The celebration came early, too, for a U.S. team determined up until the final minute to win this Women’s World Cup on its own terms. That was almost expected — the U.S. has now won four of the eight Women’s World Cups — but not many thought that it would play out in this fashion. What it means for the future of women’s soccer is less clear, if only because great breakthroughs that were predicted from earlier World Cup titles never quite happened. That can come later, though the fact FIFA is looking to expand from 24 to 32 teams for the 2023 World Cup is further evidence that world soccer is beginning to take the women’s game more seriously. It won’t help that those future teams will also likely be without the 34-year-old Rapinoe, who was the unquestioned star of this World Cup, on the field and off.

Source: thestar July 07, 2019 22:07 UTC