COMING AT THE QUEENS

The U.S. has long reigned over women's soccer, but its place on the throne is being CHALLENGED by countries that are finally leveraging the structure and prestige of the sport's traditional powers

- Brian Straus

Search for signs of a dynasty in potential peril, and it would be wise to look beyond wins, losses or even ånything in this country. Instead, notice the 60,063 fans who filled London's Emirates Stadium on May 1 or the 72,262 supporters who serenaded their beloved Barcelona following a match at Camp Nou a few days earlier. Listen for the sounds heralding a tectonic shift.

"Una bandera ens agermana," the Barcelona fans sang, as they have for decades. "Blaugrana al vent, un crit valent. Tenim un nom, el sap tothom." Roughly translated from Catalan, it means, "One flag unites us. Blue and claret on the wind, one valiant cry. We have a name that everyone knows." Barça tied Chelsea that night and eked out its two-game Champions League semifinal series by a single goal on aggregate. At the Emirates, Arsenal was eliminated by visiting Wolfsburg in extra time. These are names everyone knows, and both matches had the look and feel of those iconic European nights. But what made them relevant, and perhaps even threatening to the dynasty across the Atlantic, is that those matches were played by women. The U.S. women's national team is, without question, the most dominant women's soccer team in the world. But today, its seat on the summit could be challenged by countries that are home to the sport's traditional powers and are gaining ground by finally investing in women.

THE AMERICAN WOMEN HAVE LOST JUST four World Cup games ever. They have won the sport's premier competition four times (and medaled in the remaining four), have been ranked No. 1 by FIFA since summer 2017 and have never fallen below second. They are the two-time defending champs and won each of their seven matches in France in '19 in 90 minutes-something that had been accomplished by only the '02 Brazilian men's side featuring Ronaldo Nazário and Ronaldinho.

THE CHALLENGER