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The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States of America in international women's soccer. The team is governed by United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football). The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019), four Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012), nine CONCACAF W Championship titles, and one CONCACAF W Gold Cup title. It has medaled in every Women's World Cup and Olympic tournament in women's soccer except for the 2016 Olympic tournament and 2023 Women's World Cup; on both occasions, they were eliminated by Sweden after a penalty shootout. After mostly being ranked No. 2 from 2003 to 2008 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, the team was ranked No. 1 continuously from March 2008 to November 2014, the longest consecutive top ranking of any team. Since FIFA rankings were established in 2003, the team has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 13 years; the team with the next-longest tenure, Germany, has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 41⁄2 years. The USWNT has never been ranked lower than fourth in the world. The team was selected as the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee's Team of the Year in 1997 and 1999, and Sports Illustrated chose the entire team as 1999 Sportswomen of the Year for its usual Sportsman of the Year honor. On April 5, 2017, USWNT players and U.S. Soccer reached a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement that would, among other things, lead to a pay increase. In February 2022, numerous current and former members of the USWNT settled a lawsuit with the U.S. Soccer Federation for $24 million and a requirement that male and female soccer players be paid equally, regardless of the proportion of prize money they receive, making it the first such instance in the world. History Origins in the 1980s The passing of Title IX in 1972, which outlawed gender-based discrimination for federally-funded education programs, spurred the creation of college soccer teams across the United States at a time when women's soccer was rising in popularity internationally. The U.S. Soccer Federation tasked coach Mike Ryan to select a roster of college players to participate in the 1985 Mundialito tournament in Italy, its first foray into women's international soccer. The team played its first match on August 18, 1985, losing 1–0 to Italy, and finished the tournament in fourth place after failing to win its remaining matches against Denmark and England. University of North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance was hired as the team's first full-time head coach in 1986 with the goal of fielding a competitive women's team at the next Mundialito and at future tournaments. In their first Mundialito under Dorrance, the United States defeated China, Brazil, and Japan before finishing as runners-up to Italy. Dorrance gave national team appearances to teenage players, including future stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Kristine Lilly, instead of the college players preferred by the federation, and called into camp the first African-American player on the team, Kim Crabbe. The United States played in the 1988 FIFA Women's Invitation Tournament in China, a FIFA-sanctioned competition to test the feasibility of a regular women's championship, and lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Norway. 1990s Following the 1988 tournament, FIFA announced plans for a new women's tournament, named the 1st FIFA World Championship for Women's Football for the M&M's Cup until it was retroactively named the "World Cup". The United States qualified for the tournament by winning the inaugural CONCACAF Women's Championship, hosted by Haiti in April 1991, outscoring their opponents 49–0 for the sole CONCACAF berth in the tournament. The team played several exhibition matches abroad against European opponents to prepare for the world championship, while its players quit their regular jobs to train full-time with meager compensation. Dorrance utilized a 4–3–3 formation that was spearheaded by the "Triple-Edged Sword" of forward Michelle Akers and wingers Carin Jennings and April Heinrichs. At the Women's World Cup, the United States won all three of its group stage matches and outscored its opponents 11–2. In the opening match against Sweden, the U.S. took a 3–0 lead early in the second half, but conceded two goals to end the match with a narrower 3–2 victory. The U.S. proceeded to win 5–0 in its second match against Brazil and 3–0 in its third match against Japan, clinching first place in the group and a quarterfinal berth. The United States proceeded with a 7–0 victory in the quarterfinals over Chinese Taipei, fueled by a five-goal performance by Akers in the first fifty minutes of the match. In the semifinals against Germany, Jennings scored a hattrick in the first half as the team clinched a place in the final with a 5–2 victory. The team's lopsided victories in the earlier rounds had brought attention from American media outlets, but the final match was not televised live in the U.S. The United States won the inaugural Women's World Cup title by defeating Norway 2–1 in the final, played in front of 65,000 spectators at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, as Akers scored twice to create and restore a lead for the Americans. Akers finished as the top goalscorer at the tournament, with ten goals, and Jennings was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. Despite their Women's World Cup victory, the U.S. team remained in relative obscurity and received a small welcome from several U.S. Soccer Federation officials upon arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The team were given fewer resources and little attention from the federation as they focused on improving the men's national team in preparation for the 1994 men's World Cup that would be hosted in the United States. The women's team was placed on hiatus after the tournament, only playing twice in 1992, but returned the following year to play in several tournaments hosted in Cyprus, Canada, and the United States, including a second CONCACAF Championship title. The program was still supported better than those of the former Soviet Union, where soccer was considered a "men's game". The United States played in several friendly tournaments to prepare for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup and its qualification campaign. The first was the inaugural staging of the Algarve Cup in Portugal, which saw the team win its two group stage matches but lose 1–0 to Norway in the final. It was followed by a victory in the Chiquita Cup, an exhibition tournament hosted in August on the U.S. East Coast against Germany, China, and Norway. Dorrance resigned from his position as head coach in early August and was replaced by his assistant, Tony DiCicco, a former professional goalkeeper who played in t.... Discover the Carli Lloyd Wayne Coffey popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Carli Lloyd Wayne Coffey books.