I had the opportunity to watch the US Women’s National Team play in two group matches versus Sweden and Spain and a quarterfinal game against France. My brother-in-law had gotten these tickets months in advance for a really decent price (around $30-$40!) so there was no excuse not to go! Side note: these tickets ended up going for minimum of 390-450 euros while I was in France.

The game against Sweden was in La Havre and the Spain game was in Reims. The games were a great excuse to explore cities outside of Paris that I may normally wouldn’t have visited. The games themselves were SO much fun – the USA team is exciting to watch and it’s nice to see athletes who have so much talent on the field and also have great characters outside of the game.

The atmosphere of the USA versus France game in Paris was insane. I had underestimated how many French fans there would be and they shook the stadium. This game has to be one of the top 5 sporting events I have ever been to. I was sad to leave France after this game since the team was playing so well and I felt like I was missing out right when the excitement was just beginning.

All of these games were packed with fans from both countries. I really loved to see how many families, especially young girls were attending these games and getting really into them. Unlike the men’s soccer games and football games I’ve experienced, the crowds were really nice. I was pleasantly surprised to see they didn’t sell alcohol in the stadiums, which probably added to the friendliness of the crowds.

I’m so excited to see USA play against Netherlands on Sunday. I wouldn’t hate if we won two World Cups in a row!