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Jeff Carlisle
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Jeff Carlisle
U.S. soccer correspondent
Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC.
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Caitlin Murray
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Caitlin Murray
ESPN
Caitlin Murray is a general editor for ESPN.com. She has reported on and written about soccer for The New York Times, The Guardian, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, and others.
She authored a book about the history of the U.S. women’s national team called “The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer,” which made “best of” lists in Vanity Fair, The Financial Times, NPR and The Los Angeles Times. On Twitter and Instagram, she’s @caitlinmurr.
Aug 2, 2023, 11:16 AM ET
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — It has been a difficult Women’s World Cup for the U.S. so far, to say the least.
Heading into the tournament with confidence sky-high and a super-talented roster, results have yet to match the lofty expectations: a 3-0 win over Vietnam was followed by a 1-1 draw vs. the Netherlands (in which they had to come from behind) and then a nervy 0-0 draw with Portugal in order to escape Group E and reach the round of 16.
Given their lack of dominance, the vibes around the team have swiftly soured and fans have gone from dreaming of a historic third straight World Cup title to worrying about whether they’ll be…