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Mallory Swanson scored against the run of play for a 1-0 U.S. win over Japan in February 2023. Credit: Erin Chang/ISI Photos

Japan is the last team to beat the USA in a women’s world championship final, at the 2011 World Cup. The USA avenged that shootout loss a year later at the London Olympics final (2-1), and more emphatically in the 2015 World Cup final, 5-2 on Carli Lloyd’s masterpiece performance.

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Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla has written freelance articles about soccer for more than 30 media outlets in nine nations. The winner of eight United Soccer Coaches Writing Contest awards,...