Imagine that feeling of scoring at a World Cup. That moment of absolute elation, the culmination of a life’s hard work, all the blood, sweat and tears that have been poured in. The immense pride in knowing you’ve done what only a handful of the game’s best get to do. Then imagine being told to calm down, to keep your celebrations to a minimum out of ‘respect’ for your opponent.
This is what the members of the U.S. Women’s National Team had to wake up to in France on Wednesday morning after their 13-0 demolition of Thailand on Tuesday.