Megan Rapinoe and USWNT Members on Potentially Making History with Back-to-Back World Cup and Olympics Wins
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
USOPC Becky Sauerbrunn, Crystal Dunn, Megan Rapinoe
The U.S. Women's National Team is poised to make history!
After winning the World Cup in 2019, the team could become the first in history to follow the achievement immediately with a win at the Olympics.
In an interview with U Sports earlier this month, teammates Megan Rapinoe, Crystal Dunn and Becky Sauerbrunn opened up about the possibility.
"It would be an incredible achievement," Dunn said, adding that she thinks the team is "more than capable" of a win at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, which were previously postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It would be historical to be the first team to obviously do it … but I think this team is more than capable of being able to do that just given the fact that we had this break to regroup, reset and refocus," Dunn said. "I know after 2016, all of us are hungry to get back out there and really show what this team is all about and hopefully bring home a gold medal."
Rapinoe added that having "a year to rest" ended up being a "nice little silver lining of Covid and the pandemic."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"Some players played a lot, went overseas. Some players, like myself, took more time for themselves, time that we never really get to get our bodies right and just to have that break," she said. "I think of all the teams, we probably benefit the most just because we would have been so tired, particularly after all the wildness after 2019."
Alex Grimm/Getty Images USWNT after World Cup win in 2019
RELATED: The Americans Win the 2019 Women's World Cup
After the year delay of the Olympics — which included a continued fight for equal pay — the team is ready to fight for a history-making victory, Sauerbrunn said.
"Honestly, I think we just want to make history," she said. "We hold very high standards and have high goals for ourselves. And one of those things is to do it back-to-back."
The Olympic Final Draw occurred on Wednesday, revealing that the USWNT will compete in Group G and face off against Sweden, New Zealand and Australia in the Women's Soccer Tournament, which will take place from July 21 to August 7.
The USWNT tied with Sweden in a pre-Olympic game on April 10, ending the U.S.'s 16-game winning streak.
