USWNT, Fans Get Wake-Up Call with 3-2 Loss to Brazil

When the World Cup draw happened earlier in December, the United States was put into the infamous Group of Death.

Australia, Nigeria and Sweden were drawn into the same group as the No. 1-ranked women's team in the world. All three were the best teams in their respective pots. It is far and away the toughest group for the upcoming World Cup, but for some there is a disillusioned view of the landscape of women's soccer.

Many fans, and some pundits, believed the USWNT would still stroll through the group easily. After all, women's soccer isn't that deep. Right? Wrong.

Many forget the United States didn't win its group at the 2011 Women's World Cup. Sweden was the reason why. And it was a softer group than what U.S. will see in 2015. Former head coach Pia Sundhage has Sweden humming. It, too, is much improved from 2011.

At the start of the 2014 campaign, the United States faltered in the Algarve Cup. It lost to Sweden and Denmark. That helped usher in a new coach, Jill Ellis.

The USWNT traveled to Brazil for a four-team tournament to close out 2014. They opened with an unexpected 1-1 draw against China. The Chinese national team fell on hard times in the past decade, but showed the U.S. it is much-improved. China was defeated in the quarter-finals at the 2003 and 2007 World Cups, failing to win their group in 2007. Their descent continues as they failed to qualify in 2011 for the first time in their history. They also failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. Regardless, that is a match the U.S. should have won. It was the first time since 2010 the USWNT failed to defeat China.

The next match was against Brazil on Sunday afternoon.

Brazil and the United States have a strong rivalry in the women's game, and it showed early on as the match was very chippy. The U.S. broke out early into a 2-0 lead. Things looked great for the American women, but that would not last.

Marta, the world's best female player, would get the Brazilians within one in the 19th minute. After halftime she leveled the score at two apiece. And less than 10 minutes later she tacked on her third goal for what would prove to be the winner. Sure the USWNT were not at full force, but that is no excuse for how talented that roster is from top to bottom.

Marta owns U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo. One of the best female goalkeepers we have ever seen has had trouble with the Brazilian starlet for years at both the international and club levels.

They failed in possession numerous times, allowed Brazil's speed to exploit their backline and could not string together enough quality offensive touches. They will see more of the same speed and talent at the World Cup. The Americans used to be able to out-fitness other nations, but Brazil matched them the entire 90 minutes.

China and Brazil both gave the U.S. fits with their pace.

The match should serve as a motivator to win the group. The Group D runner-up will play the winner of Group E, where Brazil should coast in a weaker group.

The latest two USWNT performances highlight that the U.S. cannot simply stroll onto the pitch and dominate. Those days are gone. Yes, the United States do have the deepest roster of any nation, but only 11 players hit the pitch at a given time. And other nations can match the U.S in that regard. A deep roster only means they can make more quality substitutions not that the 11 vs. 11 matchup on the pitch outright favors the USWNT.

There is an expanded field at this World Cup for a reason. Women's soccer is growing at a rapid rate.

No one should expect the U.S. to advance based on its name and star power alone. It will have stiff tests in every match of this World Cup. The latest loss is a wake-up call to players, media and fans alike. It is a different world.

Remember when Spain strolled into the men's World Cup this past summer and was promptly ousted? The same could happen to the United States women. Is that likely? No. But it is a possibility if they continue to play this way moving forward. There is a lot of time to dial in this group and set the perfect roster for another chance at adding a star above the crest. Ellis will have difficult decisions to make to have this squad peaking at the right time.

The results in Brazil are just the latest reminder that the USWNT is not that much better than the rest of the world. That perception must change. It will be a fight each match, and these year-end matches have been a brutal reminder of just that.

Fans, it's time to temper your expectations about what to expect in 2015.

The USWNT will next play Argentina on December 17 at 4:20 p.m. ET.