Opinion: Why U.S.-France World Cup match is biggest game in women's soccer history PARIS -- It’s the biggest game in women’s soccer.


Ever.

Friday night’s World Cup quarterfinal between the top-ranked U.S. women and host France has been sold out for weeks. Tickets on the resale market ranged from $182 -- that’s for a seat in the rafters -- to $2,160 on Thursday. Coverage of France’s women’s team has pushed the men’s team – and Neymar – to the inside pages of the papers. A soccer store near Parc des Princes that two weeks ago didn’t have anything World Cup-related on display now has two window fronts filled with merchandise for the game, including T-shirts with “Allez Les Bleues!” emblazoned on the front, the extra e in bold red. And if previous games at this World Cup are any indication, half of France will likely be watching the game while ratings in the United States could threaten the record set for the 2015 World Cup final, when the Americans walloped Japan on the way to their third title. “I hope it’s huge and crazy,” Megan Rapinoe said earlier this week, her eyes lit up and a grin on her face. “That’s what it should be. This is the best game, this is what everybody wanted. I think we want it. It seems like they’re up for it. …

“These are the biggest games you dream about as a kid.”

The hype for this game is not meant to take anything away from the final of the 1999 World Cup. Or the final four years ago, both of which were huge ratings draws in the United States and inspired little girls from coast to coast.

But Friday’s quarterfinal between the world’s top-ranked team and the World Cup host carries a significance that reaches well beyond our country.

It felt before the tournament began that this World Cup would be a tipping point, a preview of the game’s potential if the rest of the world devoted even a fraction of the resources and interest to women’s soccer that it does to its men’s teams. It’s been so much more than that, though.

This World Cup has shown that it’s no longer “if” or “when” the rest of the world catches onto the women’s game. It’s happening now, and we’ve watched the enthusiasm grow every day.

While ticket sales have been disappointing, to put it mildly, that was the result of FIFA and the local organizers’ ineptitude or indifference, who claimed in multiple instances that games were sold out or close to it when neither was the case.

But when given the chance, fans have shown up. The Dutch have turned out in droves, painting the streets orange in every city where the Netherlands has played. Reims and Le Havre might as well have been U.S. territories on the days the Americans played. Read the rest here: www.msn.com/en-us/sports/fifa-womens-world-cup/opinion-why-us-france-world-cup-match-is-biggest-game-in-womens-soccer-history/ar-AADwejC?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp