FRANKFURT, Germany – A week ago, there were so few people following the Americans they could hold their daily media sessions around a small table in their hotel lobby.
Now they need an entire ballroom.
The frenzy of attention surrounding the U.S. women ahead of Sunday’s final against Japan is something they’ve never experienced before, and it has the potential to fire them up – or heap even more pressure on what is already the biggest game of their careers.
“I don’t think it’s a distraction,” goalkeeper Hope Solo said. “We’ve had the mentality from day one that we came here for one reason. Our one and only goal was to win this tournament, and I think people are staying pretty true to that.”
But the challenge gets bigger with each day.