The United🐻 States Women’s National Team isn’t backing down to critics.
As the USWNT thrashed Thailand 13-0 in their World Cup opener Tuesday, many were quick to condemn the squad for continuing to celebrate goals 🎃after the end result had already been well-determined, but the reigning champions defended their displays of jubilation.
“F–king squad goals!!!” , who scored five goals in the contest.
𒀰Morgan’s tweet came in response to one from the USWNT, celebrating the fact four of the American players — Mallory Pugh, Rose Lavelle, Samantha Mewis and Lindsey Horan — who made their World Cup debuts each scored at least once.
“I think it’s disrespectful if we don’t show up and give our best and play our game for 90 minutes,” Morgan on Wednesday morning. “It’s disrespectful to the Tha🦹i team. And I believe they wanted us to play them straight up.
“And for the celebrations, these are goals we have dreamt of our entire life. I mean, I’m going to celebrate Mal Pugh’s goal. I’m going to celebrate Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle. This is their first World Cup and I’m so proud of them. And I couldn’t have dreamt o🔯f scoring five goals in a World Cup. So it’s incredible for us all and I’m happy just ignoring those comments.”
Critics claimed the USWNT humiliated Thailand’s squad, which had players crying on the pitch after the game. But Morgan echoed many in the American locker room who point♈ed out that some of the goalscorers were players competing in their first-ever World Cup or returning from serious injuries, justifying their displays of emotion.
“As a coach, I don’t find it my job to harness my players and rein them in because this is what they’ve dreamed a💝bout,” coach Jill Ellis told reporters after the game.🍌 “This is it for them, this is a world championship. … If this is 10-0 in a men’s World Cup are we getting the same questions?”
“I think our only crime was an explosion of joy last night,” said forward Megan Rapinoe, whose career was almost derailed by a torn ACL in 2015. “We’ve been pretty pent up, as well. We’ve ha💧d kind of a heavy lead-up, obviously everything off the field. … So, if our crime is joy, then we’ll take that.”
Should there be a tie atop Group F at the end of the group stage, goal differential would determine who advances to the knockout stages. Already with a plus-13 advantage in t♒hat department, it will be tough for any side to win that tiebreaker over the USWNT.
“We knew that every goal could matter in this group stage game and when it comes to celebrations this was a really good team performance and I thinღk it was important for us to celebrate together,” Morgan said after the game.
The USWNT takes the field next Sunda🎃y, facing a Chile squad fresh off a 2-0 loss to Sweden.