AMERICAN SYSTEM

That can be easier than it sounds.

“Educational systems around the globe are so different that our international students really don’t know how to navigate the (U.S.) system,” said Nicole LaVoi, a former collegiate tennis coach and the director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota.

Coumba Sow, a Swiss midfielder, attended Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York, for two years before transferring to play Division I soccer at Oklahoma State.

“I didn’t understand the system. I was in a rush to just go to the States,” Sow said. “I wanted to keep on learning a language and studying and also play soccer. It’s a lot of paperwork, so I just looked at the facility. I was like, ‘Oh, New York,’ and I went. Then I got there I was like, ‘OK, maybe I should have checked it out better.’”

For New Zealand forward Gabi Rennie, taking the pathway to Division I soccer was an easy decision after watching others succeed. Rennie is entering her final year of NCAA eligibility at Arizona State after spending two seasons at Indiana.

“I wasn’t too sure what to do. But obviously, the college circuit was a really good option,” Rennie said. “Being able to kind of look to the likes of Ali Riley and Katie Bowen and the likes of those girls that had done the college circuit was cool, and just opened those doors for me.”

A PROVING GROUND

Katrina Guillou, a starting forward for the Philippines, spent four years at North Carolina–Wilmington. Her time playing soccer in Wilmington was pivotal to her career.

“The way the season is, with everything so condensed into the three-month span, playing two games every week, I think it really helps build the stamina that’s needed,” Guillou said. “And coming to this level, I think I’ve been able to build on top of that.”

Like many others, Sow saw her experience with American teams impact her style of play.

“Before I went to the U.S., I wasn’t really a physical player,” said Sow. “I learned how to fight in the U.S. because it’s a lot, a lot of long balls. You have to fight for the second ball. And before, I was just a technical player.”

Jody Brown of Jamaica was named the best young players in CONCACAF at the age of 16 and now plays for Florida State.

“The coaches helped us,” said Brown of Florida State. “I feel like college also prepared me for this moment and I’m just so grateful for that and the work that I’ve put in to get to this point because it’s all paid off right now.”

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Joe Lister is a student in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.

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Contributing reporters included Luke Vargas in Hamilton and Max Ralph in Auckland, students in John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State; and Clay Witt in Sydney, a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Rose Lavelle believes she’s developed into a smarter player in the four years since becoming a breakout star for the United States in the 2019 Women’s World Cup final against the Netherlands.

The midfielder was 24 and one of the Americans’ younger players when she scored in the 69th minute of the title game in Lyon, France. Megan Rapinoe also scored in the 2-0 victory that earned the United States its second straight World Cup trophy, and fourth overall.

The United States meets the Netherlands again on Thursday, this time in the group stage of the tournament. Both teams have a win in Group E headed into the match in New Zealand’s capital of Wellington.

Lavelle, now a veteran on an American team that has 14 players making their World Cup debuts, reflected on the past four years on the eve of the rematch.

“I feel like obviously I have a lot more experience, so I think just my mentality is a bit is a bit different. Four years ago I was obviously one of the younger players on the team, and I think now I find myself in a different position, which I think just kind of gives me a little more confidence,” she said. “I feel like I’m a smarter player. I think I’ve grown in every realm, which is what I would hope.”

Lavelle injured her knee in an April exhibition match against Ireland and hadn’t played for her club team, OL Reign, in the run-up to the World Cup.

Coach Vlatko Andonovski declared that Lavelle was available before the team’s opener against Vietnam, and she came in the game as a substitute in the 61st minute. The United States won 3-0 on a pair of goals from Sophia Smith and another from Lindsey Horan.

Lavelle was subbed in at the same time as Rapinoe, her Reign teammate who injured her calf in a National Women’s Soccer League match in June.

The win over Vietnam in Auckland wasn’t as lopsided as many expected given the Golden Star Women’s Warriors inexperience on the international stage. The Vietnamese were among eight teams making their first World Cup appearance at the tournament co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

The Netherlands will no doubt be a bigger challenge than Vietnam.

The two teams also met in the quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics, with the Americans advancing on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

Ranked No. 9 in the world, the Netherlands has won just one of its 10 matches against the United States overall. Only one of those meetings came in a World Cup — that 2019 final. The only Dutch victory in the series came in the first meeting in 1991.

The Netherlands opened the World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Portugal, winning it on Stefanie van der Gragt’s goal. But the team is missing one of its most dynamic players, forward Vivianne Miedema, who ruptured her ACL while playing for her club team, Arsenal, in December.

“I think every time we play them it’s a very physical, intense match. They have a lot of different threats,” Lavelle said. “I think they’re technical, good on set pieces, so I think it’s going to be a tough game. But I think we’re really excited for it.”

Lavelle was introspective when asked Wednesday whether the World Cup championship goal changed her.

“I don’t really feel like it did. It was a goal and it was fun,” she said. “But I feel like I’m still just me.”

Andonovski went a little further in what the goal did for Lavelle.

“If I can add on that, maybe Rose’s life changed, but she hasn’t changed a bit,” the coach said. “She’s still the same humble and good person.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

HAMILTON, New Zealand — Norway star striker and former Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg was seen walking back into the tunnel moments before her country’s Women’s World Cup match against Switzerland on Tuesday, despite being named to the starting lineup.

Initially listed as a possible substitute for the match, Sophie Roman Haug started in Hegeberg’s place as Norway’s striker.

The team’s official Twitter account quoted national team doctor Trygve Hunemo saying that “Ada Hegerberg got a feeling in the groin on the last sprint during the warm-up.”

Last summer’s European Championships marked Hegeberg’s return to international soccer after previously not appearing for Norway in five years. Following the 2017 European championships, Hegeberg left the team in protest of the unequal treatment of the men’s and women’s squads by the Norwegian federation.

Hegerberg has the most goals of any current Norwegian player (16) and has appeared for her country 32 times.

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More AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Amanda Ilestedt scored in the 89th minute to give Sweden a 2-1 win over South Africa in its Group G opener at the Women’s World Cup on Sunday and deny South Africa the first major upset of the tournament.

South Africa shocked Sweden when Hildah Migala scored in the 48th minute. But Sweden got on the board in the 64th minute with Fridolina Rolfo’s equalizer. Ilestedt then produced a perfect header from a corner with a minute left to help Sweden escape at the end of an unimpressive opening game effort.

Sweden was expected to comfortably win the group and it’s first match against 54th-ranked South Africa looked to be it’s easiest. But after a scoreless first half, Sweden came out of the locker room flat and South Africa capitalized with the first goal of the match three minutes after the restart.

Thembi Kgatlana dropped behind the defense and struck a high shot that keeper Zecira Musovic could only parry. Migala hurled herself forward with such force she was carried into the goal along with the ball.

Sweden failed to take advantage of a dominant first half in which it had 71% of possession, eight corners and five shots on goal, three on target.

Finally urged into action, Sweden pressed forward and equalized when Johanna Kaneryd’s sweeping cross from the right side missed the head of Stina Blackstenius but fell at the feet of Rolfo and ended in the net.

South Africa played in new all black uniforms, a departure from its usual green away strip, and the jerseys were a stark contrast to Sweden’s all gold on a gloomy, rainy evening at Wellington Regional Stadium.

The Banyana Banyana seemed energized and played with a verve which often worried Sweden when it was expressed on sudden, incisive counter-attack.

The South Africa players were buoyant after settling a long-standing pay dispute with their national federation which assured them they will receive the $30,000 FIFA has promised every player at this World Cup. Banyana Banyana players sang and danced as they stepped down from their team bus and made their way to their locker room an hour before the match started.

They sang and danced again as they left the field.

Rain began falling in Wellington about two hours before kickoff and continued steadily, sometimes heavily into the match, glazing the pitch and making it slick in places. The wind, usually omnipresent in Wellington and a factor when Spain met Costa Rica on Friday, was absent and the harbor which flanks Sky Stadium on its eastern side, was glassy.

Sweden built painstakingly from the back and ventured long balls forward on an unexpectedly calm night. It looked most dangerous from set pieces while South Africa’s menace was in the swiftness with which it turned defense into counter-attack.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The Football Ferns were vibing to the music on the team bus as it pulled away after New Zealand’s first-ever Women’s World Cup victory. The blasting song, appropriately enough, was “I Like the Way You Move.”

The Ferns certainly appear to be on the move.

With a 1-0 victory over Group A favorites Norway secured, New Zealand is in good position to advance to the knockout stage — a massive achievement for the tournament co-hosts, who had never won a match at the World Cup before Thursday night.

It was a monumental victory for women’s soccer in a nation that is better known for it’s love of rugby. More than 42,000 fans were at the game, making it the biggest crowd ever for a men’s or women’s soccer match in New Zealand.

“To see the way we performed and fought, the resilience of the this team, how gritty the effort, the sprinting. Everything. That is the kind of performance we wanted to show. That’s who we are,” captain Ali Riley said. “And that is how we can inspire young girls. That is how we can make our nation proud and hopefully change the sporting culture in this country.”

New Zealand now turns to a match Tuesday against tournament rookies the Philippines in Wellington. Norway plays Switzerland in Hamilton.

“This is just the beginning,” coach Jitka Klimková said. “If we will have this crowd behind us every time we step up on the field, that’s what we need, really that push from them.”

The Ferns, who made the field as hosts with Australia, had won just one of their last 11 matches heading into the World Cup. Every tournament host before them had advanced out of its group — so the pressure was on.

Hannah Wilkinson scored in the opening minutes of the second half, and that was enough for the win. Wilkinson relentlessly pressured the Norwegians, winners of the 1995 World Cup, and the the Ferns’ defense ultimately held.

Afterward, New Zealand Prime minister Chris Hipkins visited the team locker room to congratulate the players.

“I think with the performance, we deserved it,” said Riley, who plays professionally for Angel City in Los Angeles. “I know we came into this as underdogs. I know there was a lot of doubt, a lot of articles being written saying how many times we haven’t won a game. But we believed in ourselves the whole time.”

But the mood was somewhat bittersweet. Hours before the opening match, New Zealand was shaken by a rare fatal shooting in downtown Auckland. Two people were killed by a gunman who opened fire on a construction site near Norway’s team hotel. The assailant died after a shootout with police.

After an opening ceremony that honored New Zealand’s Indigenous heritage, there was a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting.

“It wasn’t just about winning the game. This is about inspiring our entire country. With what happened this morning, trying to do something positive today and honor the first responders,” Riley said after the match. ” That’s a lot. And it felt like we did it. I think we did it.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports