The FIFA Women's World Cup is over and the new winners have been crowned: the US beat the Netherlands, 2-0. The victory was close and hard-won in intense heat, but with the closing whistle, the USWNT cemented their legendary status and became the first team to win the Women's World Cup four times.
The US had scored in the first 12 minutes of every World Cup game, but the Dutch held them scoreless well into the second half. Dutch goalie Sari van Veenendaal was called on to make several spectacular saves, but still the US couldn't find the back of the net. It wasn't until the 61st minute that the US finally got on the board. A high kick in the box led to a VAR check and a penalty that Megan Rapinoe [1] (she of the two penalty kick goals from the Spain round of 16 game) calmly put away, freezing van Veenendaal on her line. Just eight minutes later, midfielder Rose Lavelle [2] took on the Dutch defenders and streaked a goal into the corner from the top of the box.
With the exciting win, the USWNT defended their title and finished a very entertaining tournament that included a long list of records broken [3] (throwback to that 13-0 win over Thailand [4]) and two nail-biting, 2-1 wins against France and England [5] in the knockout stages. In the end, their dominance pulled international attention, inspired the world, and led them straight to the trophy.
