United States women's national soccer team

The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF, the FIFA confederation for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. team is the most successful team in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles, five Olympic gold medals, nine CONCACAF W Championship titles, and one CONCACAF W Gold Cup title.

After mostly being ranked No. 2 from 2003 to 2008 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, the team was ranked No. 1 continuously from March 2008 to November 2014, the longest consecutive top ranking of any team. Since FIFA rankings were established in 2003, the team has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 13 years; the team with the next-longest tenure, Germany, has been ranked No. 1 for a total of 4½ years. The USWNT has never been ranked lower than fifth in the world.

In February 2022, numerous current and former players of the USWNT settled a lawsuit with U.S. Soccer for $24 million and a requirement that male and female soccer players be paid equally, regardless of the proportion of prize money they receive; this was the first instance of this standard in the world.

The United States will be a co-host of the 2031 Women's World Cup, and the USWNT will earn automatic entry as a result.

History

Main article: History of the United States women's national soccer team

Origins

The passing of Title IX in 1972, which made sure girls and boys had equal chances in school sports, helped create many college soccer teams for girls. In 1985, the U.S. Soccer Federation asked coach Mike Ryan to pick players for the first-ever U.S. women's team to play in a tournament in Italy called the Mundialito. The team played its first match on August 18, 1985, and lost to Italy.

University of North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance became the team's first full-time coach in 1986. He helped the team get ready for future tournaments. He gave chances to young players like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Kristine Lilly, even though many people preferred using college players. The U.S. team played in a tournament in China in 1988 but lost in the early rounds to Norway.

1990s: First World Cup and Olympic wins

After the 1988 tournament, FIFA announced a new world tournament for women's soccer, which later became the Women's World Cup. The U.S. qualified by winning a tournament in Haiti in 1991. The team played very well and won the first Women's World Cup in Guangzhou, China, beating Norway 2–1 in the final. Both goals were scored by Michelle Akers, who was the top scorer of the tournament.

Despite winning the World Cup, the team didn’t get much attention and didn’t play many games after 1991. They came back in 1993 and won another tournament. They prepared for the 1995 World Cup and won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, beating China 2–1 in the final.

On July 10, 1999, 90,000 people watched the U.S. play China in the final of the 1999 World Cup in Pasadena, California. After a tied game, the U.S. won in a penalty shootout. Brandi Chastain scored the winning goal and took off her jersey to celebrate, which became a famous moment. This win brought a lot of attention to women's soccer and inspired many girls to play.

2000s: two Olympic gold medals

In the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, the U.S. won third place. In the 2004 Olympics, they won the gold medal again, beating Brazil 2–1. At the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the U.S. lost to Brazil but won third place. They won another gold medal in the 2008 Olympics.

2010s: Olympic and then World Cup triumphs

In the 2011 Women's World Cup, the U.S. lost to Japan in the final but won the 2012 Summer Olympics by beating Japan 2–1. They won the 2015 World Cup, becoming the first team to win three World Cup titles. They celebrated with a parade in New York City and met President Barack Obama at the White House.

In the 2016 Summer Olympics, the U.S. didn’t make it to the gold medal game for the first time. After that, the team had some losses but then won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, beating the Netherlands 2–0 in the final to win their fourth World Cup title.

2020s: fifth Olympic gold

The U.S. won the 2020 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying tournament and the 2020 SheBelieves Cup. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Summer Olympics were delayed to 2021. In the Olympics, the U.S. won the bronze medal after losing to Canada in the semifinals.

In the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the U.S. didn’t reach the semifinals for the first time. But they qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics by winning the 2022 CONCACAF W Championship. In the Olympics, they won all their games and beat Brazil 1–0 in the final to win the gold medal, their fifth overall.

Team image

Media coverage

U.S. television coverage for the Women's World Cups from 1995 to 2011 was shown by ESPN/ABC and Univision. From 2015 to 2023, Fox Sports and Telemundo showed the games. In December 2021, a deal was made to show USWNT games on TNT and TBS, with streaming on HBO Max until the end of 2030. The USWNT games in the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship and the 2015 Algarve Cup were shown by Fox Sports. NBC will show the Olympic tournament through the 2032 Summer Olympics.

The 1999 World Cup final had the largest U.S. television audience for a women's soccer match, with 18 million viewers. It was the most watched English-language U.S. soccer broadcast until the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan.

The 2015 Women's World Cup Final between the United States and Japan was the most watched soccer match in American history. It had 23 million viewers and higher ratings than the NBA finals and the Stanley Cup finals. It was also the most watched US-Spanish language broadcast of a FIFA Women's World Cup match.

Overall, the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup had over 750 million viewers, making it the most watched Women's World Cup ever. The FIFA Women's World Cup is now the second-most watched FIFA tournament, with only the men's FIFA World Cup having more viewers.

In popular culture

A nonfiction book called The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer covering the team's history from 1985 to 2019 was named one of Vanity Fair's best books of 2019 and made NPR's 2019 year-end books list. A book about the team's 1999 Women's World Cup campaign, Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women's Soccer Team and How It Changed the World, was released in 2001, and in 2020 Netflix announced a film based on the book. In 2023, Netflix released a four-episode documentary series titled Under Pressure: The U.S. Women's World Cup Team which followed the team's progress at the 2023 Women's World Cup.

In 2005, HBO released a documentary called Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. In 2013, a documentary about the 1999 World Cup-winning team called The 99ers was produced by former player Julie Foudy and ESPN Films.

Attendance

The 1999 World Cup final, in which the United States defeated China, set a world attendance record for a women's soccer event of 90,185 in a sellout at the Rose Bowl in Southern California. The record for Olympic women's soccer attendance was set by the 2012 Olympic final between the USWNT and Japan, with 80,023 spectators at Wembley Stadium.

Legal issues

Pay discrimination

Since 2016, the players of the U.S. women's soccer team fought for fair pay with the United States Soccer Federation. They felt they were paid less than the men's team, even though they had won more games.

In 2016, five players started a case about unfair pay. In 2017, they agreed to a new deal that gave them more money, but it still wasn’t exactly the same as the men’s team. In 2019, 28 players sued the federation for unfair treatment. In 2020, some parts of the case were dismissed.

In 2022, the federation agreed to pay $24 million to settle the lawsuit. The new deal, starting in 2022, made sure that men’s and women’s teams would get the same pay for their games. This was the first time such an agreement was made in the world.

Artificial turf

The U.S. women’s soccer players also fought against using artificial turf in big games. This became a big issue during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, where the U.S. team played many games on artificial turf. Some players, including Abby Wambach, tried to stop its use, but the tournament started too quickly for the case to continue.

Staff

Coaching staff

Technical staff

Head coach history

As of April 17, 2026, after match against Japan

Below is the record of each head coach in the national team's history. The winning percentages given are per U.S. Soccer, with draws counted as ½ wins.

Players

For a full list of players who have been on the United States women's national soccer team, see List of United States women's international soccer players.

Current squad

These 26 players were chosen to play friendly matches against Japan on April 11, 14, and 17, 2026.

Caps and goals are correct as of April 17, 2026, after the match against Japan.

Recent call-ups

These players have also been called to join the team in the past year.

Results and fixtures

Further information: 2025 in American soccer and 2026 in American soccer

This section lists the team's recent and upcoming matches from the past year and any games planned for the future.

• USWNT Schedule
• USWNT Results
• [USA: Fixtures and Results – FIFA.com](

All-time results

As of April 17, 2026

Sources

Individual records

See also: List of United States women's international soccer players

As of April 17, 2026

Players in bold are still active with the national team.

The United States women's national soccer team has several players who have played in over 200 games for their country. These players include Kate Markgraf, Abby Wambach, Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Alex Morgan. Kristine Lilly, Carli Lloyd, and Christie Pearce have each played in more than 300 games.

In March 2004, Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers were named among the top 125 living soccer players in the world by Pelé as part of FIFA's 100th anniversary celebration.

Notes

All-Time Best XI

The following players were chosen as the USWNT All-Time Best XI in December 2013 by the United States Soccer Federation:

• Goalkeeper: Briana Scurry
• Defenders: Brandi Chastain, Carla Overbeck, Christie Rampone, Joy Fawcett
• Midfielders: Kristine Lilly, Michelle Akers, Julie Foudy
• Forwards: Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan

Head coach records

• Most appearances: Jill Ellis: 132
• Most wins: Jill Ellis: 106

Team records

The United States women's national soccer team has some impressive records. Their biggest win was a score of 14–0 against the Dominican Republic on January 20, 2012. Their longest winning streak lasted 18 games, from July 25, 1990, to May 25, 1991. They also had a long unbeaten streak of 51 games, from December 8, 2004, to September 22, 2007.

Competitive record

For more results in minor tournaments, see History of the United States women's national soccer team.

FIFA Women's World Cup

Main article: United States at the FIFA Women's World Cup

The United States women's national soccer team has played in every World Cup up to 2023. They won a medal in each of the first eight World Cups, but in 2023, they lost to Sweden in the round of 16 after a penalty shoot-out.

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Olympic Games

The team has played in every Olympic tournament up to 2024. They reached the gold medal game each time until 2016, when they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Sweden. In 2024, the team won their fifth Olympic gold medal, their first since 2012.

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

CONCACAF W Championship

¹ The U.S. team qualified directly for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup because they were the hosts. Because of this, they did not play in the 1998 CONCACAF Championship, which was the qualification tournament for the World Cup.

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

CONCACAF W Gold Cup

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

Minor tournaments

SheBelieves Cup

The SheBelieves Cup is a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted in the United States.

Tournament of Nations

The Tournament of Nations was a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted in the United States in years when there was no World Cup or Olympic tournament.

Algarve Cup

The Algarve Cup was a global invitational tournament for national teams in women's soccer hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). It was held every year in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994 and was one of the most important women's soccer events besides the Women's World Cup and the Olympic tournament. Since 2016, the SheBelieves Cup has taken its place on the U.S. team's schedule.

Honors

The United States women's national soccer team is one of the most successful teams in the world. They have won four Women's World Cup titles in the years 1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019. They have also won five Olympic gold medals, in 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2024. In addition to these major achievements, the team has won nine CONCACAF W Championship titles and one CONCACAF W Gold Cup title.

FIFA World Ranking

See also: FIFA Women's World Rankings

Last update was on December 31, 2025

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