In the wake of the United States women's soccer team's shocking loss to Japan in the World Cup final, there has been much debate in the national media over whether the U.S. — ranked No. 1 in the world and undefeated in 25 previous matches against Japan — choked in the final.
Many have spoken out in criticism of the hero's welcome the team received upon returning home and the general "good-for-them" attitude that presided throughout the country following a loss to a team the U.S. was heavily favored to beat.
Goaltender Hope Solo and forward Alex Morgan shared their opinions on the subject in an interview with ESPN's Dana Jacobson.
"We always expect as a No.1 ranked team to come back with the gold," Solo said when asked by Jacobson if the U.S. choked."We were criticized for playing defense and relying on our athleticism to put the ball on Abby [Wambach]'s head to score and win games. But we weren't possessing the ball, we weren't creative on the attack."
However, despite these miscues, Solo believed the U.S. played to the best of its ability in the final.
"We did have the American fighting spirit," Solo said. "[Playing in front of 60,000-plus] people, the pressure can amount, the media coverage. Yet we played our best game. We were attacking, we had opportunities on the goal, we played beautiful soccer — like the game is meant to be played — in the final. … We played a beautiful game. We played our best game. But we didn't come out on top. I don't think we choked at all."
In fact, Solo said she would "celebrate winning the silver," pointing out the fact that the team finished higher than both Germany and Brazil, two of the world's top women's soccer teams.
Morgan agreed with Solo, calling the prospect that the team choked "ridiculous."
"We did play our best game of soccer," Morgan said. "We had possession against a possession-oriented team, the best possession-oriented team in the world. So did we choke? I don't think so."
