The Soccer Show: Preview of Women’s World Cup knockout rounds with Ex-Breakers Midfielder Rachel Wood

The U.S. Women’s National Team may be busy competing on the other side of the world, but they have undoubtedly been hearing the noise from the American soccer media after surviving a disappointing group stage. The four-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champions, in search of an unprecedented third consecutive world title, begin the knockout rounds on Sunday morning at 5:00 a.m. ET against Sweden.

DJ Bean welcomed former Boston Breakers midfielder Rachel Wood onto The Soccer Show to break down the team’s performance thus far and provide a glimpse into the upcoming action from down under in the Round of 16.

“This has been a very interesting and strange World Cup,” Wood told Bean about the flurry of upsets coming out of the opening round.

“I think we’re seeing a couple of things happen. Obviously, the United States, which has been such a dominant presence on the women’s soccer stage, we’re seeing that the other countries are starting to equalize. We’re no longer the biggest, the fastest, or most athletic. And we’re seeing a lot of other teams start putting money into the development of players overseas, and we’re seeing a lot of development in some of these women’s teams."

Wood, who still resides in Boston after her three-year stint with the Breakers, has seen a noticeable closing of the gap between the global women’s soccer powerhouse and the rest of the field.

“What’s happening now is the footballing minds plus the athleticism is really creating some difficulties for the United States,” Wood said. “We look like a bunch of individuals out there playing against teams. We look like we don’t have a gameplan. We look scared, we look hesitant, we look like we didn’t show up to come and play on the world stage.”

The Stars and Stripes know that advancing to the sweet 16 is nothing to write home about, as their decades-long dominance over the competition has set expectations much higher. Wood is eager to see a more tenacious effort from the Americans when they fight for their World Cup lives early on Sunday morning.

“There’s been a lot of criticism and kind of uproar about the way that this team has played. Everyone who has been a fan of the national team for so long has been used to the United States dominating. Now, not only are we not dominating, but we struggled to get through the group play. It’s something that the U.S. hasn’t faced before,” Wood commented. “This team is a team that has so much heart and I feel like we haven’t seen that yet. We haven’t seen that fight and that grit, and the United States is known for that.

“Great teams find a way to win, even when they aren’t playing well. The U.S. has done their job. They got through the group phase. Now, it’s going to be a true test of can they step up and get it done?”

The Women's FIFA World Cup is just hours away from kickoff. In anticipation of the 2023 games, we will highlight five things you need to know about the USA Women's FIFA World Cup team.

Although we'll get underway in New Zealand, this is the first time two countries will serve as the host nations. Australia is the other. Four cities and stadiums will be the site of the games in New Zealand. Furthermore, five cities and six stadiums will be used in Australia.

The opening ceremonies are planned to take place at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand prior to the first game between New Zealand vs. Norway. This is a 50,000 capacity stadium. "The ceremony will feature mind-blowing, electrifying performances showcasing the cultural diversity and heritage of New Zealand and Australia," Goal.com states.

This year's World Cup will feature 32 different nations. This is eight more than previous tournaments. In addition, eight nations will be making their FIFA World Cup debut.

The USA Women's FIFA World Cup team has been placed in Group E. This includes Vietnam, Portugal, and the Netherlands. In total, there are eight different groupings. USA's group is aligned to New Zealand for the first round of play.

To date, the USA Women have won four World Cup titles. They are the defending champions, beating the Netherlands during the 2019 tournament in France. Before that the USA Women's team also won the World Cup in 2015, 1999 (the Brandi Chastain winning penalty kick year) and 1991.

Although the USA is ranked #1, they are considered a young team. NPR explained that "Nine players on this year's U.S. roster were part of the 2019 champion team. This includes Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Julie Ertz." Five players remain from the 2015 team.

Excitement is surely mounting. Team USA has now been in New Zealand for a week. In anticipation of their defending title run, here are five additional things you need to know about the USA Women's FIFA World Cup team.

Back in April, new uniforms were debuted by Nike. USA will wear white when they are the home team, and blue when they are the away team. Nike crafted this uniform using innovative techniques emphasizing player comfort and staying cool.

#22 Kristie Mewis was born in Weymouth, and grew up in Hanson. She graduated from Whitman-Hanson Regional High School where she was a three-time All-American midfielder. Unfortunately, Samantha Mewis (Kristie's sister) is not on this year’s World Cup team due to a knee injury she is currently recovering from.

Rapinoe recently announced her retirement. Therefore, this will be her last World Cup experience. #15, this legendary midfielder/winger is the oldest member of the team at 38 years old. The youngest player is Alyssa Thompson, an 18-year-old forward. She is sporting an iced-blue hair color look for 2023 Cup.

The United States women's soccer team has had a  long battle to be paid as much as the men's team. "The Equal Pay for Team USA Act, passed late Wednesday, will require all athletes representing the United States in global competition to receive equal pay and benefits in their sport, regardless of gender," ESPN reported back in December.

There are 23 members of the team. This also includes Dennis Rodman's daughter, #20 Trinity Rodman. The USA Women's Team will play their first game on July 21 (9PM EDT). It will be vs. Vietnam and played in Auckland, New Zealand.