PARIS — The U.S. national team’s 13-0 rout of Thailand did more than expose vast differences between two teams, it highlighted the overall inequality in the Women’s World Cup field.

Players for the defending champion U.S. team enjoy things like nutritionists and massage therapists, access to top-level training facilities and play an array of exhibition games against world-class competition. Thailand struggles for the basics, even a large enough player pool to draw on for talent. They play a limited number of friendlies against quality opponents and players need jobs outside of soccer to make ends meet.

“There are some teams here that, since the last World Cup, have only played a handful of games, or only the qualifiers,” U.S. star Megan Rapinoe said. “It’s embarrassing for the federations and for FIFA as well.”

So while well-supported teams like the U.S., France and England can legitimately say they’re contending for a title, others without those nations’ resources make do with moral victories.

Before the U.S. game, Thailand coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian suggested the team’s real victory at the World Cup could be improvement in the women’s program back home.