The National Women’s Soccer League put out their Best XI for the 2019 season on Thursday afternoon, and it proved that Paul Riley was right all season long: The North Carolina Courage really are underdogs. Forget about the three consecutive NWSL Shields. Throw away the record-breaking goal scoring of this year. Who cares if the Courage scored 54 goal in 24 games? The only player good enough to be on the league’s Best XI was a defender who got benched for a friendly game after the World Cup because she was out of shape.
The NWSL fans, media, players, and coaches have spoken and they all agree that there are more good players on other teams.