The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team Just Won the World Cup, and Twitter's Losing It
The dynasty is strong. On Sunday, July 7, the U.S. Women’s National Team took home the FIFA Women’s World Cup—its fourth ever—after a 2-0 victory against the Netherlands in Lyon, France. Not only did the women of the USWNT clench back to back championships, they set a new record for most goals scored in a single world cup. It’s official: the women of the USWNT are legends.
From the very first game, the team showed up, sweeping the rankings as they followed their 2015 World Cup win in Canada. The Netherlands started out the game strong—as the New York Times points out, they were the only team the U.S. went up against during the tournament that were able to keep the USWNT from scoring in the first half of the game.
Things changed in the second half, with Megan Rapinoe—the oldest player to score in a World Cup final at 34 years old—scoring the first goal in the match with a penalty kick. Rose Lavelle sealed the win with a second goal for the team.
The win is resonating with fans around the world—especially on Twitter.
Along with the GOAT shoutouts, fans on Twitter are also calling out the issue of equal pay: In the last World Cup cycle, the men’s tournament winners took home 17.5 times more than the US women in 2015.
A lawsuit surrounding the team’s pay discrepancy is ongoing, but it’s clear these women are champions—and should be paid like it.