After a 2020 that was, in many ways, a lost year for international soccer, the U.S. women’s national team went into 2021 with high hopes. The year ended with feelings of missed opportunities and the need for a rethink moving forward less than 20 months away from the next Women’s World Cup.
Are you the kind of person who prefers to respond to emails and texts with GIFs instead of having to type something out? Do you also love the USWNT? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, then you or a loved one may be entitled to a plethora of new USWNT GIFs.
As a sendoff for 2021, the USWNT social team decided to do its version of Spotify Wrapped in GIF form. You might want to put a few of these in your back pocket for a rainy day.
The USWNT released 18 total GIFs for your viewing pleasure. The18 (see what I did there?) USWNT GIFs are as follows.
Mal Pugh just missed out on an NWSL championship ring this year after her Chicago Red Stars lost 2-1 in extra time to Trinity Rodman’s Washington Spirit on Nov. 20. But she got another ring that’ll last even longer.
Major League Baseball player Dansby Swanson proposed to USWNT forward Mal Pugh this week, and the 23-year-old said yes.
The Washington Spirit are the 2021 NWSL Champions after defeating the Chicago Red Stars 2-1 in extra time. Trinity Rodman didn’t get on the scoresheet, but the NWSL Rookie of the Year single-handedly carried the Spirit to the finish line.
The Spirit fell behind 1-0 seconds before halftime. Kelly O’Hara experienced a bit of instant karma as she put in a hard challenge on Chicago’s Mal Pugh that would force Pugh to miss the rest of the game.
There was a large sense during the USWNT’s last two friendlies against South Korea that the team was growing stale.
Mallory Pugh is back.
After playing an ever-present role in Chicago’s regular season campaign — second most minutes, second most goals, joint-most assists — Pugh’s resurgent year continued on Sunday with her biggest strike yet: the game-winner against NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals.
Mal Pugh and her Chicago Red Stars are preparing for a trip to the NWSL postseason. But the 23-year-old American winger took a slight detour ahead of her quarterfinal showdown against Carli Lloyd and Gotham FC on Sunday in Chicago. Pugh was in Houston on Tuesday, watching her boyfriend win the World Series.
On Thursday night, the USWNT bossed South Korea around the pitch but couldn’t find a way through to score. The 0-0 draw ended a 22-game home winning streak that dated back to another draw with South Korea in 2019.
Carli Lloyd’s playing career is coming to an end. But first, two final farewell matches later this month against South Korea. On Wednesday, coach Vlatko Andonovski named his USWNT roster for the upcoming friendlies, which are little more than a chance to send Lloyd off in style.
Lloyd announced in August she will retire after the 2021 NWSL season, calling an end to an historic career.