--- title: Women's Soccer: Why the USA Is So Strong description: The United States Sunday will fight to win its third Women's World Cup and extend a quarter-century run of dominance in women's soccer. canonical: https://time.com/3946058/womens-world-cup-usa-soccer-title-ix/ author: NBC News article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-05T23:09:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T08:58:20.855Z article:section: Sports og:title: Why the USA Is So Strong in Women's Soccer og:description: The national team has never finished worse than third in the Women's World Cup. og:url: https://time.com/3946058/womens-world-cup-usa-soccer-title-ix/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89fcaf0690e3c451/69885998cd1bba62286fc20c/women-world-cup.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: USA midfielder Carli Lloyd (10) celebrates her goal with teammates during the final football match between USA and Japan during their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on July 5, 2015. AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFEFRANCK FIFE/AF og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the USA Is So Strong in Women's Soccer twitter:description: The national team has never finished worse than third in the Women's World Cup. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89fcaf0690e3c451/69885998cd1bba62286fc20c/women-world-cup.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the USA Is So Strong in Women's Soccer > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with Ally. Ally is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: July 2026. ## Ally: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Ally is a digital financial services company offering online-only banking, including checking and savings accounts, through Ally.com and its mobile apps. Launched in 2009 as an original disruptor in financial services, Ally was built to challenge outdated banking norms with a simpler, more convenient way to bank. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Jul 5, 2015 11:09 PM UTC  USA midfielder Carli Lloyd celebrates her goal with teammates during the final football match between USA and Japan during their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on July 5, 2015. USA midfielder Carli Lloyd celebrates her goal with teammates during the final football match between USA and Japan during their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on July 5, 2015. Franck Fife—AFP/Getty Images by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Jul 5, 2015 11:09 PM UTC The United States Sunday will fight to win its third Women’s World Cup and extend a quarter-century run of dominance in women’s soccer. The national team has never finished worse than third in the competition and has consistently ranked near the top of the worldwide rankings since FIFA started keeping such [records ](http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/women/)in 2003\. Four Olympic gold medals in five tries adds to the Americans’ haul. Victory is normal. Losses are rare — and painful. So, the obvious question is: Why are we so good at women’s soccer? And it’s especially notable considering the U.S. men’s soccer team didn’t even crack the top-10 ranking until 2005. [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News._](http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/world-cup/level-playing-field-why-usa-so-strong-womens-soccer-n385346?cid=par-time-article%5F20150705) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3946058/womens-world-cup-usa-soccer-title-ix/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3946058/womens-world-cup-usa-soccer-title-ix/"},"headline":"Why the USA Is So Strong in Women's Soccer","datePublished":"2015-07-05T23:09:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:58:20.855Z","description":"Experts credit Title IX, which bars gender discrimination in college sports.","url":"https://time.com/3946058/womens-world-cup-usa-soccer-title-ix/","keywords":["Soccer","Women's World Cup"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89fcaf0690e3c451/69885998cd1bba62286fc20c/women-world-cup.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89fcaf0690e3c451/69885998cd1bba62286fc20c/women-world-cup.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"USA midfielder Carli Lloyd (10) celebrates her goal with teammates during the final football match between USA and Japan during their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on July 5, 2015. 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