Why the USA Is So Strong in Women’s Soccer

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 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.