This soccer-mad L.A. Latina has attended seven World Cups. Qatar will make it eight by the time the United States plays Ghana on Wednesday.
L.A. would love to return to the World Cup—to the place it once was, before the USA left for the land of milk and honey. But for the women’s national team’s time abroad, it must play for gold, not a badge of honor.
The 2017 and 2022 World Cups will be played in the United States. But what if they had come to L.A.? In June, the LA Galaxy, USA’s largest sponsor, announced a “Women’s World Cup Experience” featuring live soccer on six dates on the field and a series of “spectacular events and interactive experiences” at its facilities throughout L.A.
The LA Galaxy, by all accounts, has been a godsend in some ways. The team, owned by soccer fans, built a soccer-loving stadium in Carson, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 2015, the team played every single MLS match at its new facility in L.A.
But the Women’s World Cup Experience is also a chance to prove the team is serious about competing with the men’s team. For the past 10 years, the U.S. has earned the right to represent the United States in the final round of games. The next FIFA Women’s World Cup is in France in a few weeks.
The U.S. is coming off a 1-0 loss to Japan—the first time it has lost a match to a reigning World Cup champion. And it has lost to China in the gold-medal game four times, going back to 2014.
For the women’s team to succeed, it has to win every remaining game. It also has to get better than last year.
“To be able to play on a bigger stage, with the opportunity to play against more international opponents, that’s a really special experience
