This past summer, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the USWNT's 2019 World Cup title, I took a look back at each of the country's Women's World Cup squads and ranked them. It was a fun exercise, and it reinforced a pretty simple idea: age balance matters. A country will usually go only as far as players in their peak age range will take it. In the 2000s, the U.S. women didn't have quite enough peaking talent to complement the otherworldly Abby Wambach, and the team's results slid slightly. When the Rapinoe-Heath-Sauerbrunn-O'Hara-Morgan-Press generation fully developed, the U.
USMNT golden generation? Why Pulisic, Reyna & Co. are on course to make a run at 2022 World Cup
