The warnings had been crescendoing, spreading through soccer circles, muffled only by American greatness.
The world had claimed it was catching up to the U.S. women’s national team. For years, from 2012 through 2020, the USWNT refuted every last declaration. But the warnings never relented. They cited an American player development system that had stagnated. They cited European equivalents that were accelerating.
“Spain and England are the gold standard right now, when it comes to creating a pathway for girls from cradle to pros,” Miriam Hickey, the former director of U.S. Soccer’s girls Development Academy, told Yahoo Sports in the spring of 2023.