The full-length trailer for the highly-anticipated Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team docuseries on Netflix is here, and it’s all about legacy.
The two minutes of footage for the four-part event doesn’t veer too far from the teaser trailer released two weeks ago. For instance, it continues to dramatize the already dramatic penalty kick by Lina Hurtig for Sweden going over the goal line after U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher’s initial save.
Netflix’s portrayal of this scene could play out like Beckham‘s depiction of David Beckham‘s red card during the England vs Argentina match in the 1998 World Cup. It could be a fitting connection in Netflix’s growing line-up of football docuseries.
Nevertheless, this trailer focuses on the complicated and immense legacy on the USWNT’s shoulders. Megan Rapinoe‘s comment, “We’ve used success to make things better,” speaks to a recent occurrence among these players — their fight for pay equity. The 2021 documentary LFG, streaming on Max, chronicles that fight after the players filed a class-action, gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation in 2019 — three months before the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The USWNT would go on to win that competition, making it the second consecutive win after 2015’s World Cup. With the 2023 World Cup, the USWNT had the opportunity for a three-peat but fell out in the round of 16. Still, as Abby Wambach, a retired footballer who played as a forward for the USWNT, says, “But what does this team have to fight for?” The Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team trailer shows what this fight means for them — and everyone else.
The footage showcases the fans, including the little girls who look up to them, watching the team attempt to break further historic ground. The trailer features the team members’ families, like forward Alex Morgan and her daughter Charlie. There are shots of Alyssa Thompson, the youngest player (since Sophia Smith in 2017) to be called up for the USWNT with her family. There is a sweet glimpse of football superstars Kristie Mewis and Sam Kerr, who recently announced their engagement.
These are layers to the USWNT’s legacy that compound into the 2023 World Cup and extend well beyond it, which is how the Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team trailer finds its most fitting end — in the OOSA-OOSA-OOSA-AH chant.
The quote “Our legacy, it’s at stake” looms large over the trailer. Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team expresses interest in bridging the past and present with carefully used archival footage. It seamlessly blends footage of Morgan with the legendary Mia Hamm. Nevertheless, it finds a perfect common thread in that chant.
Its origins date back to the USWNT’s international debut in Italy in 1985. The Italian fans came to respect the players, cheering “USA” but sounded like “OOSA.” That chant lives in every pre-game huddle for the USWNT, including the 2023 World Cup. Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team can prove that legacy will continue, even with the setback of this loss because what this team fights for does not end with it.
Watch the Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team trailer below:
—
Are you excited to watch Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team? Share with us in the comments below!
Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team streams on Netflix on December 12.