What the All Blacks can learn from U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team

Four-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winners the United States bowed out of this year’s tournament in the Round of 16 following a thrilling penalty shootout with Sweden on Sunday.

Sweden is third on the world rankings, but the United States were strong favourites going into the knockout stages of the competition.

An ad from Fox Sports in the United States has since gone viral on social media, with the video asking “What’s it going to take to stop this US team?” They were big favourites but fell short.

With the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France rapidly approaching, All Blacks coach Ian Foster briefly reflected on the lessons that his team can learn from the USWNT.

“We’re building,” Foster told reporters on Monday. “We’ve got to prove it’s to something special, don’t we? That’s what World Cups are about.

“We need no more reminders than you look around the last few months with World Cups, you look at the football, you look at teams like USA getting knocked out. You look at the Netball and that’s sad for the New Zealand team there.

“World Cups are tough because they come down to the form in each week. I’ve certainly experienced that at World Cups.”

The All Blacks were a different team a year ago – but not for the right reasons. New Zealand were beaten by Ireland, South Africa and Argentina, and just snuck by fierce rivals Australia in Melbourne.

While they were able to turn a corner during a successful end-of-season tour, many rugby fans still questioned whether this All Blacks team has what it takes to win the World Cup.

But here we are, a month out from the tournament, and the All Blacks have looked like world-beaters during their four Tests in 2023.

Following big wins over Argentina, South Africa and Australia, New Zealand appears to be peaking at just the right time.

“What I like is the message that we’re driving and the tone that we’ve set is about narrowing and just nailing our focus each week,” Foster added during a press conference in Napier.

“We tried to make no excuses for performances in the first four Tests of the year. We categorically said the next Test was vital for us, that we grew, because we wanted to simulate the mental pressure that goes into World Cups.

“From that perspective, we’re feeling like we’re in a good place. I’m looking forward to this time in Napier to breathe a little bit as a team and connect a little bit off the park.

“Having eight days at home will be nice. (Can) mow the lawns and trim the hedges and do all that sort of stuff and then hop on a plane and get really, really excited. We’re going with a lot of confidence.”

The All Blacks will play one more Test before this year’s World Cup, and it’s a big one. New Zealand take on rivals South Africa at Twickenham later at the end of the month.