The Americans made sure they didn’t go home empty-handed in what might have been the last major game for some of the team’s biggest stars.
KASHIMA, Japan — It could not, even at the end, even when they were nearly across the line, be easy. Not this year.
The United States women’s soccer team came to the Tokyo Olympics in search of the gold medal. It is the prize the team always expects, the reward it always believes it deserves.
This time, though, the opponents were better, the performances were worse, and so were the results.