The tournament-favorite USWNT and host country France have the largest contingents at the World CupGETTY IMAGES
The USWNT defeated Spain yesterday 2-1 at the Women's World Cup, setting up a quarterfinal match with France on Friday that "looks to be one of the more sought-after tickets in women's sports in recent years," as prices for the game at Parc de Princes in Paris are "skyrocketing," according to Tom VanHaaren of ESPN.com. One seller is "listing a pair of tickets for more than $11,000 on the secondary market," and the "least expensive ticket on the resale site StubHub.com is currently $681." In comparison, the Norway-England quarterfinal at Stade Océane in Le Havre on June 27 has "tickets as low as $33, with the most expensive ticket costing $170." Ticket prices for U.S.-France are "astronomically higher" than ones for U.S. matches at the '15 World Cup. The combination of the tournament host country "playing in Paris against the pre-tournament favorite U.S., which has had strong traveling support in France this summer, seems to have created the perfect storm" (ESPN.com, 6/25). CNBC's Frank Holland noted ticket prices for U.S.-France "have really gone through the roof." Holland: "If you're a bargain hunter, the cheapest tickets are approaching $700 each" ("Worldwide Exchange," CNBC, 6/25). Meanwhile, CBS' Roxana Saberi noted tickets to the semifinals and final match "sold out within 48 hours, signs that women's soccer is making big strides" ("CBS This Morning," CBS, 6/24).
TOO SOON? PRO SOCCER USA's Alicia DelGallo noted U.S.-France is the "game everyone hoped for," but it "may be coming a bit sooner than most hoped." It will be the "marquee matchup of the tournament thus far." USWNT F Megan Rapinoe said, "This is the best game. This is what everybody wanted. ... Maybe it’ll be a pretty even split between the fans in the stadium. We’ve been traveling pretty deep in this World Cup." DelGallo noted the crowd is "likely to be a sellout, and the U.S. is hoping its well-traveled fans, who have filled the majority of the stadiums they’ve played in so far, will make it a balanced crowd in the nearly 48,000-seat stadium" (PROSOCCERUSA.com, 6/24). USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes U.S.-France has been "hotly anticipated" since they played to a draw during a December friendly, and the "only bad thing about it is that it's happening two games too early" (USA TODAY, 6/25). In DC, Liz Clarke writes in "so many respects, this all-too-soon clash is a pity." It is a "borderline sporting offense that the tournament’s two best teams and top ticket-sellers" must square off in the quarterfinals (WASHINGTON POST, 6/25). In Boston, Frank Dell'Apa writes the U.S. and France meeting in the quarterfinal means the tournament "will be deprived of one of its two strongest attractions well before the July 7 final." The winner of the match "could well go on to take the title," but the World Cup will "lose out with either the home team sidelined or the Americans departing" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/25).
POWER STRUCTURE: In N.Y., Andrew Keh notes the USWNT is now "watching the rest of the world rapidly narrow what once had been a sizable talent gap." The Americans in the win over Spain "got a glimpse of the future, and, for another night, they succeeded in keeping it at bay." Spain, along with nations like the Netherlands and Italy, has "begun to build a women’s program to eventually match the longtime quality of its men’s team." All of these countries "have the infrastructure, the culture and, now, the will to create a pipeline of talent that could change the face of the Women’s World Cup in tournaments to come," something the U.S. "knows it will soon have to confront" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/25).
