Intro

A few days ago, when the U.S. team was eliminated from the FIFA Women’s World Cup, it marked the end of a history-making run.

Rory Smith, chief soccer correspondent for The Times, argues that it also marked the end of something even bigger: an entire era that redefined women’s sports.

Guest: Rory Smith, the chief soccer correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• After 48 games in the Women’s World Cup, half the teams had been sent home. And yet the field of potential winners feels bigger than it did at the start.
• Expanding the tournament was a good idea. Just not for the reasons FIFA thinks.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.