#uswntsoccer

[maxgirl29]

It should not have taken the entire women’s football community voicing the disgust and wrong doing of the RFEF and the public actions of that bald fool for his resignation.

The Jamaican girls should not have had to create a GoFundMe page to get to Australia to compete.

The Canadian team should not have had to go public about their lack of pay.

It should not have taken the early departure of the USWNT to get Vlatko out.

The Zambian team should not have had to voice their issues of sexual abuse and misconduct of their coach.

So many other issues out there from so many other countries that should not even be in existence.

It should not take the players announcing to the world that there are issues for them to be taken seriously. Players should be able to feel comfortable enough to speak with their federations about problems and know that changes will be made and that they will not be singled out or become a victim of backlash. Treat female footballers with the same professionalism and respect you treat the males.

[woso-fan13]

Trouble

“Y/N, are you even paying attention?” a frustrated Vlatko sighs. 

Your gaze focuses on him when you hear your name, sitting up straight in your chair. Your cheeks flush and you squirm slightly when you notice that everyone’s attention is on you. It brings back countless memories of getting in trouble at school either because you couldn’t sit still or because you were too deep in your daydreams to follow directions. 

Today, though, you had been on your best behavior. Even though it felt like you needed to move or you would scream, you kept still the entire meeting. Well, mostly still. And you had done your best to pay attention, but your mind was racing and you knew if you had to stay in your chair much longer, your body would start racing too. 

Christen leans over slightly from her chair next to you, whispering,

“Did you take your meds this morning?”

You knew what she meant- it’s probably what everyone on the team was wondering at this point. It was no secret that you had ADHD, but you usually were on top of taking your medications. Except there was currently a shortage on (it seems like) everything, including Adderall. But you would be playing intense soccer for hours a day, and spending your free time in the gym. You really didn’t think anyone would notice if you skipped a few doses. 

You shake your head no, looking at your lap to avoid her eyes. Christen gives a slight nod, looping an arm around you and pulling you closer. She keeps her arm wrapped firmly around you as a grounding pressure, and deposits her other hand in your lap. You get the hint quickly, and start fidgeting with her rings, trying to keep yourself occupied. It wasn’t an ideal solution, and it certainly wasn’t long-term, but it should allow you to sit still for the last 20 minutes of the meeting. 

—-

Almost as soon as the meeting ended, most of the team headed out to the field. Practice was already done for the day, but there was a collective agreement to try and wear you out before the sun went down. 

Becky headed into the back, grabbing a bag of soccer balls. Coming to centerfield, she unceremoniously dumped them out and let everyone loose. You instantly grab a ball and start juggling until someone gently kicks it away from you. Kelley’s standing in front of you, eyebrow quirked in challenge. Honestly, she may only be doing it because she was your roommate and she wouldn’t be able to sleep if you were up all night. But a challenge’s still a challenge. 

You chase after the ball, quickly dribbling it back over in front of her. You pause only briefly before taking off, trying to get past her. She manages to get contact with the ball, but only detours it a few feet. You quickly regain control, and just when you think you’re going to be able to get past her, you look up to see Emily waiting behind. 

It’s almost an hour before you finally stop to take a breath. You hadn’t even shot a goal, just circled the field trying to get past people. You laughed at Tobin’s shock when you managed to nutmeg her, and teased the forwards about their lack of defensive skills. You babbled about nonsense, dribbling and tackling, running away with screams of laughter when you managed to get past someone. But, finally, your body and your brain were calm, neither begging to move. 

Sensing that you were tiring, everyone collects the balls and packs up. Tobin scoots up behind you, lifting you up and placing you onto Christen’s back. You wrap your arms and legs around her, your head dropping onto her shoulder. You stick your tongue out at Tobin after she ruffles your hair, but you’re otherwise content.  

—-

You had been dropped in your bathroom and given strict instructions to quickly shower. By the time you got out, there were pajamas sitting on the counter. You dried and dressed, brushing your damp hair and your teeth. 

Exiting the bathroom, you see the door to your room propped open and about half the team already spread out across the beds and floors. Christen and Tobin weren’t there yet, so you plop onto Kelley. 

Soon, everyone else enters the room and a debate about what movie to watch starts. For once, you don’t have much of an opinion. You’re warm, comfortable, and tired. You’ve ended up laying basically on top of Kelley, your head on her chest rising and falling as she breathes. Her hand is on your back, rubbing gentle circles.  

As you hear a movie start playing in the background, the neckline of your shirt works its way into your mouth. As one does, you begin chewing on it distractedly, the sensation soothing. The repetition motion is pulling you further to sleep. 

Seeing what you’re doing, Kelley reaches her arm out to get the attention of Christen from where she had settled next to you. She gently nods her head towards you, and watches as Christen gets the message and leans over to the bedside table. She pulls your shirt out of your mouth, quickly replacing it with a chew tube. 

You had protested when she had originally presented them to you, claiming that you were neither a teething infant or a dog, so you didn’t need a chew toy. But she persisted, sick of your constantly chewed clothing and seemingly ever present wad of gum. Now, you don’t even hesitate when handed one- or, usually, it’s just stuck in your mouth. 

The lights in the room are off, the soft glow from the tv serving as the only illumination. The low whispers from teammates and the chatter from the movie became white noise in the background. Kelley’s hand was still on your back, but she had switched to tracing your spine with her nails. One of your hands was holding onto her shirt, the other held firmly in Christen’s grasp. Your brain was quiet, your body was quiet, and you could sleep. 

[totaly-obsessed]

Kelley O’Hara Appreciation

woso appreciation masterlist | with @alotofpockets

[wosostuffs]

like if u save.

[alotofpockets]

Tobin Heath Appreciation

woso appreciation masterlist | with @totaly-obsessed

[sammyhammy415]

So freaking proud of Kristie she deserves this so much what an inspiring comeback!!! Credit to Mewismagic on Instagram

[wlw-imagines]

The Ups & Downs of an Elevator Love Story - Alex Morgan/Reader (USWNT)

request: "Hey, could you write a Alex Morgen x reader. Where Alex and r shared a drunk kiss at one night. The next they are so nervous that they dont talk to eachother. After a couple of days Alex or r takes the risk and ask the other on a date. End with fluff" - by androgynousmoneyflowervoid

a/n: we love a really unnecessarily long title xoxo sorry for taking roughly 3 years to post <3 as alwasy, it is not checked because i am lazy ! so if it doesn’t make sense or it’s patchy, lemme know and maybe i’ll come back to it in 5 years time to edit it ! 

Retrospect is a fine thing. Because you’d be the first to admit that, looking back on last night, you would be so much better off if you hadn’t gone. If, when you’d been asked whether you were going on to the roof party, you would say ‘oh, thanks but best not!’. But no.

Let’s start at the beginning.

The World Cup! Never in your wildest dreams did you think that you’d be here! And with a gold medal around your neck. It felt… you weren’t entirely sure what you felt. Whatever it was, you’d quite like it bottled up so that whenever you were feeling down you could just take some of this energy and feel absolutely on top of the world.

You were standing out there, on the field still, with confetti falling all around. It was never ending, that confetti. It felt like you could stand there for weeks and there would still be little pieces of red, white and blue paper raining down on you.

Kelley came crashing into your side, her arms wrapped around your waist, and you instinctively wrapped your arms around her shoulders to keep steady. It didn’t keep you steady, it just meant that when you fell, she came falling down on top of you.

She rolled off of you and onto her back, laughing with you, “Can you believe this? Your very own World Cup-final goal, huh?” She asked, looking at you from where she was laying on the grass with pride shining in her eyes.

You rolled over onto your front and leant up on your elbows to look at her, "I... can't believe it. Is this real life?"

"You'd better believe it baby!" She shouted, leaning up to squeeze your cheeks, "Come on, it's my favourite time of any competition." Kel stood up and held her hand out to help you up.

"What's that?" You asked, putting your hand in hers and letting her pull you up to a standing position next to her.

She grinned and wrapped her arm over your shoulders, "Getting outrageously drunk and celebrating, obviously."

"Oh, this I have got to see." You grinned, letting her guide you to the dressing room.

The closer the two of you got, the more you could hear the thumping of the music and the loud cheers from your team. Kelley squeezed you into a side hug, "I have a lot to teach you about parties with the national team. You will never experience anything like it."

"Oh yeah? How come?"

She put her pointer finger up to count the first reason, "First of all, high adrenaline because we just fucking won the World Cup and two, all the free booze."

"Free?" You asked, raising an eyebrow. By this point you were standing in the dressing room, surrounded by your friends. Some were just chilling by the side, in a state of absolute shock and happiness, and some had already started on the alcohol.

"Oh, sweet baby Y/N." She parted from you and shot you a wide grin, "Give me one second, I'll be right back. I'll find something to drink, okay? Want anything in particular?" She asked as she was starting to walk away into the mass of support staff and team members.

You just shrugged and shouted after her, “Whatever you can find!” Then she was gone. You looked around the room and spotted your seat with your stuff under it. You sat down for a moment, leaning back and shutting your eyes. Just hours before, you were in this exact position, absolutely wrecked with nerves and anxious energy - ready to fuel into your performance on the pitch. And look what had happened.

You jumped slightly as someone sat down on the bench next to you and nudged you with their elbow, "Hey." You smiled at Alex’s voice and opened your eyes, gazing up at her from your slouched position.

"Hi." You straightened up and your smile grew even more. Just a few years ago, you wouldn’t have believed someone if they had told you that here you would be - winning the World Cup with Alex Morgan. Yet here she was, and here you were. You were sure that you would never be more in love with her than you were in this moment. But you’d thought that many times and somehow the feelings you had for her still grew.

She nudged you again, "What took you so long?"

"I don't know, I was just... soaking it all in, y'know?" You shrugged and gazed around the room, aware of her eyes on you, which immediately made your brain go a little numb and it felt like you couldn’t get your ideas out properly. "It's so different out there when there's no one else, I’m sure you know the feeling. Kinda magical."

"Magical?" She asked, turning her body more to face you.

"Yeah, it’s kind of unreal. Maybe I'm just being lame." You shrugged and you could feel the heat of a light blush across your cheeks.

"No, I know what you mean. There is something special about it." The two of you sat for a moment, taking one another in. You could swear that her eyes flickered down to your lips and that the way she had let her tongue slightly wet her lips had been intentional… but she cleared her throat and brought herself back to reality, bringing you crashing back too, "I- do you want a drink?"

You shook out the tension that you had suddenly held in your body and took a deep breath, "Yeah, I think Kelley disappeared to find something to drink but-"

Alex laughed a little and shook her head, "She's gone, I promise you. You will not see her again for another hour at best." She held her can to you, "Here, you can have this one. I only just opened it, I haven't started drinking or anything, promise. I'll get another." She nudged it towards you again but you hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Of course, take it."

"Thanks." You smiled, letting your hand linger over hers as you took the drink from her.

Her eyes twinkled, "No worries."

“Alex!” Pinoe’s voice boomed from the other side of the room, at the same time as-

"Y/N!" Sonny came racing up to you and ruffled your hair over-excitedly.

Alex laughed and squeezed your hand, "I'll catch you later."

"Okay." You just nodded, dumbly, and watched as she walked off.

Emily fell down beside you, filling the seat Alex had just left, and laughed drunkenly, "Dude! Fuck! Isn’t this insane, we’re gold medalists, baby!” She wrapped her arms around your shoulders in a kind of hug and shook you.

“I’m… it’s surreal.” You let out a laugh, loving the energy of a room full of gold-medal world champs.

Em let out an overly dramatic gasp and grabbed your arm, almost making you drop your drink from Alex, "You only have one drink? Come on! Are you really celebrating if you don't have like three drinks at any one time?"

You laughed and shook your head but you could already see it was too late, Emily was set on getting you more drinks. Your words went completely in one ear and out the other, "This will do for now, I'm sure."

As you predicted, she ignored you, shaking her head and already walking away, "I'm getting you another one. By the time I get back I'm expecting an empty can!"

Okay, see? Probably the first mistake. Because maybe if you hadn’t had so much to drink then the night wouldn’t have ended the way it did. Though, the alcohol didn’t do much of the heavy lifting, it was mostly you. You knew exactly what you were doing when you-

Anyway, carrying on.

After the glass was drained, you turned around and somehow, magically, another glass was being handed to you. And not even by Kelley, Emily, or Alex.

And this seemed to happen again, and again, and again. Until you were probably too drunk to still be accepting drinks… but this was the World Cup! How often could you get to drink on the night of winning the World Cup?

Somehow, the team had made it from the dressing room back to the team bus, having been kicked out by the stadium not long ago. You could hardly remember how you had made it but you think Alyssa may have given you a piggyback? You were sure there would be video evidence of the entire night somewhere that you could check when you were… less drunk.

"Hey, Y/L/N, you coming?" Emily grabbed your face and you just grunted. The bus had stopped outside the hotel and almost everyone was already off and heading in. “Y/N! Wakey, wakey!”

You lifted a heavy eyelid and raised an eyebrow, "Coming? Where?" You managed to grunt.

She shook you again, enough to properly wake you up, and shouted happily, "After party, baby!"

Stretching, you fumbled for your seat belt and undid it before practically rolling out of your seat, "I don't know, I don't think I have ever had this much alcohol. I am so drunk, oh my god." You groaned, lying down in the aisle of the coach.

Emily laughed and stepped over you, "Come on, get your ass moving."

You waved her away, "Yeah, yeah, I'll see you there. I just need a 5 minute nap and then I’ll be back up and ready to party."

"Hey, you alright?" Alex’s voice immediately made you open your eyes and you looked up at her, standing over you.

Em, tapped her on the shoulder, "Alex, you're on Y/N watch!"

"What?" She asked, looking between you and Sonnett. You just waved at her happily.

Em raced off and Alex bent down to join your level on the floor, you grumbled as you sat up to face her, "Why are you not as drunk as me?"

"I am sorry, do you want me to catch up?" She smiled, holding you steady as you hoisted yourself up to a standing position again.

You shrugged and leant into her, "It's the only right thing to do."

"Are you heading up to your room?" She asked, as the two of you walked off the bus. She had put her hand around your waist and some point and you just smiled for a second before remembering you had to respond.

"I... I think there's another party."

"The roof?"

Your eyes widened, "The roof! Oh shit, Em missed out that it was a roof party!" That was insane. You could count the amount of roof parties you had been to on one hand (none). This changed everything, you had to go to that roof party. "Are you going?"

"I don't know..." She chewed her lip and looked at you, “Are you sure you don’t want to go to bed?”

“No, I’ve found more energy! I want to go.” You put your hand in hers, "Come on, how can I persuade you?"

Her eyes sparkled again as she grinned, "Persuade me?"

"Yeah," You took a step towards her so you were more face to face. You vaguely realised that you were wrapped up in someone else’s jumper and you were pretty sure it was Alex’s own. You smiled, and drunkenly held onto Alex’s hips, "Alex, I will personally make sure that you do not regret coming to the roof. Come on, this is a once in a lifetime."

“I'll have you know, I've won the World Cup before." She rolled her eyes jokingly and you grinned. You could feel the heat coming off of Alex’s body and you let go, instead opting to walk hand in hand into the hotel lobby.

"Oh, yeah?"

"It's true, I have."

You shrugged and smirked slightly, "Well, you haven't won it with me before."

"No, now that is true."

"Would you like to come to an World Cup champions, once-in-a-lifetime-because-it’s-with-Y/N roof party with me?" You asked, now in the foyer of the hotel.

She looked over at you and her eyes were soft, "I don't know how you did it, but you have actually convinced me."

You took a hold of her hand and squeezed it gently, coming to a stop in front of the hotel’s elevator, "And would you look at that?" You said as it pinged open at the exact same moment the two of you had arrived.

"Perfect timing." She murmured, squeezing your hand back.

You stepped aside, not letting go of her hand, as you let her on the elevator first, "After you."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The roof had slowly emptied as the night grew longer and turned into morning. And throughout, both you and Alex had stuck side by side - dancing, drinking and laughing.

As the night - morning- had grown longer, everyone else had started disappearing downstairs until only you and Alex were left on the rooftop. Someone had left a speaker, playing softly in the background, and you didn’t think you ever wanted to leave this little bubble.

The two of you were snuggled next to each other, sharing a pool side lounger. You had been just chatting for the past half hour and you were in a new level of comfrt right now. Alex softly played with your hair and you sighed, cuddling further into Alex’s side. You lifted your head so that the two of you were face to face. “Can we just stay here?” You asked, hopefully.

She smiled and rested her head back, “For how long?”

“Maybe a bit of forever?” You grinned, resting your hand on the soft material of her shirt.

She turned back onto her side so she was facing you again and laughed, “I think the hotel would kick us out eventually.”

You contemplated her words and eventually conceded, nodding, “Hmm, true. Okay.” You sighed, eyes connecting with Alex’s. She was chewing her bottom lip and you frowned, raising your hand and using the pad of your thumb to gently pull it out from between her teeth. She smiled with soft eyes and you watched as her eyes fell to your lips, before reconnecting with your gaze.

She blinked a few times, pulling herself out of her trance and cleared her throat. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” You slowly nodded, watching her sit up and stretch. You took your time in getting up, letting the moment fully sink into your memory.

Alex joined her hand with yours and gently squeezed, “You know, we shouldn’t let this just be a France thing.” She mumbled, her hair falling out of the ponytail she put it in and falling into her eyes.

“What do you mean?” You asked, as the two of you started your way back to the exit of the roof.

She hrugged and smiled, “We can do this back home too.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Your smile mirrored hers. You held your gaze until... you didn’t. She was literally just there and then- a wave of pool water splashed up at you and you gasped at how cold it was. You quickly began laughing upon realising that Alex, somehow, had fallen into the pool. She resurfaced to find you cracking up, standing where she had been just seconds ago.

"Oh my god." She mumbled, swimming to the side of the pool and pausing below you.

You tried to stop laughing to check on her, "Are you okay?" You asked, letting out another brief snort of laughter as she jokingly glared at you from the pool.

"I didn't even realise the pool was there!" She exclaimed, letting her glare melt into a grin.

You bent down on the ground so that you were closer to her level, "Alex, I think you're more drunk than I had first thought."

"No, I swear! The pool moved." She pouted, glaring at the edge of the pool.

You raised an eyebrow and nodded, "Oh, really? The pool?"

"It did!" She laughed.

"I believe you, I do.” 

She stuck her tongue out at your sarcastic tone, “Just help me out?” She asked, reaching her hand out to you.

You smiled, standing up and planting your feet on the floor in an attempt to steady yourself before pulling her out. You reached out your hand to connect with hers, “Here.” Before you could steady yourself enough, Alex tugged on your arm and pulled you into the pool beside her. You managed to shout out an indignant, “Alex-!” before being fully submerged in the water.

As soon as the cold water had covered your body, you immediately righted yourself up at kicked off from the bottom of the pool, back to the surface to see Alex cracking up.

“I’m so sorry!” She said, laughing through the apology.

You let out a shocked laugh and swept the water out of your eyes, “That was so deliberate!”

She shrugged, and sheepishly swam slightly closer to you, “It was just so tempting.” She smiled.

You gasped and, as soon as she was close enough, began splashing her with water, “You are so mean!”

“I’m sorry!” She yelled through the walls of water being sent her way. She held her arm up to try and block the water, and swam closer to you, until she was close enough to hold your arms and stop the water being pushed her way. “It was funny though.” She mumbled, grinning.

You rasied an eyebrow and went to splash her again, “Oh, yeah?” She dodged the water and smiled, nodding. 

“Just a little bit...” She held up her hand, motioning ‘tiny’ by putting her forefinger and thumb a little bit away from one another. 

You had found yourself in the deep end and, although kicking to keep yourself up, you were tired. “I hope you know I’m already planning revenge.” You mumbled, before finding yourself bobbing underneath the water when you didn’t kick hard enough to keep you afloat.

Alex’s hands found their way to your hips and she pulled you up and closer to her. She wound her arms around your waist and swam the two of you to a shallower spot.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” She whispered, smiling. Your feet found the ground and, as you stood, you leaned into Alex’s embrace. “You okay?” 

You nodded slightly. Looking into Alex’s eyes, you paused. The way the lights were twinkling in her eyes. The way she looked at you, and held you, and touched you. Your breath hitched in your throat and her steady gaze on you turned into a questioning one. You weren’t entirely sure what she was asking but you just nodded.

Alex’s eyes flickered down to your lips, and her nose gently bumped against yours as she moved closer to you. You were so engrossed holding her gaze that you found yourself startled when you felt her hand move against your waist and up through the water. You let out a little shiver. Her hand came to a rest on your cheek and you could feel her thumb swipe against your cheekbone. 

"Y/N?” Alex almost soundlessly spoke your name.

“Alex.” You whispered back to her. You could see her smile, her eyes crinkling as she nudged your nose with hers again. She closed what little space there was left and you closed your eyes -- but all of a sudden, there was a loud noise that made the two of you startle.

You opened your eyes and jumped, swimming backwards in surprise when everything around you remained blank. You breathed a sigh of relief when you heard Alex murmur a little, "Shit. The lights went out." and you blinked, getting used to not being able to see your surroundings as clearly as before, but knowing that at least they were all still there. ”Y/N?” She called out and you swam slowly forward towards her voice, before gently colliding with Alex. “Hey, you good?” The two of you slowly blinked as your eyes began to adjust to the new light setting and you nodded at her.

“Yeah,” Your spoke, having to clear your voice when it was more shaky than you would have liked. She relaxed slightly and curled her arms around your waist again, holding on protectively. You let out a breathy laugh, "I, uh, think that might be a message they want us off the roof." She closed her eyes in, what looked like slight frustration, but nodded.

"I think you might be right." She smiled and the two of you swam to the edge of the pool, pulling yourself up and onto the side. The streams of water falling from your body and your clothes broke the silence of the, now dark, night. You sat by the side of the pool for a moment, shivering again.

Alex was the first to stand up and her movement caught your gaze. You looked up to her and, resting your chin on your knee, smiled, "We should go to bed. When's our flight?" Your teeth clattered slightly and you looked down, hugging your arms around your body in an attempt to warm yourself up.

"Early. I think we're leaving at 7." She responded. You turned to look at her again to respond, only to see her pulling her shirt off over her head. Your mouth gaped open slightly. She bent down to wring the water out of her shirt, twisting the material and letting it drip back into the pool. The sudden noise of water splashing into the pool brought you back to reality. You quickly realised you were staring, and quite literally gaping, at Alex so you made sure to (reluctantly) tear your gaze away.

You distracted yourself by looking down at your watch and you let out a small groan at the small numbers flashing back at you, "That's like three hours time, fuck." You rubbed your eyes and let out a small yawn, just now realising how tired you were. It had been a hell of a long day. You lifted your gaze to find Alex, wrapped in one of the blankets, looking down at you with a small, fond smile, looking like she was in some kind of daydream. You frowned, "You okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, no, I'm good," She shook herself out of her trance and held her hand out for you. You stood up and she immediately opened the blanket, “Come here, you’re cold.” You stepped into her arms, and into the warmth of her embrace. After making sure you were completely surrounded by the blanket, she leaned back, a questioning look in her gaze as she pulled at your shirt. You just nodded again, trusting her. 

The question was clearly, ‘Can I take your top off?’, which became obvious when she began to unbutton your shirt. Her fingers moved quickly and, once she got to the last button, she removed her hands and nodded to you to remove the soaked shirt.

“You’ll be warmer without it, I promise.” She smiled, taking the blanket as you quickly removed your top and mirrored her actions from earlier, turning around to twist your shirt over the pool, shaking out as much water as you could.

You jumped slightly as her warm hands pulled you back into her, and the blanket, moments later. She let out a warm, breathy laugh as you turned to face her in the warm bundle of blanket.

“I’m not going to push you in again, I promise.” She hugged you, moving your wet hair and tucking it behind your ears again, “I wouldn’t do that.” She held your gaze, smirking slightly.

“I know, you’d never do something like that.” You joined her in the joke, laughing. 

She winked and smiled, entangling her fingers with yours before frowning, “You’re freezing.” She pulled your hand up to her lips and used her breath to warm your hands.

“Sorry.” You mumble, teeth clattering again.

She shook her head, “No, don’t be.” She gathered up the corners of the blanket, where she was holding it together and ducked out, handing them out to you, “Here, hold this and I’ll get us another blanket.” You gripped onto the blanket as she quickly grabbed the largest of the others and brought it back to you. You opened the blanket you were holding so that she could come back in and join you. She smiled, draping the second blanket across the two of you as well.

Now that you were starting to remember what it felt like to be warm again, you didn’t think it was too bad to stay for longer. As long as Alex was here. But it was late(/early) and you needed to be up soon. So you looked over to Alex, “Should we go?”

She smiled and nodded, "Just one moment. Let's just look at the view." You agreed, standing together - you in her arms, looking over the Paris skyline.

You looked to, what you thought could be, the East and nudged her, "You think we'd make it until the sun rises?"

Alex let out a small snort and shook her head, "No, you'd fall asleep."

You went to disagree with her but, to her credit, she was absolutely correct, "I definitely... would. Yeah, for sure." You grinned, nodding.

“It’s just so beautiful,” She glanced across the horizon one last time before turning to you with the same look of wonder in her eyes, "Come on then, let's go to bed." 

The two of you started to make your way to the exit (attempt no. 2 to leave tonight) and you quickly steered Alex to the right, "Careful, there's a pool right there. I don't know if you noticed it." You winked at her and she gasped softly, nudgin you in the ribs.

"Shut up." She smiled but didn’t protest any more. She stopped you both at the elevator, and pushed the call button.

You frowned as the elevator started making it’s way up to your floor. "We are dripping wet, we can't go in the elevator." You paused, looking down at you shorts (still dripping pool water) and your shirt gripped in your hand (still, also, dripping pool water) and to Alex, who was in a similar situation. “The stairs are literally right there. We’re, like, four floors down.”

“And get the stairs all wet?” She raised an eyebrow. “Come on, I can’t be bothered with stairs.” She pouted, “It’s late.”

The doors opened up and Alex stepped in and turned around, waiting for you.

You paused for a few more seconds, before begrudgingly, and slowly, entering the elevator with her, “We’re athletes. Aren’t athletes meant to be all about taking the stairs instead of the elevator.”

Alex pulled you closer in by your blanket, “Y/N, my love,” She held your cheeks in her hands, and a blush instantly creeped up through your face, “We just won the World Cup, I think we can take a night off.” She turned around and pushed the button to the floor where the team were staying. 

You couldn’t believe that someone’s words would have such an effect on you. Your heart clenched with emotion and you felt light headed. You cleared your throat and, as she turned back around to face you, asked, “Can you say that again?” Your whole body felt tense in anticipation, “Just one more time.” 

“What that we’re world champs?” She grinned and you hesitantly shook your head.

“No, that... other bit?” You whispered. The grin slowly fell from her face when it dawned on her what you meant, and she raised an eyebrow.

Alex took a step closer to you, “Y/N,” She smiled softly and her gaze held the most tender emotion you might have ever seen, “my love?” 

You couldn’t trust your voice so you nodded at her words. Before you could even try to say anything more, Alex’s lips were on yours and her hands had you pushed up against the wall of elevator. The blanket slipped from your shoulders as you reached to pull her closer to you. Her hair was still slightly dripping and you could feel small drops of water falling on you, you smiled into the kiss and she slowly pulled away, slightly breathless.

As she moved slowly back, you moved with her, pressing small kisses with a smile to the corner of her mouth as she smiled back at you.

Alex leant back into you, “Happy we took the elevator now?” She asked with a teasing smile. You responded by reconnecting your lips, and she had you back up against the wall. Just as the kiss was about to deepend- ding dong.

“Fuck-” You moved away, breathing slightly heavily. The doors to elevator started to swing open.

"It's-" Alex sighed, looking to check the floor number, "This is our floor." She didn’t move away from you, keeping her hands on you - until the doors started to close again and she had to dash to keep them open. You bent down to grab the fallen blankets as she held the doors.

The two of you walked down the corridor in a comfortable silence, aware of your sleeping teammates behind every door. Once she’d walked you back to your door, she started chewing her lip again. You raised your thumb to gently free her lip before reaching up to press a short kiss to her lips.

"Are you sure you'll make it all the way back to yours." You asked jokingly, a smile growing on your lips as you leant against your hotel room’s door.

She shook her head, "You know, I don't kn- what if I don't?" She whispered.

"I'll make sure you do." You promised, squeezing her hand as she started to walk backwards to her room.

She stopped at the room opposite yours, just far enough that you couldn’t reach on another, and smiled, "I think I made it."

"I'll see you in the morning?" You asked, looking at your watch again, “Two and a half hours!” You tried to pretend to be cheery about the fact that you were going to get literally no sleep.

“I’ll see you in two and a half hours.” She nodded.

"Night." You waved, opening your door. She silently waved back, opening hers at the same time.

You closed the door behind you and took a deep breath. What the fuck?

Emily shifted in her bed, raising her head and opening a sleepy eye, “Y/N?”

“Em, I’m fine, go back to sleep.” You whispered, walking round her bed to get to yours.

“Why aren’t you wearing a top?”

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Y/N... Y/N!" Emily shouted, her words piercing through your nice, comfy bubble of sleep.

You groaned and waved her off, "Yeah, yep, I'm up." You croaked out and stayed put, hearing Emily’s receeding footsteps and thinking you could get another 5 minutes of sleep, at least...

Something hit the back of your head, "Come on, we're leaving in ten." Emily’s voice sounded out, “I’ve packed most of your bag, but we gotta hurry.”

"What?" You took the duvet off, and turned around in bed to face the ceiling. It was bright, too bright for your liking.

Em was rushing around the room, "It's nearly 7, we've got to be in the lobby in ten minutes." She said, putting her toothbrush in her mouth at the same time as folding your clothes and stuffing them in your bag.

You groaned again, "Shit."

"Come on." She garbled out, through her toothpaste.

You sat up in bed and shook your head, "I think I'm still drunk."

"Yeah, join the club." She grined, throwing something else your way. “Come on, pack your bag.”

You wince and move off the bed, "Did I do anything stupid? I feel like I did something stupid." You said, frowning at your slightly damp hair and shorts. “Where’s my shirt?”

"Who knows? Probably. I was just as out of it as you. Anymore questions?" She raised an eyebrow and you shook your head, "Let’s go, I've packed everything from the bathroom. You've just got to clean teeth and get changed."

You slowly move from your bed to the bahtroom and do as you’re told as quickly as your body can function.

You popped your head round the doorway and looked in the room, "I thought Alex slept over last night?" You said, this time you were the one speaking despite the toothpaste filling your mouth.

Em rasied an eyebrow and shook her head, "Nope, just us. You're just dreaming about her I guess."

"Stop it, I'm not." You threw your toothpaste tube at her and she just ducked in time.

"You're blushing!" She shouted at you, putting the tube in your suitcase.

"Shut up," You cleaned your mouth out and cleaned your toothbrush before packing that too. "She walked me back to the room, I thought she stayed but obviously not."

"You wished she stayed." She threw the clothes at you to get changed but then hesitated, not throwing your shirt to you yet, “Wait, she walked you back? Miss not-wearing-a-shirt? Was Alex also perhaps not wearing a shirt?”

You glared at her, "I will empty your suitcase off of our balcony if you're not careful."

Em grinned, throwing the shirt, you turned around to get changed, "I’ll throw your suitcase down the elevator shaft then." 

"Oh my god." You winced again at the memory. 

"What?"

You put your hands on your head and shook it in slight panic, "I think I'm going to throw up."

Em made a face, "Alcohol does that to you. Just don't throw up on me."

"No, Em! I kissed Al." You turned to her, eyes wide.

"You wish you kis-"

You shook your head, throwing your shirt back at Em to shut her up, "Sonny. I'm not kidding. Fuck! We kissed."

"Wait, what? When?" She asked, expression matching yours now. She came and sat down on the bed next to you, putting your shirt on the pile of clothes you still needed to get changed into.

"Last night! She walked me down and-"

Alex leant back into you, “Happy we took the elevator now?” She asked with a teasing smile.

"Fuck!"

Em shrugged, "It's not that bad! I've been trying to get you to gain the courage to do something about you're massive crush for ages. Drunk you has the courage."

"No! Drunk me is dumb!" You put your head in your hands.

Em sympathised for a moment and then cleared her throat, "Okay, I know you're having a bit of a moment but we really need to go or we'll hold everyone up and they'll be pissed." She stood up, nudging your clothes towards you.

You bit your lip, "Em, what do I do?"

“Uh, get dressed?” She smiled, sitting back down for a moment, "It'll be fine, just talk to her about it. I've been trying to tell you that she likes you too. Kelley told me when we were drunk ages ago."

"I don't know."

"Oh my god." She held onto your shoulders and lightly shook you, “Dude, she kissed you. You kissed her. She likes you. You like her.”

"We were both really drunk." You shrugged.

"Yeah, you still are, dumbass."

"Emily..." You whined, not sure what you were going to say to Alex, or, worse, what she was going to say to you.

"It’ll be fine.” She ruffled your hair, “Just- come on, love bird." She grabbed your shirt and handed it to you, “But please don’t take each other’s shirts off this time.” 

xxxxxxxxxxxx

You sighed, having just taken a team photo on the steps to your plane, a.k.a the thing you were going to be stuck on for the next however many hours alongside Alex. You trailed up the stairs, taking your time and trying to ignore the hangover. This was a big mistake.

No chairs left. How were there no chairs left, apart from-

"Can I sit here?" You asked Alex, motioning to the seat opposite her.

"Huh? Oh, I- sure, yeah. Here." She moved her bag and blanket off of it so you could sit down. You looked for any hint of what she was thinking in her eyes. They had been so easy to read last night. Whay was she thinking now?

You realised you were staring and sprang into action, sitting down in the now empty seat, "Thanks." You smiled, relazing into it.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, raising her eyes from her phone and over to you.

"I..." You gulped and shrugged, "I feel this is going to be the worst hangover of my life." You said, honestly.

Emily popped up from the seat behind you and leant over, "More drinks in the day keeps the hangover away." She grinned, her sunglasses covering her eyes as she held up a bottle of champagne.

You groaned and swatted her away, "Em, go away, you and Kelley got me into this mess."

"I'm here to offer you another glass of champagne - for our winning goal-scorer." She ruffled your hair again, "And how about a drink for the lover?" She asked, looking over at Alex.

"The what?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

You gritted your teeth, "The what?" You glared at Em, trying to convey a very particular message. Don’t you dare.

She raised her eyebrows in innocence, "Hmm? I said... what about a drink for the... mother. How is Charlie? I bet she's missed you, huh?" She said, clearly thinking on her feet. Alex was about to answer when Kelley shouted across the plane.

"Em! Want a beer?" She asked and Em nodded, immediately getting up to run over to her. 

"Yep, coming." As she passed Alex, she turned around to look at you.

'I'm sorry!' Emily mouthed to you with a massive grin that screamed that she was, in fact, not sorry. You scowled back at her but quickly smiled as Alex looked up to you.

"She's... weird." Alex said, after a long pause.

You quickly nodded, trying to forget this ever happened, "Yes, yep. Very weird."

"How... did you sleep?" She asked, locking eyes with you.

"Honestly, not great. I think I might still be asleep even though I'm walking and talking."

“Maybe we stayed up a bit too long.” She smiled and you mirrored it, nodding.

"Yeah, god, we must have, I mean, like... I only slept for like 3 hours."

"Less probably. I'm going to need a lot of lie ins to make up for this." She winced, rubbing at her eyes.

"I hardly remember what went on yesterday. Even, y'know, the whole soccer part is just one big blur."

"Oh yeah? No, same... We must have had some fun though."

You grinned, just now recalling the actual game rather than just replaying the kiss again and again, "I would happily win the World Cup again if I could have a repeat of last night."

"We've still got lots to come." She smiled, another soft smile like last night, and nudged your knee with hers.

You relaxed slightly and nodded, gulping down the fear and taking a deep breath in, “Yeah... Hey, Alex, about last ni-” But you were interrupted by her phone going off. 

She picked it up straight away and her face broke into a grin, “Oh, shit, that’s Charlie. I said I’d call her and my parents before take-off, do you mind?” She asked, hardly sparing you a glance.

You shook your head, “No, no, of couse not.”

"Get some sleep, you’ll need it." She smiled and held up her blanket, "Want to share?"

Your palms went a bit sweaty as more memories from last night flooded your mind, "Yeah, sounds good. Thanks." You smiled, tugging it over the two of you.

She answered the call, pressing her phone to her ear as she said, “Hey!” You couldn’t help but smile at her joy, before turning over and desperately trying to get some much needed sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Em sighed as she chucked a beach ball at Rose’s head, before flopping down on the lounger next to you. "Y/N! Come on, it's been days now. You still haven't talked to her about it?" She looked exasperated and you winced slightly.

"Yeah, okay, but technically she also hasn't said anything to me, so..." You trailed off, sitting up and shrugging.

Lindsey joined in the telling off. Emily had taken it upon herself to update anyone and everyone who wanted to listen about your love life. Cheers Em! "You just need to talk to her! You're being an idiot." Lindsey said, affectionately. 

“But, like, I gave her the chance to talk about it and she clearly didn’t want to-”

Em hity ou over the head, “Neither did you! She probably thinks you are embarrassed and don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m not embarrassed. But what if she is?”

“Oh my god.” Rose snorted, putting her sunglasses up on the top of her head.

You groaned. None of your friends were backing you up here, wasn’t that meant to be there job? "Do you think I could get away with never having to talk to her again?"

Kelley came to sit next to Em, hanging her up over her shoulders, "Honey, babe, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but... you're on media duty with her today." She looked from her phone, to you.

You rasied an eyebrow, "You what?"

"Yeah... you've literally got to sit with her, in close proximity, answering random questions for about... three hours." She said, before smiling.

"You're messing with me." You shook your head.

Kelley shrugged and gestured to her phone, "Did you not see the email?"

You frowned, “Email...?”

Rose looked over at you, “Yeah, you know... that thing they invented. It’s like sending a letter but... online.”

"You guys get emailed stuff?" You asked in disbelief. They were pulling your leg. This isn’t real.

"You don't?" Rose asked.

You shrugged and mumbled under your breath, "Well, I've never had one..” 

“Give me your phone.” Em reached her hand out, gesturing for you to hand it over.

“Why?”

She rolled her eyes, “I’ll find the email for you.”

You huffed slightly but gave her your phone anyway, “I’m telling you, I didn’t get one.” You tried your best to convince everyone around you. Emily just handed back your phone. You frowned and she pointed at the screen. You looked down at the open email, "Since when do we get emails?" You asked, flicking through it and seeing yours and Alex’s names at the media section, "Fuck."

Em grinned, leaning back on the lounger and putting her legs up on Kelley’s lap, "I don't know about you guys, but I am having the time of my life right now."

"You, Emily Sonnett, are an asshole." You pointed at her, putting your phone down and standing up. You scooped her up and carried her over to the pool.

She wriggled slightly and shook her head, "No-! Don't you dare-" You dropped her in, grinning as you waited for her to resurface.

When she did, you shrugged down at her, "You asked for it." 

“You’re the one who doesn’t know what an email is!” She shouted, splashing water at your feet.

You laughed and let your mouth drop open at the accusation, “I know what an email is, I- ah, Kelley, no!” You screeched as Kelley lifts you up, holding you above the water. You cling onto her, “Wait, we can talk about this. Don’t drop me!” You beg.

Kelley gets distracted, seeing her friend across the pool, “Alex!” She shouts and drops you so can she wave at her.

“Kel!” Alex shouted in indignation. You resurface, get dunked again by Em, before resurfacing and swimming over to Alex, who is now stnding next to Kelley. "Y/N?" She looks down at you, an eyebrow raised.

"Uh, hi." You smile and wave.

"Hey," She gazes at you a second before regaining her train of thought, "um, media starts in, like, half an hour."

Your heart sinks ever so slightly but you nod. Best get this over and done with, "Right, yes, I- will go get ready." You point towards the steps out of the pool. As you’re swimming she calls over.

"I can help you if you want?" She offers and you turn, swimming backwards.

“Sure, yeah.” You nod, before arriving at the steps an quickly climbing out. As you’re getting out of the pool, Kelley smirks at Alex next to her.

"I'm sure you can really help her." She winks and Alex blushes before quickly pushing Kelley into the pool. She walks over to you. You look back at the splash and Kelley resurfacing, grinning at you and Alex.

You frown, turning to Alex and point to Kel with your thumb, “Kelley... did she just-?”

“She fell.” Alex quickly responded, a blush still evident on her cheeks.

You nod, “Huh.” And quickly run to catch up with Alex, grabbing your stuff from your lounger as you go past, thanking Lindsey and Rose’s ‘Good Luck’ as you go.

By the time you do catch up with Alex, the elevator has already reached your floor, “Good timing.” She mumbles and then falters, “Um, after you.” She offers, staying back to let you go first.

You nod and smile, before hurrying in, trying not to drop everything, “Sorry, thanks.” You clear your throat to try and shift the awkward feeling in your chest, and say the first thing that comes to mind, “I feel like I’ll annoy the hotel staff by getting water all over the elevator.”

“Not the first elevator we’ve flooded.” Alex smiles as she leans on the wall of the elevator.

You flush at your stupidity - of all the things to say... “No, I guess not.”

“Um, about that...” Alex shuffles her feet, standing up and pushing off of the wall.

You notice her pause again, “The other night?” You prompt her, interested in what she has to say about it. You try to steady your breathing, hoping it’s the outcome you want, hoping she still means everything she said.

She takes a deep breath and reaches past you to push the floor you’re both staying on with the team.

“Yes, yeah, I didn’t mean to be awkward about it. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything. It wasn’t my intention.” She nervously puts her hands in her pockets and flicks her gaze between you and the floor.

“No, you haven’t- I’m not...” Your heart sinks slightly, “I didn’t want to bring it up in case you didn’t want to talk about it or something.”

“And I thought maybe you- maybe we were just, I don’t know, like, high on adrenaline and alcohol so maybe it didn’t actually mean anything.”

“Exactly!” You take a sharp breath in, because that’s exactly what you were worried about too. It’s Alex, for god’s sake. She could have kissed anyone. Was it you because you were there? Or because you had both been celebrating together?

Alex was holding her body tensly the whole time and she suddenly seems to deflate, “Sorry, we can just forget it happened.” You frown, how did you get to this point?

The elevator only just jolts into life as it starts taking you down to your floor.

“Oh, right. Yeah, maybe that’s... for the best.” You frown again, you can’t help but notice the signs that show she’s disappointed. Or is she? You sighed, and steel yourself. You needed to just double chck, you’d forever kick yourself if you let Alex slip through your fingers, “Or-”

“Or?” She immediately repeats, gently lifting her gaze to yours. 

You wince before you’ve even said it. Drunk you thought it was romantic but maybe this was corny and would comfirm your place as a friend only. Fuck it - “We don’t have to let this just become a France thing...?”

"It can be a home thing too?” A blush returned and she chewed on her lower lip, before letting out a giant grin, “We’re a bit fucking cheesy when we’re drunk.”

You smirked, relaxing, “You can say that again.”

Alex steps forward and your smile falls from your face slightly as she looks so serious. She pushes a strand of your wet hair behind your ears and you’re very aware that, once again, you’re drenched in water, you’re not wearing a top and you’re pretty sure Alex Morgan is about to kiss you. 

She cups your cheeks in the palms of her hands and nudged your nose gently with hers, “Y/N, my love, we are the cheesiest drunks.” 

“I think we’re pretty cheesy sober, too.” You mumble, before connecting your lips once more. You smiled of the, already familiar, feel of Alex’s hands on your hips as she swivelled you around so she could push you up against the wall. “This feels kind of familiar?” You briefly pull away to tease her. She only responds by kissing you more deeply, her hands starting to wander- “I think I should remind you that we’re in an elevator.”

“Right, yeah.” She replies this time, mumbling her answer into your lips, lifting her hands back up to your waist.

She pulls away, clear pride in her eyes as she smiles. You’re not sure you remember seeing her smile this brightly at you until now. And that warms your heart.

“Can I take you for dinner tonight?” She asks, hope in her eyes, along with a tiny little amount of fear.

You don’t even hesitate, nodding straight away, “Yes, yeah... I’d like that.”

“I won’t make you take your shirt off this time.” She grins, before looking down and looking back up at you, “...Not that you actually appear to have a shirt to take off...”

You blush, and look down, “Oh, yeah, I went swimming...” You try to reason your lack of shirt and pants. You’ve won the World Cup, doesn’t that win you the right to hang out in just your bikini for several weeks? At least?

“Or pants, for that matter.” Alex hummed, raising an eyebrow.

You smile and pull her back into you so her gaze returns to yours, “When did this become a conversation about my clothes?”

“Probably when I realised you weren’t wearing any.” She whispered, pressing a quick kiss to your lips.

“Bikini. A bikini is a kind of outfit.” You mumble, slightly disorientated by the whirl of emotions you’ve been through the past few days, and now here you are. Kissing. Sober - (Kind of).

The elevator comes to a stop and Alex takes a hesitative step away, “You should probably get some clothes on.” Her gaze momentarily slips, before returning back up to your eyes again, “For the media day.” She smirks and the doors open. She throws your towel over you and intertwines your fingers, walking out into the corridor.

No one is there to witness the chaos of the two of you coming out of the elevator in a state of undress - luckily. She pushes you gently towards your hotel door.

You lean on your doorway and pull her towards you, innocently cocking your head to the side, “I thought you told Kelley you were going to help me?”

“Haha.” She laughs sarcastically, shaking her head and checking the time on her watch. You raise an eyebrow, opening the door to your room and holding it for her to go in first. She hesitates for a moment, standing strong, before completely giving in. As she walks past you, she peppers your face with kisses, pulling you inside with her.

[samkerrworshipper]

watching this uswnt docu is rlly making me hate carli lloyd even more than i already did

like ick

massive ick

[ldrsog]

the girls are both finally retired

[kryptamazon]

Me too, Mia. Me too.

[neon-d0rk]

Alyssa Naeher played like all the bills were due. You couldn’t have played any better if you tried.

[woso-fan13]

Comfortember 2023: 21 (uswnt)

21. Relapse

Kelley wants more than anything to go back to sleep. The pounding on her door is preventing this. More specifically, you pounding on her door is preventing this. 

Grumbling, she crawls out of bed and goes to the door, opening it. She’s about to say some very mean words to the person on the other side when she’s met with your tear stained face. She can’t yell at that. 

Kelley doesn’t bother with words, pulling you in the door and wrapping you up tightly. She keeps a hold of you as she closes the door and leads you over to the sofa. Sitting herself down in the corner, she tugs you into her lap. 

You go limply, sinking into her body as your head falls to rest in the space between her neck and her shoulder. She presses a kiss to the crown of your head, humming lightly as she rocks the two of you. She waits for you to calm down. 

“Hey bug, it’s okay, you’re safe,” she coos, “what’s going on?”

You sniff, gathering your thoughts. 

“Kel, I- I promise I didn’t do it.”

That scares Kelley, as is evidenced by the tightening on her arms around you. 

“You didn’t do what, kiddo?”

“I really wanted to, but I didn’t. I came here instead.”

“I’m so proud of you for coming here, but I need to hear you say it. You know that.”

You take a deep breath, knowing what Kelley needs. 

“I didn’t hurt myself, I came here instead.”

Kelley squeezes you, kissing the top of your head twice. 

“Good girl, I’m so proud of you. I’m so glad you came here. Now you and me, we’re going to get through the night together and then talk in the morning. You made it through the hardest part, now you just let me help you through the rest.”

You nod into her chest, keeping your body pressed against her. Kelley has resigned herself to not getting anymore sleep tonight, but she knows she needs to ensure that you get some. 

She pulls a blanket off the back of the sofa, draping it over the two of you as her hand lazily scratches up and down your spine. The air fills with the quiet words of reassurance she whispers to you, quieting your mind enough to allow dreams to take over. 

[totaly-obsessed]

Alex Morgan Appreciation

woso appreciation masterlist | with @alotofpockets

[wosostuffs]

how can someone be this pretty i gasged

like if u save.

[alotofpockets]

World Cup Final | Daniëlle van de Donk

Pairing: Daniëlle van de Donk x Reader

Summary: It's the last ten minutes of the world cup final against the United States, with an even score, what will happen when the team is exhausted but still needs to score a goal to win?

Warnings: injury and blood. A/n: repost from my old account @woso-x-reader

masterlist | woso masterlist | words: 809

You were eighty minutes into the most important game of your life, the world cup finale against the United States. The score had been 3-3 for the past 15 minutes, your American opponents scoring the goal that erased your lead on them. It was an intense game, you were all giving it your everything. All five substitutions had been used, in order to get some fresh legs on the field. 

Aniek passes the ball over to you on the midfield, as you turn with the ball you’re immediately blocked by Lindsay Horan and Ashley Sanches. The latter of which shoves you to the ground. Since it was all happening so quickly, Horan’s cleat meets your arm as she tries to kick the ball back to their side of the field. You grab your arm out of pain, when you look down you see there is blood running down your arm. Your girlfriend Daniëlle comes running your way as Lindsay helps you sit up. 

You see the rage on Daniëlle's face as she approaches you and Lindsay, and are quick to grab her arm, “Not worth it.” She holds back and sits down by your side. Lindsay says another quick sorry before running off to join her team. The referee had called over the medical team in the meantime. They take a look at the cut, spray it with some disinfectant, and put pressure on it with a piece of gauze.

“I’m fine, I need to finish the game.” The medics look at each other. “Oh, come on, please, I promise you can do whatever you need to do in ten minutes when the game is over.” Since you seem to be fine besides the bleeding from the cut, they agree to let you finish the game. They put a bandage around your arm, before they let you go. Daniëlle helps you up, and runs back to her place on the field. Spitse takes the free kick you earned and kicks the ball forward. Sadly the ball was overtaken by the opponents.

The sweat mixing with the blood is making it look even worse as you bleed through the bandage, and it starts running down your arm. Right now, you don’t care about that, all you care about is the game. Only three minutes left before the time is up. You have to score now, or the game will go into penalties, which you weren’t hoping for. 

Beerensteyn has the ball in the far right corner of the field, ready to give an assist to someone in the box, but her ball deflects off of Alex Morgan, earning your team a corner kick. As the last minutes are ticking down, almost your whole team is in or around the box, while Sherida gets ready to take the shot. She raises her hand, signaling that she’s ready to kick the ball. You follow the ball with your eyes as it comes your way. You jump up and head the ball in the direction of the goal. Time seems to slow down as you watch the ball inch closer to the goal. 

The crowd erupts in cheer as the ball crosses the line. Your teammates are running towards you from all sides hugging you and patting you on the back. You were in the lead, with only one minute to go! “You did it, baby!” Daniëlle says to you when it’s her turn to hug you. 

The game continues as the referee has not yet blown the whistle. The goalkeeper kicks the ball away and as it lands on the field, you hear the whistle. You fall to your knees, happy tears streaming down your face. You scored the winning goal in the world cup final. All the hard work the team poured into this had paid off, you won! Daniëlle is quickly by your side once again, this time only hugging you in joy. 

The team celebrates together on the field, while also shaking hands with the American players, and telling them that it was a good game. You take a quick break from celebrating and walk up to the medics, like you promised. They clean out the cut properly and give you a fresh bandage.  

You run up to your teammates once you’re done. Grabbing Daniëlle and kissing her. You put your foreheads together, taking in the moment, when a Dutch flag gets thrown at you by one of your teammates. You unfold it and wrap it around the both of you. Hand in hand, you walk towards the section your families are sitting in together, to celebrate it with them as well.

The celebration goes on for a long time, and it will be a day you will remember for the rest of your life. Happy to be able to share it with your girlfriend and your amazing teammates. 

[sammyhammy415]

This hurts 😭😭 Kelley saying sorry to Kristie