When the Women’s World Cup kicks off next month, the narrative will be about the FIFA corruption scandal scarring the sport. But the focus for the U.S. Women’s National Team isn’t on officials and executives getting arrested in Switzerland, but on winning games in Canada, and claiming the prize that’s eluded it — a world title.
“Whatever happens in Switzerland or in Brazil or in Japan … with their federations, or even our own federation in FIFA, we have no idea what goes on, nor do we have control,” striker Abby Wambach said. “I want to talk about Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo and what they’re doing on the pitch, not what FIFA is doing behind back channels.”
Wambach, 34, who is the world’s all-time leading international goalscorer, needs to win this World Cup in her last go around to feel fulfilled.
“You’re damn right I need it,” she said Wednesday at the national team’s media day in Midtown. “It’s all I’m thinking about, all that’s on my mind. It’s the thing that I haven’t been able to be a part of.… I haven’t won yet. It’s something I know all of us have to be willing to be forever disappointed in not winning. That’s what it takes. You have to be willing to completely give in to it. You have to completely allow yourself to be crushed by something. It’s like love. And if we give in to it, and all of us give in to it, then I think we have a chance at this.”
Despite being a soccer powerhouse — with four Olympic gold medals, 10 Algarve Cups and the No. 1 spot in the FIFA rankings continuously from March 2008 to last December — the U.S. women haven’t won a World Cup since 1999.
Captain Christie Rampone, 39, is the last active player left from that team, but many still are stinging from the loss in the 2011 finals. And this team, which plays a friendly against South Korea on Saturday at Red Bull Arena, then opens group play June 8 in Winnipeg against Australia, has welcomed the pressure of the all-or-nothing proposition.
“Yeah, the pressure is on,” said Sydney Leroux, a dual citizen born near Vancouver, where the U.S. closes group play June 16 against Nigeria. “The American mentality for the U.S. Women’s National Team is win or nothing. That’s the pressure we’ve invited. If we don’t come home with the gold, then that’s not good enough. “We don’t want second. We want to be first and we want to leave Canada with a World Cup. … That’s what we’ve put on each other, put on ourselves. … We came to be nothing but the best, and anything less than that we won’t be happy with.’’