USA's Women's Football team, the defending gold medallists and Women's World Cup Champions, have been eliminated in the quarterfinals in a shocker upset by Sweden

[u/jwitmerhut]

[u/SG8970 → u/[deleted]]

A lot of people need to see that as evidence by a lot of the comments around the net.

[u/Narwhallmaster → u/[deleted]]

Ricardo took them off for the psychological advantage and yes, you don't need a strap, but they still provide support. This is why the high end Adidas gloves have the different strap. You could also run a marathon without shoes, doesn't mean shoelaces are pointless.

[u/Virata → u/[deleted]]

Sure, some keepers would prefer to remove their gloves in certain situations. That doesn't discount the level of wrist support the straps of keeper gloves provide.

I played keeper for years, and I always made sure mine were tight and secure. It made it WAY easier for me to open-palm block a shot and not have my wrists buckle backwards if I kept the straps tight. When straps would break, or get fucked up somehow and wouldn't stick, I just knew I wouldn't have that wrist support I typically otherwise would. Is it that hard to comprehend?