A friend, who shall remain anonymous, told me that they didn’t expect much from the 2024 W Gold Cup. In their eyes, it was set up to be an average tournament at best.
However, their opinion shifted during the 23 days of intercontinental soccer action. And, before Sunday’s final — where the USA outlasted Brazil 1-0 — they reached out to say that they had put their hands up. With humble pie officially eaten, they confessed the tournament had in fact delivered. And perhaps even Concacaf deserved some credit.
Although I have always been a W Gold Cup truther, there is a sentiment that the first stand-alone Concacaf women’s tournament in two decades did exceed expectations.
At the same time, there have been utterly bizarre moments these past three weeks that will go down in soccer lore for the wrong reasons.
So, with the sun finally setting on the 2024 W Gold Cup, how do we grade this idiosyncratic tournament?
