We won the Olympics in '96, but they are the World Champions. The U.S. won the inaugural Women's World Cup in 1991 but lost in the semifinals in '95. That disappointment, more than the thrill of the Olympic gold-medal victory the following summer in Atlanta, remains the team's primary motivational tool. Everyone on the team, we can point to that as the depth of our careers and say, We don't want to go back to that. With eight players who have appeared in more than 100 international games, the U.S. team is linked with Norway and China as pre-tournament favorites.
Every player buys into that culture, and it's a very positive but yet demanding leadership.
Of course, leadership carries a team only so far. It's then that goal-setting takes a back seat to goalscoring, and offensively, this may be the deepest U.S. team in the program's history. Akers has more than 100 career goals. And of course, there's Mia Hamm, the most recognizable women's player in the world and the all-time leading scorer. But, in fact, midfielder Kristine Lilly and forward Tiffeny Milbrett currently lead the team in goals and points, respectively.