The curtain has fallen on another edition of the World Cup; 52 games were played and 23 teams fell short. Only the United States emerged victorious following its 2-0 win over the Netherlands on Sunday.
The ratings are coming in from Sunday’s World Cup final between the USWNT and the Netherlands, and yup, they’re really impressive. Over on Telemundo, the game was the most-watched women’s match in Spanish-language history. The average total audience delivery was 1.6 million viewers, up 22 percent on the 2015 final despite the earlier start time. The game peaked at 2.03 million TV-only viewers towards the end.
Heading into the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the consensus was that the USWNT would ship its fair share of goals but overcome that deficiency by winning matches in barnstorming fashion — maybe a 4-2 here, a 5-3 there. This side was supposed to be the antithesis of the 2015 unit that conceded only three goals en route to the title.
In a month that’s seen the national discourse largely dictated by USWNT attacker Megan Rapinoe, it’s only fitting that the 34-year-old has finished her 2019 Women’s World Cup odyssey with the final’s game-winning goal, as well as the tournament’s two most prestigious individual awards: The Golden Boot (given to the leading scorer) and Golden Ball (given to the best player).
It was Alex Morgan who drew the foul in the area in the 60th minute, but Rapinoe stepped up to convert her third penalty of the tournament.
The USWNT made history today by becoming repeat champions of the Women's World Cup following a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands. For all the talk of a closing divide between the Americans and their European counterparts, this one wasn’t even close. It took an hour for the U.S. to find its opener, but the final score could’ve easily been five or six to zero.
FIFA announced the Women's World Cup final referee and fans of both sides should have no complaints with the choice.
Stéphanie Frappart of France will be the center referee for the USWNT’s match against the Netherlands on Sunday as Team USA seeks its second straight Women’s World Cup title and fourth overall.
FIFA Women‘s World Cup - Match officials appointed for the FINAL #USANED, 7 July, Lyon
England does not like the VAR. The English FA, apparently full of Luddites, has been one of the last countries to begin to implement video replay, slow to accept that getting calls right is more important than anything else.
Ellen White, England to her core, does not like the VAR either. She’d probably have the Golden Boot wrapped up by now were it not for video replay.
It was, with all due respect to Alyssa Naeher, the most iconic moment of the USWNT’s 2-1 victory over England in the Women’s World Cup semifinals. Alex Morgan scored what proved to be the match winner, ran toward the sideline and pantomimed drinking a cup of tea.
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final date and time has been decided: On Sunday, July 7, the USWNT will take on the Netherlands at 11:00 a.m. ET on Fox, while Spanish-language coverage will be provided by Telemundo. The venue will be the 59,186-seat Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, the site of both semifinals.
The Women’s World Cup is here. As the U.S. women’s national team begins its quest to repeat as world champion, there’s one thing on the mind of every soccer fan: How to watch Women's World Cup 2019?
The 2019 Women’s World Cup will be broadcast in the United States by FOX (English) and Telemundo (Spanish). But not every game will be on FOX or Telemundo, as both networks will spread the matches on its various networks.