What We Learned from “Under Pressure,” the New USWNT Documentary

“We’ve had a lot of success in World Cups, but that doesn’t mean we’ve won them all” – Abby Wambach

The new Netflix docuseries, Under Pressure: The US Women’s World Cup Team, takes us through all of the ups and downs of the 2023 FIFA World Cup, starting several months before the tournament through the group stage, and into the aftermath.

The title of this docuseries fits to a T as it covers the pressure of the game from all angles. Throughout these episodes, we see the pressures that bubble players face over whether or not they will make the team and the pressures that new mothers and previously injured players face regarding their performance. And, we see the pressure that this entire team is under to perform in the same way that they have for the last two World Cups, despite being entirely different.

Under Pressure recaps and reminds the audience of all of the changes that this program went through leading up to these milestone games. From pregnancy to injury to personnel and coaching staff changeups, this is a completely new team. The team that played in 2023 was entirely new, playing against teams that have taken on the most dominant version of the USWNT. 

It goes beyond just playing the tournament. It starts months beforehand for some players, even years when the coaches and coaching staff of this program catch wind that they could be the next big thing. That’s when the pressure starts, and for this program, it never lets up. The series gives socceristas an inside look at the entire process of what it means, and what it takes to make it to this team. 

The idea of celebrity comes up a lot in this documentary, specifically with Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan in that first episode. They’re more than just soccer players; they are models and public figures and spokespeople and all of these things while also having to perform as an elite athlete. I think one thing that a lot of people forget as sports fans, but that this document series reminds us all of is that these players, despite seeming superhuman at times on the pitch, are leading lives outside of the game. We get to see Alex Morgan with her daughter Charlie. We get to see the Mewis family supporting each other, and Alyssa Thompson’s high school graduation party. What Under Pressure did the best was humanize these players who have for so long been put on these impossible pedestals. 

There’s no shying away from emotion. In this docuseries, we see the elation of making the team, the drama of the game from the inside, and the heartbreak of coming so far and just falling short. This is a game of passion, with players who put everything they have onto the pitch every single time. 

Even after the USWNT’s journey ends, Under Pressure carries on. With comments from some of the winningest players in the game, the focus shifts to the power a World Cup win can have for a program. Thanks to their work on the field, the USWNT was able to lobby for equal pay–and win–and now Spain is working with that same power to root out the predatory and toxic elements of their staff. But there are a lot more fights, even at the most fundamental level, that need to be won for programs around the world. 

Under Pressure does for this current USWNT what LFG did for the team of 2019. It gives the people who love these players and this game a look at what it actually means to lace up your boots and wear that crest, before, during, and after the game is done. What the USWNT means to not just their fans but to the world of soccer is a constant source of hope, and they will continue to prove that even if they’re down for the moment, you should never count them out. 

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