The U.S. made its earliest-ever exit from a women’s World Cup last summer when it was eliminated by Sweden in the round of 16. And while the shadow of that loss wasn’t necessarily hanging over the Americans on Sunday when they played in their first tournament final since then, it hasn’t exactly gone away either.
“We have all together owned our World Cup experience,” said interim coach Twila Kilgore, who was an assistant on that team. “We’ve regrouped, we’ve set new goals, we’ve set a new solid plan. We’re working towards something together, and it’s a very public process.