Opinion: Two World Cup champions, one big night for American soccer

Editor’s Note: Amy Bass is professor of sport studies at Manhattanville College and the author of “One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together” and “Not the Triumph but the Struggle: The 1968 Olympics and the Making of the Black Athlete,” among other titles. The views expressed here are solely hers. Read more opinion on CNN.

In the last few weeks, US soccer has had some significant comings and goings: Lionel Messi, the greatest living soccer player, arrived in Florida to sign with Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami, and the US Women’s National Team (USWNT), the greatest living soccer dynasty, departed for New Zealand to start their quest for a historic World Cup three-peat.

These two things came together on Friday night, and neither disappointed. In Messi’s debut in Fort Lauderdale, he hit a banger of a free kick in the game’s final moments to give his new team the win against Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup match.

On the other side of the world in Auckland, the USWNT took down World Cup newcomer Vietnam 3-0.  It was nonsense to worry about what to watch or whether Messi would upstage the women.

Instead, at the end of the night, the real winner was American soccer, with the fervor for both matches demonstrating how soccer fever has almost become the norm in a country where it was once considered a niche interest at best.

Messi’s arrival in the US completes a hat-trick for the US men’s professional game. First, an almost-retired Pelé came to the National American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos in 1975 to, in essence, acquaint notoriously soccer-reluctant American sport fans with the game. Then David Beckham, who as a co-owner of Inter Miami played a titanic role in getting Messi stateside, was as much about his celebrity as his left foot when he came to play for the LA Galaxy in 2007, a move designed to heighten awareness about the then-anemic MLS.

Now in a much stronger position, the MLS sees Messi as a next-level thing, especially as Cristiano Ronaldo’s deal with Saudi Pro League’s Al Nassr adds another feather in the cap of the same financial backers who supported the upstart (and controversial) LIV Golf tour.

MLS chief Don Garber, for one, says he’s not worried about the impact Saudi money could have on the ability of the MLS to expand into markets outside the US, especially as it failed to win Messi. When Messi subbed in Friday night with a team that has, well, struggled, he brought with him an international fan base (not to mention the more than 100,000 Argentines who live in Miami) and a skill set second to none.

“When you have the best player of all time making Major League Soccer his league of choice,” Garber told the press in the run up to Friday’s match, “I think it’s a real testament as to where MLS is and where it’s going in years ahead.”

He had a point. When was the last time a helicopter hovered over an Inter Miami training session? Oh, that’s right. Never. And Inter Miami’s sold-out stadium (tickets hit head-scratching prices online and no less than “King” LeBron James was in the house for a GOAT-hugs-GOAT moment) makes Messi’s deal already a success.

Friday may have been the first time in his life that Messi was someone else’s opening act. The USWNT did what was expected, beating a lesser team in Vietnam, but they also have a lot of work in front of them. Newcomer Sophia Smith was a highlight; her goal in the 14th minute put the US on the board faster than any team yet, and her second — 40 minutes later — made her an early breakout star.

Fellow World Cup rookie Trinity Rodman (and yes, that Rodman, but let’s focus on her feet and not her ancestry), the NWSL Rookie of the Year in 2021, had a scary first minute when challenged by Tran Thi Thu, but returned to play after leaving the pitch briefly for treatment.

For veteran Alex Morgan, a saved penalty kick in the first half shocked everyone but Vietnam’s fiery keeper, Tran Thị Kim Thanh. Captain Lindsey Horan added a goal to Smith’s two for the win and legend Megan Rapinoe came on the field in the second half to mark her 200^th cap.

Overall, however, the game saw a US offense that had trouble finishing and a defense that was simply untested, just the first step in a long journey for these players as they seek that historic third consecutive title, something no one (and let’s say it one last time:  men or women) has done.

Despite the loss, Vietnam’s debut is also something to celebrate, one of eight new teams that pepper the 32-team bracket, a huge leap from the 12 teams that assembled back in 1991 for the inaugural tournament. Vietnam landed in a tough group in their World Cup draw, facing not only the Americans but also a perennially strong Dutch squad, meaning they likely will not move forward past the group stage.

But the presence of newbies like Vietnam, Haiti, the Philippines, Zambia (which shocked Germany 3-2 in a friendly earlier this month) and Morocco (whose women’s team now takes center stage after their men’s side were the breakout stars of the men’s World Cup last November in Qatar) is an important marker in the global reach of the women’s game.

New teams mean there might be blowouts in which the neophytes will suffer, but Vietnam showed that it won’t necessarily be the David to anyone’s Goliath. This tournament’s expanded field also provides a microscope for the inequities and abuses that run amok in the women’s game, whether the controversies surrounding the Colombian squad documented by historian Brenda Elsey or the lack of support for the Jamaican team, which had to crowdsource its funding in order to make the trip.

While the competition is increasingly fierce and (did you watch Nigeria versus Canada on Thursday?) unpredictable, the US has a heck of a chance to make history here, especially with 38-year-old Rapinoe making clear that this is her last rodeo (and who wants to be the one who stands in the way of her nabbing that crown one more time?).

That said, what lies ahead remains to be seen. Will England ride the wave of its Euro 2022 title to face the US in the final or did its 1-0 start against Haiti foreshadow a different future? Could the Aussies use their home field advantage to give Sam Kerr a well-deserved big moment in the hometown sun? The long, unsure road is what makes the whole thing so thrilling.

But win or lose, there is no doubt that when the USWNT eventually returns home, its bench will remain deep and America’s soccer train will keep rolling. There are battles yet to be fought, on and off the field, but just like Messi, who brought home the men’s trophy in December for his home country at last, there is nothing left for the USWNT to prove to their fans or to the world.

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