Your alarm clock blares to life. Its neon digits read “3 a.m.,” the sun has yet to rise and summer vacation is in full swing, but no matter. You rub away the tiredness from your eyes and drag yourself out of bed. After all, the United States’ Women’s National Team (USWNT) is playing. 

Millions of viewers tuned in to watch the lauded team’s performance in the recent Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Women’s World Cup 2023, with a reported 1.35 million viewers streaming its match against Portugal despite it airing at 3 a.m. EST on Aug. 1. Throughout the team’s highly-anticipated run, the women repeatedly garnered several million views, a historic increase from past viewership. 

“The group stages and how it was set up, particularly for the United States, intrigued me,” varsity girls soccer player Cynthia Wang (12) said. “There was a lot of news about how the USWNT was going to perform, for example, the one commercial where the U.S. team was portrayed as confident. I wanted to see whether they could back up their confidence with actual results.”

Despite the unexpected show of mainstream support for the USWNT, the U.S. women’s performance fell short of expectations. The USWNT cleared the group stage of the tournament in second place with five points, the lowest group stage total in their World Cup history, after narrowly securing a win over Portugal in their final game of the round. In the USWNT’s next game, the first round of elimination, a strong Swedish team knocked the USWNT out of contention. Sweden’s victory marked the first time ever that the USWNT was eliminated before the semifinals.

Although the U.S. women did not take home the top prize, many still consider their performance a success for its impact on female sports’ visibility. The team’s viral accomplishments have shone a new spotlight on its star players, with headliners like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and teenage sensation Alyssa Thompson gaining notable recognition. Varsity girls soccer player Sara Glusman (11) spoke to the rising popularity of the USWNT and its impact on female-identifying athletes.  

“The popularity of women’s sports has been increasing recently, and I do think it’s going to continue following that trend,” Sara said. “It is really inspiring to see that increase in popularity, attention [and] brand deals with female players.” 

The U.S. is not the only national team that inspires women worldwide. Even as they bow out, the buzz surrounding the tournament continues, with such popularity showing girls and women around the world how despite the traditional narrative, they, too, can achieve their athletic dreams.

“A lot of the time, when you’re growing up playing sports, even just when you go out at recess there would be so many boys playing — it would be intimidating,” varsity girls soccer player Natalie Barth (10) said. “Being able to see that there [are women] at a really high level that are playing and doing well is really powerful. It makes you say ‘Wow, I can do this.’ They’re doing it, and they’re setting the way for us.”