The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT), designated as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF, the FIFA confederation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. team is the most successful team in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019), five Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2024), nine CONCACAF W Championship titles, and one CONCACAF W Gold Cup title. It has medaled in every Women's World Cup and Olympic women's soccer tournament except for the 2016 Olympic tournament and the 2023 Women's World Cup; on both occasions, the U.S. was eliminated by Sweden after a penalty shootout in the first round of the knockout stage.
After mostly being ranked No. 2 from 2003 to 2008 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, the team was ranked No. 1 continuously from March 2008 to November 2014, the longest consecutive top ranking of any team. Since FIFA rankings were established in 2003, the team has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 13 years; the team with the next-longest tenure, Germany, has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 4 years. The USWNT has never been ranked lower than fifth in the world.
The team was selected as the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee's Team of the Year in 1997 and 1999, and Sports Illustrated chose the entire team as the 1999 Sportswomen of the Year for its traditional Sportsman of the Year honor. On April 5, 2017, USWNT players and the U.S. Soccer Federation reached a new collective bargaining agreement that would, among other things, lead to a pay increase for players. In February 2022, numerous current and former players of the USWNT settled a lawsuit with U.S. Soccer for $24 million and a requirement that male and female soccer players be paid equally, regardless of the proportion of prize money they receive; this was the first instance of this standard in the world. FIFA still distributes significantly more funds to its member associations for the men's event.
The United States will be a co-host of the 2031 Women's World Cup, and the USWNT will earn automatic entry as a result.
History
Origins The passing of Title IX in 1972, which outlawed gender-based discrimination for federally-funded education programs, spurred the creation of women's college soccer teams across the United States at a time when women's soccer was rising in popularity globally. In its first foray into women's international soccer, the U.S. Soccer Federation asked coach Mike Ryan to select a roster of collegiate players to participate in the 1985 Mundialito tournament in Italy. The team played its first match on August 18, 1985, losing 1–0 to Italy, and finished the tournament in fourth place.
University of North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance was hired as the team's first full-time head coach in 1986 with the goal of fielding a competitive women's team at the next Mundialito and at future tournaments. In their first Mundialito under Dorrance, the United States defeated China, Brazil, and Japan before finishing as runners-up to Italy. Dorrance gave national team appearances to teenage players, including future stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Kristine Lilly, instead of the college players preferred by the federation. The U.S. played in the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China, a competition meant to test the feasibility of a regular women's championship. The U.S. lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Norway.
1990s: First World Cup and Olympic wins Following the 1988 tournament, FIFA announced plans for a new women's tournament, named the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup until it was retroactively named the "World Cup". The U.S. qualified for the tournament by winning the inaugural CONCACAF Women's Championship, hosted by Haiti in April 1991. The U.S. outscored its opponents 49–0 for the confederation's sole World Cup berth. The team played several exhibition matches against European opponents to prepare for the World Cup; its players quit their regular jobs to train full-time for meager compensation. Dorrance utilized a 4–3–3 formation that was spearheaded by the "Triple-Edged Sword" of forward Michelle Akers and wingers Carin Jennings and April Heinrichs.
At the World Cup, the U.S. won all three of its group stage matches and outscored its opponents 11–2. The Americans achieved a 7–0 victory in the quarterfinals over Chinese Taipei, fueled by a five-goal performance by Akers in the first 50 minutes of the match. In the semifinal against Germany, Jennings scored a hat-trick in the first half as the U.S. won 5–2. The team's lopsided victories in the earlier rounds had brought attention from American media outlets, but the final match was not televised live in the U.S. The United States won the inaugural Women's World Cup title by defeating Norway 2–1 in the final, played in front of 65,000 spectators at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou. Both goals were scored by Akers, who finished as the top goalscorer of the tournament, with ten goals. Jennings was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
Despite its World Cup victory, the U.S. team remained in relative obscurity and received only a small welcome from several U.S. Soccer Federation officials upon arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The team was given fewer resources and little attention as the federation focused on improving the men's national team in preparation for the 1994 men's World Cup that would be hosted in the United States. The women's team was placed on hiatus after the 1991 World Cup, only playing twice in 1992. They returned the following year to play in several tournaments hosted in Cyprus, Canada, and the United States, and won a second CONCACAF Championship title.
The U.S. played in several tournaments to prepare for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and its qualification campaign. The first was the inaugural Algarve Cup in Portugal, which saw the team lose 1–0 to Norway in the final. The Algarve Cup was followed by a victory at the Chiquita Cup, an exhibition tournament hosted on the U.S. East Coast against Germany, China, and Norway. Dorrance resigned from his position as head coach in August 1994 and was replaced by his assistant, Tony DiCicco, a former professional goalkeeper who played in the American Soccer League. Under DiCicco, the USWNT secured a berth at the 1995 World Cup by winning the 1994 CONCACAF Championship, during which they scored 36 goals and conceded only one.
In February 1995, the U.S. women's program opened a permanent training and treatment facility in Sanford, Florida, and began a series of warm-up friendlies that were paid for by Nike. The team topped their group in the Women's World Cup, despite a 3–3 tie with China in the opening match and losing goalkeeper Briana Scurry to a red card in their second match. The U.S. proceeded to defeat Japan 4–0 in the quarterfinals, then lost 1–0 to Norway in the semifinals. The team finished in third place by achieving a 2–0 victory over China. At the inaugural Olympic women's soccer tournament during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the U.S. won the gold medal, defeating China 2–1 in the final.
On July 10, 1999, a stadium of 90,000 people—the largest-ever audience for a women's sporting event at the time—watched the United States play China in the final of the 1999 World Cup in Pasadena, California. After a back-and-forth game, the score was tied 0–0 at full-time, and remained so after extra time, leading to a penalty shootout. Brandi Chastain scored the final kick for the United States, winning the game and the World Cup. She dropped to her knees, whipped off her jersey, and celebrated in her sports bra, an image which made the cover of Sports Illustrated and the front pages of newspapers around the world. The U.S. victory brought significant media attention to women's soccer and women's sports in general, and inspired many girls to play soccer.Dare to Dream. Ouisie Shapiro. HBO Productions, September 19, 2007. Video In the 2000 Summer Olympics, the USWNT were close to defending their gold medal but were controversially defeated by Norway in the final with a golden goal in extra time, which involved an alleged handball in the lead-up.
2000s: two Olympic gold medals
In the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, the U.S. defeated Norway 1–0 in the quarterfinals but lost 3–0 to Germany in the semifinals. The team then defeated Canada 3–1 to claim third place.FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003, FIFA. Abby Wambach was the team's top scorer with three goals, while Joy Fawcett and Shannon Boxx made the tournament's all-star team. In the 2004 Olympics, the last major international tournament for Hamm and Foudy, the U.S. earned the gold medal, winning 2–1 over Brazil in the final on an extra time goal by Wambach.
At the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the U.S. defeated England 3–0 in the quarterfinals but then suffered its most lopsided loss in team history when it lost to Brazil 4–0 in the semifinals."Ending The Drought: What did the USWNT Learn From 2007 World Cup Loss?" , ESPN, Julie Foudy, June 3, 2015. The U.S. recovered to defeat Norway to take third place. Wambach was the team's leading scorer with 6 goals, and Lilly was the only American named to the tournament's all-star team.
The team won another gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, but interest in the Women's National Team had diminished since their performance in the 1999 World Cup. However, the second women's professional league was created in March 2009, Women's Professional Soccer.
2010s: Olympic and then World Cup triumphs
In the quarterfinal of the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany, the U.S. defeated Brazil 5–3 on penalty kicks. Wambach's goal in the 122nd minute to tie the game 2–2 has been voted the greatest goal in U.S. soccer history and the greatest goal in Women's World Cup history. The U.S. then beat France 3–1 in the semifinal, but lost to Japan 3–1 on penalty kicks in the Final after drawing 1–1 in regulation and 2–2 in overtime. Hope Solo was named the tournament's best goalkeeper and Wambach won the silver ball as the tournament's second-best player.
In the 2012 Summer Olympics, the U.S. won the gold medal for the fourth time in five Olympics by defeating Japan 2–1 in front of 80,203 fans at Wembley Stadium, a record for a women's soccer game at the Olympics. The United States advanced to face Japan for the gold medal by winning the semifinal against Canada, a 4–3 victory at the end of extra time. The 2012 London Olympics marked the first time the USWNT won every game en route to the gold medal and set an Olympic women's team record of 16 goals scored.
The National Women's Soccer League started in 2013, and provided competitive games as well as opportunities to players on the fringes of the squad. The U.S. had a 43-game unbeaten streak that spanned two yearsthe streak began with a 4–0 win over Sweden in the 2012 Algarve Cup, and came to an end after a 1–0 loss against Sweden in the 2014 Algarve Cup.
The U.S. defeated Japan 5–2 in the final of the 2015 World Cup, becoming the first team in history to win three Women's World Cup titles. In the 16th minute, Carli Lloyd achieved the fastest hat-trick from kick-off in World Cup history, and Wambach was greeted with a standing ovation for her last World Cup match. Following their 2015 World Cup win, the team was honored with a ticker tape parade in New York City, the first for a women's sports team, and honored by President Barack Obama at the White House. On December 16, 2015, however, a 1–0 loss to China in Wambach's last game meant the team's first home loss since 2004, ending their 104-game home unbeaten streak.