Well that's unfortunate.

Women went as far as the men. They're all disappointed they're not getting money from the women winning.

Rule #1 of PKs, put it on frame.

Players picked for the national team should take pride in playing for our nation, and should be able to score PKs. New screening measures for squad selection next time, perhaps.

LB12Diamond said:

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So lost by a centimeter

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No!! Lost by 40ft if you add Rapino and Smiths shots together. That is where it was lost.

Rapinoe should have retired. Not a good way to go out.

They are neither the first nor will be the last team to dominate a soccer game and lose. Saw somewhere that the xG was 1.8 to .1. It is one of the defining characteristics of soccer...probably more so than any other sport. "Deserving" to win but ultimately losing.

LB12Diamond said:

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Rapinoe should have retired. Not a good way to go out.

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And how she laughed when she missed.

That's in the coach tho. She should never have been in that position.

Cliff.Booth said:

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Players picked for the national team should take pride in playing for our nation, and should be able to score PKs. New screening measures for squad selection next time, perhaps.

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The national team has been these players "job" for years. Look they were focused only on pay in the run up to the last two olympics and it showed in the performances.

Both the WUSA and NWSL have been poorly run and most USA players have refused to go to europe where the competition is better. MLS is not great but the women refusing to affiliate with MLS was a dumb decision and now it is too late IMO.

Some of y'all are just absolutely miserable.

The American system will shift more. Losing sucks too bad to pretend we can live isolated. The USWNT will either keep up or be irrelevant. The world caught up and passed us with better knowledge of the game. We can do better. Especially if we depoliticized the national team.

jeffk said:

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Some of y'all are just absolutely miserable.

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Posters *****ing about players talking political stuff also can't help but make everything political themselves. I've got a few in my family, they are a beating to be around.

jeffk said:

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Some of y'all are just absolutely miserable.

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This thread is full of dumb takes, mean spirited irrelevant criticisms, and vitriol that has almost nothing to do with the team or how they played.

On the other hand, it's a great sign for equity that women's teams can get the same internet treatment as the men's.

jeffk said:

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Some of y'all are just absolutely miserable.

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Don't you know this team got woke now but not in 2019? In baseball, Team USA lost the World Baseball Classic even though we have a strangle hold on the game (not woke though!).

You are arguing with the F16 clown folks and wasting your breath.

Rudyjax said:

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LB12Diamond said:

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Rapinoe should have retired. Not a good way to go out.

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And how she laughed when she missed.

That's in the coach tho. She should never have been in that position.

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I can only imagine the screaming from Rap and her social media mob if Rap weren't in there for PKs and they lost.

Hell look at her postgame comments. Proud of her off field accomplishments and ready to be done with soccer. Spoken like a true loser.

Rapinoe-

Taking politics and world view out, and focusing on soccer…

She used to be my favorite player. Nobody has better crosses and sets than Rapinoe.

Unfortunately, the last few years have been really bad. Her fight and care of playing soccer seemed to be, ultimately defined by missing a wide open PK, and then just simply laughing afterwards. I would have been devastated and crying my eyes out, knowing my career ended on a very bad kick.

Texagsubscriber said:

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jeffk said:

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Some of y'all are just absolutely miserable.

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Don't you know this team got woke now but not in 2019? In baseball, Team USA lost the World Baseball Classic even though we have a strangle hold on the game (not woke though!).

You are arguing with the F16 clown folks and wasting your breath.

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What are you rambling on about

Every time I turn on baseball it is Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Japanese dominating

Rapinoe is a terrible player and had no business being on this squad.

So woke you can't see the truth

Fitting end for the cause over country crew.

amercer said:

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jeffk said:

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Some of y'all are just absolutely miserable.

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This thread is full of dumb takes, mean spirited irrelevant criticisms, and vitriol that has almost nothing to do with the team or how they played.

On the other hand, it's a great sign for equity that women's teams can get the same internet treatment as the men's.

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This is actually a fantastic point. Why deprive the women of the reactionary, hateful fandom the men receive.

Tough way to go out. Team played well and the Swedish keeper was immense. Interesting Smith was in the 5th spot to take the PK and not Horan. I would've loved to have seen Thompson come on instead of Rapinoe as it was evident Sweden couldn't handle the speed of the US attackers.

Rapinoe's inclusion showed to be a joke. She was awful as a sub and choked her PK.

I'll get the political stuff out of the way first.

Though an active follower/supporter of the USWNT since the days of Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Brandi Chastain, I'm one of those many supporters who has been so turned off by the combination of Rapinoe, the anthem disrespect, the contract issues, and the left-wing activism in general associated with the team that I haven't followed or watched them in about 5 years.

I'm hopeful that with Rapinoe gone it will provide them an opportunity to kind of reboot the program from both from an on-the-pitch and off-the-pitch standpoint, and I look forward to re-engaging as a fan/supporter as that happens.

As far as the post-Rapinoe reboot is concerned I believe the USWNT needs to transition for the women into what the USMNT is for the men; their principle side gig rather than their primary job/responsibility.

1) The USWNT/US Soccer would focus less on marketing/catering to individual players (especially ones that are past the primes) providing both greater opportunity to a larger, less exclusive pool of potential national team players, while at the same time creating greater incentive to integrate younger up-and-coming players into the national team pool.

2) The players would invest more time/focus on developing their technical/tactical skills playing and training with their club teams (which with the men is basically where ALL their training/development comes). IMO the USWNT and its core players spends too much time basically playing the role of traveling exhibition team.

3) Some of the resources that US Soccer would otherwise spend on the USWNT should be refocused on youth development here in the states and/or helping finance and/or locate opportunities for youth development in Europe for promising young players.

4) In addition, some of the resources that US Soccer would otherwise spend on the USWNT should be refocused on building up the NWSL into the premier women's league in the world in terms of coaching and competition, so as to provide greater domestic opportunities to continue developing young players, as they transition to full-time professionals, into the next crop of national team players.

5) In the short term, while working on #4 national team caliber players/prospects should be encouraged to play/develop in European teams/academies as well, even if it means less "visibility" from a marketing standpoint while playing overseas.

The #USWNT's current struggles are something that has been evident over the past 5-10 years and, to a lesser but still noticeable extent, since the 90s.

The women were never truly "great."

They never played technical or tactical football - two keys to playing the game to its… pic.twitter.com/W5pMf5Mmwz

— 3four3 (@3four3) August 6, 2023

Pretty much echos my thoughts on the whole thing

1836er said:

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I'll get the political stuff out of the way first.

Though an active follower/supporter of the USWNT since the days of Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Brandi Chastain, I'm one of those many supporters who has been so turned off by the combination of Rapinoe, the anthem disrespect, the contract issues, and the left-wing activism in general associated with the team that I haven't followed or watched them in about 5 years.

I'm hopeful that with Rapinoe gone it will provide them an opportunity to kind of reboot the program from both from an on-the-pitch and off-the-pitch standpoint, and I look forward to re-engaging as a fan/supporter as that happens.

As far as the post-Rapinoe reboot is concerned I believe the USWNT needs to transition for the women into what the USMNT is for the men; their principle side gig rather than their primary job/responsibility.

1) The USWNT/US Soccer would focus less on marketing/catering to individual players (especially ones that are past the primes) providing both greater opportunity to a larger, less exclusive pool of potential national team players, while at the same time creating greater incentive to integrate younger up-and-coming players into the national team pool.

2) The players would invest more time/focus on developing their technical/tactical skills playing and training with their club teams (which with the men is basically where ALL their training/development comes). IMO the USWNT and its core players spends too much time basically playing the role of traveling exhibition team.

3) Some of the resources that US Soccer would otherwise spend on the USWNT should be refocused on youth development here in the states and/or helping finance and/or locate opportunities for youth development in Europe for promising young players.

4) In addition, some of the resources that US Soccer would otherwise spend on the USWNT should be refocused on building up the NWSL into the premier women's league in the world in terms of coaching and competition, so as to provide greater domestic opportunities to continue developing young players, as they transition to full-time professionals, into the next crop of national team players.

5) In the short term, while working on #4 national team caliber players/prospects should be encouraged to play/develop in European teams/academies as well, even if it means less "visibility" from a marketing standpoint while playing overseas.

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Nothing remotely political about demonstrative respect for the country you represent. If you can't represent your country with respect, then you don't represent your country. It's not a political issue. It's a right and wrong issue.

It is fitting that MR's last shot of her woke, self-aggrandizing, patriotically insulting soccer career was a wild blast that had no chance of success. She smiled on the field and laughed about it during her press conference appearance. The world laughed too, at her.

The upside for soccer fans will be the disappearance of the TV commercials touting America's boastful arrogance and, especially, Megan Rapinoe's harangue about woke perversions.

Moreover, Sophia Smith had, literally, the chance of a lifetime in soccer to win a sensational world cup knockout match and she put the ball out of play. Unfortunately for a player in her youth, her gaff will be an ugly, lifetime tattoo.

Bring on the next generation to clean up this mess.

Edits for spelling and clarity