The USWNT took a stumble on Monday night, losing to Mexico 2-0.
It was the team’s first loss to El Tri Femenil since 2010, and their first Concacaf loss on home soil since 2000. Coming off a disappointing Round of 16 exit at last summer’s World Cup, this latest result may only point to a continued slump for some fans. But it also reiterates what players inside and outside the US have been saying: the world is catching up.
“Not only Concacaf, but the whole world is continuing to raise its level,” Alex Morgan said after the loss. “It’s helping with all the leagues around the world, and Mexico is definitely a product of that with their league. Concacaf is not what it was 14 years ago when we had our last loss to Mexico.”
Mexico was playing the US for the first-time under new coach Pedro López Ramos, who took over the team after it failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup.
“I think this time it’s a little bit different,” Mexico’s María Sánchez said before the W Gold Cup about the rivalry with the U.S. “We know that the history between both teams hasn’t been as competitive before, but I think the growth of women’s soccer in Mexico can hopefully take us closer… The group is at a higher level than we’ve been in the past.”
Mexico’s win over the USWNT also shines a lot on the Mexican professional league Liga MX Femenil, which has helped with the development of national team players since its inception in 2017. It’s the same league that USWNT forward Mia Fishel chose to play in after forgoing the NWSL. Fishel now plays for Chelsea, and is sidelined for the USWNT after tearing her ACL in Gold Cup camp.
Maria Sanchez of the Houston Dash, who is one of a number of Mexican national team members to play in the NWSL and once played in Liga MX, noted that the number of Mexican players in the NWSL has also grown.
“Now we have our own league in Mexico, we have more Mexican players in the NWSL,” said Sanchez. “There’s that growth that is obviously happening that’s helping us all around with the Mexican national team.”
While the USWNT is still one of the best programs in the world, it’s clear we’re entering a new era of parity. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore put it bluntly after the loss: “There’s no easy games anymore.”
“If we don’t take care of business and we don’t execute, this is to be expected. We’ll step up and take ownership of that,” Kilgore said. “I think they had a good game plan, I think we had a good game plan. Simply, they just executed theirs better than ours.”