The Americans, who own a record four World Cup titles and had never before finished worse than third place, left town long before the party was over after a shock defeat to Sweden in the last 16. "Our commitment to excellence remains unshakeable, and we believe this strategic plan will set the foundation for our women's national team to achieve greater heights in the years to come." The U.S. federation must also replace women's national team General Manager Kate Margkraf, whose departure was announced on Friday. But the Macedonian-American never shied from bringing the next generation into the fold, as he fielded the least experienced U.S. team in memory with 14 World Cup newcomers, compared to only eight in 2015. But fans looking for a glimmer of hope from the Americans' dismal campaign can look to the younger players.

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Persons: Megan Rapinoe, Alyssa Naeher, Vlatko Andonovski, Matt Crocker, Crocker, Kate Margkraf, There’s, Andonovski, Sam Mewis, Catarina Macario, Mallory Swanson, Forward Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Alyssa Thompson, Julie Ertz, Fox, Amy Tennery, Pritha Sarkar Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, United, Spain, England, Sunday's, team, Soccer Sporting, Premier League, Southampton, women's, U.S . Soccer, National Women's Soccer League, U.S ., Vietnam, U.S, Soccer, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Sweden, United States, Melbourne, Australia, U.S, Sydney, Qatar, Paris, Tokyo, New York