Funny thing was watching the people come up with excuses for that. My favorite was, "Well, the women's team weren't really trying because it was an exhibition." My response was always, "Any athlete who steps on any competitive field and isn't trying isn't much of an athlete." There's literally no comeback for that and it's completely true.
How badly do you have to be phoning it in for that to be the reason you lose 5-2? In a sport where a common victory is 1-0. As the top tier of professional athlete in your field against the Dallas under 15 squad?
If you really are "not trying" THAT HARD, if there aren't any biological differences at play here—because I think it's reasonable to assume that coordination/technique factors would favor the professional team, and that the boys team probably won on pure physical advantage, not on the fact that some amateur under 15 club happens to be genuinely more skilled than the women's world cup team—then what was even the point to playing the game?
Remember that the USWNT was criticized for running up the score against inferior opponents. Scores of 8-0 or more are actually common in women’s soccer.
There is NO WAY the women played down or held back - that is not their style at all.
Since the USWNT is one of the elite teams in the world, this means that this group of 15 yo boys could absolutely destroy most or all of the women’s teams in the world.
Funny thing was watching the people come up with excuses for that. My favorite was, "Well, the women's team weren't really trying because it was an exhibition." My response was always, "Any athlete who steps on any competitive field and isn't trying isn't much of an athlete." There's literally no comeback for that and it's completely true.
How badly do you have to be phoning it in for that to be the reason you lose 5-2? In a sport where a common victory is 1-0. As the top tier of professional athlete in your field against the Dallas under 15 squad?
If you really are "not trying" THAT HARD, if there aren't any biological differences at play here—because I think it's reasonable to assume that coordination/technique factors would favor the professional team, and that the boys team probably won on pure physical advantage, not on the fact that some amateur under 15 club happens to be genuinely more skilled than the women's world cup team—then what was even the point to playing the game?
Remember that the USWNT was criticized for running up the score against inferior opponents. Scores of 8-0 or more are actually common in women’s soccer.
There is NO WAY the women played down or held back - that is not their style at all.
Since the USWNT is one of the elite teams in the world, this means that this group of 15 yo boys could absolutely destroy most or all of the women’s teams in the world.
Wait, I don’t follow soccer, but why would this be the case? Games last however long they last—what are you supposed to do, just stop playing?
Also, why are scores so much more dramatic in women’s soccer than men’s?