Team USA's Sam Mewis on facing the Netherlands in World Cup final: "We have a lot of work to do"
The U.S. women's soccer team is celebrating July 4th in France, after beating England 2-1 on Tuesday and advancing to their third World Cup final in a row. On Sunday, the team will face off against the Netherlands – and USWNT rookie midfielder Sam Mewis says the team still has "a lot of work to do" to prepare.
"Netherlands is gonna be a great team," she said. "We have seen them play really well throughout this whole tournament and their team has just been growing and growing over the past couple of years… We know it's gonna be a huge game, and we have a lot of work to do to get ready to play them. I think it's gonna be a really exciting game."
Mewis said the experience has been "a dream come true" for Team USA. "Some of the girls have been here before and for some of us, it's our first time, and I think that it's really something we've just dreamed about for so long," she said. "And it's awesome to be able to share that with my teammates and to be able to play in really what is the biggest soccer game in the world."
When asked about criticism over the team's celebrations, Mewis said that "I don't personally follow it that much. I think that I'm really just staying focused on what we're trying to do, and that's win."
And when it comes to accusations of arrogance that have been leveled against the team, Mewis said that "I think that there's a big difference between confidence and arrogance. Personally, I get all of my confidence from my teammates, and when I look around the room and see the kinds of women that I'm surrounded with, it really makes me feel like we can do anything."
"Doing all of this together is what gives us confidence. And I think that's all that we've showcased here," she added. "I don't think that arrogance really has anything to do with it, and I'm really proud of everything my teammates have done for this whole tournament. I think we've represented ourselves really well, and again, I'm just proud of the women that I'm here with."
While Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan have said that they won't go to the White House if they're invited after the tournament, Mewis said the team hasn't yet come to a decision. "We haven't discussed it as a team because we have to win first and that's a number one priority," she said. "I support my teammates 100%, but we're really just focusing on winning the game on Sunday."