--- title: President Obama Honors USWNT for World Cup Win description: The U.S. women's national soccer team was welcomed into the White House to celebrate the squad's victory at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup canonical: https://time.com/4089383/president-obama-honors-uswnt-for-world-cup-win/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-27T19:31:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:00.262Z og:title: President Obama Tells the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team What 'Playing Like a Girl' Really Means og:description: "Taking yourself and your country to the top of the world. That's what American women do. That's what American girls do." og:url: https://time.com/4089383/president-obama-honors-uswnt-for-world-cup-win/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4ded209338392ad/69885a65cd684840f20a0bdd/soccer.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: USA v Japan: Final - FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Tells the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team What 'Playing Like a Girl' Really Means twitter:description: "Taking yourself and your country to the top of the world. That's what American women do. That's what American girls do." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4ded209338392ad/69885a65cd684840f20a0bdd/soccer.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Tells the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team What 'Playing Like a Girl' Really Means > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5e9a492a-11f2-4827-b818-504e6ca4d15b&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Abby Wambach on Making Her Last Chance Count [Watch (HLS stream): Abby Wambach on Making Her Last Chance Count](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/TKM8pUcB.m3u8) (4:32)  _Published 2015-04-16. “I want to leave the game better than I found it and push it forward,” says Wambach, a champion American soccer player._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 27, 2015 7:31 PM UTC  VANCOUVER, BC - JULY 05: Abby Wambach #20 and Christie Rampone #3 of the United States of America hold the World Cup Trophy after their 5-2 win over Japan in the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Final at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) VANCOUVER, BC - JULY 05: Abby Wambach #20 and Christie Rampone #3 of the United States of America hold the World Cup Trophy after their 5-2 win over Japan in the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 Final at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Ronald Martinez—Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 27, 2015 7:31 PM UTC The U.S. women’s national soccer team was welcomed into the White House on Tuesday to celebrate [the squad’s victory at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada](http://time.com/3946111/soccer-usa-victory-abby-wambach-women-world-cup-final/). President Obama addressed the women during a speech in the East Room, acknowledging their accomplishments on and off the field, according to [_Sports Illustrated_](http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/10/27/uswnt-world-cup-white-house-president-obama-carli-lloyd). > [](https://twitter.com/hopesolo/status/659025987393351680) > [](https://twitter.com/alexmorgan13/status/659018882938703872) He spoke about what an incredible inspiration the three-time champions are for the American people, specifically the next generation of kids. “This team taught all America’s children that ‘playing like a girl’ means you’re a badass. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used that phrase. Playing like a girl means being the best,” [Obama said](http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2015/10/27/9621552/president-obama-uswnt-us-womens-soccer-team-white-house-playing-like-a-girl-means-youre-a-badass). “It means drawing the largest TV audience for a soccer match — men or women’s — in American history. It means wearing our nation’s crest on your jersey, taking yourself and your country to the top of the world. That’s what American women do. That’s what American girls do. That’s why we celebrate this team.” The President also said that the achievement was monumental for American sports. “These champions deserve all the attention that they’ve been getting. After 16 long years, too many heartbreaks, they flew north to put America back on top of the soccer world and they did it in style. It was a victory that took all 23 players,” he said. As an added bonus, Obama even made an unofficial endorsement for a 2016 presidential candidate: Carli Lloyd, who scored three goals in the first 16 minutes of the World Cup Final to lead her team to victory. “Carli’s performance was so good that by the time the game was over, someone had changed her title on Wikipedia from ‘midfielder’ to ‘President of the United States.’ Which, by the way, the job is about to open up … I guarantee you Carli knows more about being President than some of the folks who are running.” ## Transcript [00:07] I was one of those kids who played better on friday nights [00:10] when the lights turned on and more people are watching. [00:13] I'm the youngest kid in my family, so it makes a lot of sense [00:16] that when the lights turn on something inside of me [00:19] changes and I get more focused and I get more sharp. [00:23] Things slow down a little bit, and I don't know, I, I guess it's [00:27] just the little kid in me wanting to be noticed, you know? [00:31] Everybody goes through moments of doubt even when [00:34] you're the best in the world. Or you're either gonna be [00:36] defined by that doubt or you're gonna push past it and [00:40] make something of the doubt and turn that doubt into. [00:43] Something that is noble and something that, you can [00:46] measure. For me, I've learned more about myself through [00:49] my failures, than I have any of my successes. There's one [00:53] block opportunity, U. S. goes up one [ UNKNOWN ] In her [00:56] first start, Abby Wambach has hit the back of the net [01:00] here in the seventh minute. My high school coach, [01:05] Kathleen Boughton ,. She taught me about life and what it [01:08] was to be a good teammate and I think that's something [01:11] that I really value highly not just in a team environment but [01:15] in any work environment the successes we've had on the [01:18] on the field have been very directly correlated to how close [01:22] we are and how how accepting we are of all different types [01:25] of people. In a world game, honestly, it's a very simple [01:29] thing. Get ball, in goal [ LAUGH ]. It's not very difficult. [01:33] I have one, a one track mind. I have a one, one goal. And if [01:38] I'm lucky enough to be put in a couple situations to score a [01:40] goal for my country and I convert on one of those then I [01:43] have a successful game. It has been. A huge [01:47] wholehearted effort from the States. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:49] Repeno. Whoa! Two, two! A [01:56] lot of people remember the 2011 goal that, that, we scored [01:59] against Brazil in the, the very, very last seconds of the [02:03] game. To send in the penalty kicks and we were down a [02:06] man, and it. It was just the most dramatic game ever. It's [02:10] one back. Oh, great kick. Great kick. It [02:14] was such an amazing moment. It was such an amazing [02:17] event, you know, the people were watching and those are [02:20] the moments in time where, you dream of in [02:24] terms of how it can positively affect your game. Not only. [02:28] You, your personal game, but the game in the country, the [02:31] game in the world, on a bigger picture global scale. And [02:35] for me I'm lucky that, that I was in the right place at the right [02:39] time. Semifinals, here they come. The USA have pulled the [02:40] rabbit from [02:45] the hat [ NOISE ] And I'm also lucky that I [02:50] practiced that scenario a million times in my head as a kid. [02:53] You know, the countdown, how many times I was on my [02:56] driveway shooting baskets and 3, 2, 1, Michael Jordan. [03:00] And now, I, you know, I was a part of one of these kind of [03:03] iconic moments in American soccer. It's [03:10] a header. Goal! This is my last World Cup. It's kind of hard [03:12] to even, even consider what I'm gonna do when I'm done [03:15] playing. But I also feel like I [03:20] have one more chance, you know. I have one more [03:21] opportunity to win a World Cup for my country. I've never [03:24] won one. Morgan tees it. I want to [03:28] make my country proud. And I know that in 2011 [03:33] we did, but we fell short. We didn't come home with the [03:35] World Cup. I know people think that we won the World Cup, [03:37] because that Brazil goal. But we didn't win, and I feel that [03:41] hurt and that heartbreak every single day. And, that's [03:45] why this time around. We gotta do something else we gotta [03:49] sacrifice a little bit more we gotta do one more sprint we [03:51] gotta do one more weight lifting session we gotta be closer [03:55] we gotta we gotta try to do something different so that we [03:58] can get a different outcome. I wanna [04:02] leave the game better then I found it and push it forward. [04:04] So that if I break any records, they're, they're, they're [04:08] broken within 10 to 15 years. Because that's how we [04:11] evolve. Then I know women are getting paid more. Then I [04:13] know more women are having opportunities to play [04:16] professional sports for life, for their career, without having [04:19] to have a second job. Then I know if I'm irrelevant in 40 to [04:23] 50 years, then I know that my time was well spent. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4089383/president-obama-honors-uswnt-for-world-cup-win/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4089383/president-obama-honors-uswnt-for-world-cup-win/"},"headline":"President Obama Tells the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team What 'Playing Like a Girl' Really Means","datePublished":"2015-10-27T19:31:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:48:00.262Z","description":"\"Taking yourself and your country to the top of the world. That's what American women do. 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