The USWNT captain admitted that her former teammates words were “frustrating to hear”
Lindsey Horan has admitted that hearing her former teammate Carli Lloyd questioning the U.S. women’s national team’s mentality “hurts a little bit.”
Lloyd made headlines in the aftermath of the USWNT’s 0-0 draw against Portugal to close out the World Cup group stage, offering a scathing assessment of the team’s state of mind.
“I’m just not seeing that passion,” Lloyd said on Fox. “I’m just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”
The USWNT legend’s comments have not gone down well with those around the program, with head coach Vlatko Andonovski saying they were “insane” and Midge Purce calling them “absolutely ludicrous.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, USWNT captain Horan wouldn’t go quite that far, but admitted that her ex-teammate’s words stung.
“It’s kind of frustrating for me to hear, especially knowing this team and knowing how much we put into every single game, how much preparation we put into every single game, seeing our trainings, seeing how hard we work,” Horan said in quotes published on ESPN.
The midfielder added: “Again, it’s noise and, again, it’s an opinion and everyone is entitled to their own opinion — we know that’s how it goes. But for me, I always want to defend my team and say: you have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes, you have no idea every single training what we’re doing individually, collectively, etcetera.
“So, for anyone to question our mentality hurts a little bit but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t really care. It’s what’s going inside of the team and getting ready for that next game.”
“I’ve seen these players fall to pieces about this team, about this dream of going to the World Cup”
Midge Purce has said she was “baffled” to hear Carli Lloyd questioning the U.S. women’s national team’s mentality, calling her former teammate’s criticism “ludicrous.”
After a 0-0 draw against Portugal in Tuesday’s World Cup Group E finale, USWNT legend Lloyd laid into her former teammates.
“I’m just not seeing that passion,” Lloyd said on Fox. “I’m just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”
Lloyd’s comments have not gone down well with her former USWNT and NJ/NY Gotham FC teammate, who vehemently defended her teammates’ desire and commitment to the cause.
“I was baffled by the comments,” Purce said on “The 91st” show from Just Women’s Sports.
“I’m all for critiquing the players’ performances, their tactical awareness, their positioning, their quality on the ball, but to diminish their commitment and their discipline, their character — that’s absolutely ludicrous to me,” Purce said.
“These are players who when they got the call that they were going to the World Cup, they were trembling. Their phones were shaking, they couldn’t even hold the cameras straight.
“I’ve seen these players fall to pieces about this team, about this dream of going to the World Cup, and then pick themselves back up and put it all together. They tear their bodies apart so that they can get to this stage, get to this level, and then their passion is questioned.”
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski was similarly incredulous when asked about Lloyd’s comments, which he called “insane.”
Purce narrowly missed the USWNT World Cup roster, with a torn quad suffered in April damaging her hopes of making the team.
In light of some of the backlash Lloyd has gotten, she took time to clarify her critique during the FOX World Cup broadcast on Wednesday. The two-time World Cup champion kept it simple:
She cares about the team greatly, and she wants them to carry on a rich tradition.
"I want people to understand that I care deeply about this team."@CarliLloyd shares how her previous comments on the USWNT come from a place of admiration and how they were reflected in a legacy of success and generational greatness pic.twitter.com/2TIv8YQOVr
I might still disagree with segments of Lloyd’s comments, like the idea that fame hurts the players’ on-field mentality. If that were the case, none of the big superpowers would ever fare well in the tournament, let alone the USWNT.
But in terms of general substance — a team legend wants to see better play from the new generation — I can’t fault Lloyd for speaking her mind. She’s an ambassador of the USWNT at heart, and if she sees something she doesn’t appreciate, she’ll highlight it. Even with a berth in the knockout stages, the USWNT has been playing poorly during this World Cup. Anyone in her position would find it hard not to say anything.
Lloyd is closer to the team than most people. She’s at least earned that right.
The USWNT head coach wasn’t having any of his former player’s criticism
U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has hit back at Carli Lloyd, saying his former player questioning his team’s mentality is “insane.”
Andonovski’s side only managed a 0-0 draw with Portugal on Tuesday, advancing to the World Cup knockout stage as the Group E runner-up after a disappointing performance.
In addition to calling out USWNT players for their over-exuberant post-game celebrations, Lloyd also questioned the team’s mentality, saying on Fox after the game: “I’m just not seeing that passion. I’m just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”
"I'm just not seeing that passion."
USWNT legend Carli Lloyd didn't hold back when speaking about what she's seen from USA in this World Cup.
In his post-game press conference, a reporter relayed Lloyd’s criticism to Andonovski. The USWNT coach admitted his side was far from its best against Portugal, but bristled at the notion that it was lacking desire.
“The one thing I want to say is that this team wanted to win this game more than anything else,” Andonovski said. “They’ve put everything they could in preparation for this tournament and every game that they go into, so to question the mentality of this team, to question the willingness to win, to compete, I think it’s insane.
“I’ve never seen this team step on the field and not try hard or not compete. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, they can say whatever they want, but I just know how this team feels.
“It’s not like we played well by any means. We owned it. We know it’s not good enough. We’re not happy with our performance, but we qualified for the next round. We’re moving on.”
Andonovski was named USWNT head coach in 2019, coaching Lloyd for two years before her retirement in 2021.
Upon Lloyd’s retirement announcement, Andonovski said: “Carli Lloyd is a true legend. Her career was unique, and her success on the field is something all current and future national team players should aspire to achieve. The way she approached her everyday training and career as a professional is truly impressive and I’ve been honored to coach her.”
Carli Lloyd’s comments just feel a little off, don’t they?
This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Mike Sykes.
There isn’t a soul on earth right now who will tell you that the U.S. women’s national team is playing well right now.
Criticism is rightly coming from everywhere after this one. Especially from one Carli Lloyd, who once played for USWNT. She ripped the team for dancing and smiling and, basically, not being more angry after their tie against Portugal.
To be fair to Lloyd, she knows these players better than you or I ever would. She’s been in the system. She’s played with many of them and she knows their hearts and intentions for the most part.
With that being said, she took things a step too far when she tried to blame the USWNT’s poor performance on its work off the field.
In the postgame show with Alexi Lalas teeing her up, Lloyd brought up the team’s post-2020 fame as a reason why the team’s performance isn’t as sharp. She insinuated that some players might be “taking it for granted.”
“You put on that jersey and you want to give it everything you have for the people who came before you and the people who are going to come after you. And I’m just not seeing that passion. I’m seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted. Where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”
These comments strike me as Lloyd being a bit too close to the team still. It sounds like a conversation the team would have in the locker room instead of the airwaves. It’d sound much better that way. Here, it just feels a bit off.
Yes, USWNT found new fame after winning a second consecutive World Cup. Of course, it did. That’s meant to be celebrated. By the way, the team used that new platform for so much good, which included the team’s fight against U.S. Soccer in an equal pay lawsuit. That’s objectively a good thing.
It feels even more ridiculous to call out things happening off the pitch when there’s just so much bad to choose from on it.
There’s a lack of creativity from this team that has just marred it down, as Jason Anderson from Pro Soccer Wire points out here. The attack strategy doesn’t vary at all. The substitutions in the game came extremely late and the team’s tactics remained easy to read.
Meanwhile, the U.S. had no answers for Portugal’s midfield. Portugal only put up six shots this game but possessed the ball for 56 percent of the match thanks to its varied attack and strong connections between the team’s players.
USWNT’s strategy felt like it was just “Let’s just get the ball to Sophia Smith and vibe out,” for a majority of the game. That’s just not going to cut it.
Look, I’m not a soccer expert by any means. I don’t know how to solve these problems. But I do know that complaining about things that have absolutely nothing to do with the game at hand certainly won’t help.
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Carli Lloyd calls out the United States women’s national team following a disappointing tie.
Carli Lloyd wasn’t having any of it following the United States women’s national team nearly being bounced from the World Cup. A national team legend and former Rutgers women’s soccer star, Lloyd didn’t hold back following the United States tying Portugal in the final match of the group stages.
With the tie, the United States squeaked into the knockout rounds of the World Cup. The twice-defending champions were expected to ease into the next round of the tournament.
Instead, they struggled against Vietnam in their opening match and then looked lackluster in ties against the Netherlands and then Portugal. The Americans finished a shocking second in their group but will advance to the second round.
Following the match, she responded to video of some members of the United States national team dancing on the field. Others took selfies with fans.
“I have never witnessed – and just seeing these images for the first time right now on the desk,” Lloyd said on the set of Fox Sports following the tie with Portugal,
“I’ve never witnessed something like that. There’s a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing to be smiling. I mean, the player of the match was that post. You’re lucky to not be going home right now.”
At Rutgers, Lloyd was a standout performer and an All-Big East selection. She then continued her development to become one of the best players in the women’s game.
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Lloyd made over 300 international appearances for the United States She appeared in three World Cups (winning two) and three Olympics (two gold medals, one bronze).
Fox’s Carli Lloyd did not mince words about the USWNT appearing to celebrate their disappointing 0-0 draw with Portugal.
Host Rob Stone tee’ed up Lloyd’s reaction this morning on Fox as the video of the celebrating Americans played on the screen.
“These are not the images we should be expecting to see from a team that survived Portugal and survived to get to the round of 16,” Stone said.
“I appreciate them taking care of the fans. But let me tell you, Carli Lloyd’s butt would be back in the locker room, kicking things, throwing things.”
Seeing her ex-teammates dancing and singing after a dismal performance was too much for Lloyd to take
Carli Lloyd was not pleased to see some U.S. women’s national team players celebrating after scraping a 0-0 draw with Portugal to secure World Cup advancement.
The U.S. reached the round of 16 as Group E runner-up after barely managing to draw in a game it was expected to win handily.
In a subpar performance, the USWNT was very nearly eliminated when Portugal’s Ana Capeta hit the post in second-half stoppage time.
After the game, Fox showed some U.S. players looking jubilant on the pitch, with Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Crystal Dunn among the players briefly shown dancing.
For Lloyd, who now works as a Fox analyst, seeing her ex-teammates dancing and singing after a disappointing performance was too much to take.
“I’m just seeing these images for the first time right now on the desk,” Lloyd said. “I’ve never witnessed something like that. There’s a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing, to be smiling. I mean, the player of the match was that post. You’re lucky to not be going home right now.”
Watch Lloyd’s USWNT comments
"There's a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing and smiling…"@CarliLloyd on the USWNT after the match pic.twitter.com/38zm1eC76r
The United States team will move on to the elimination rounds after getting that crucial point, but it was a close one — Portugal nearly scored in the 91st minute but banged one off the post.
And it was after the game that FOX showed images of USWNT members dancing a bit and signing with fans in attendance. Lloyd was shocked and ripped the team for that.
“I have never witnessed something like that,” she said. “There’s a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing and smiling … I mean, the player of the match was that post. You’re lucky to be not going home right now.”
"There's a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing and smiling…"@CarliLloyd on the USWNT after the match pic.twitter.com/38zm1eC76r
Carli Lloyd weighs in on the United States women’s national team and their opening match against Vietman.
Carli Lloyd, a legend for both the Rutgers women’s soccer program and the United States women’s national team, wasn’t considered by what some considered a lackluster first game from the Americans in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The United States, considered the favorite in this summer’s World Cup, beat Vietnam 3-0 in their opening match of the tournament. Given that there was talk of the Americans potentially scoring double-digit goals, the performance was certainly a bit off from a team that is looking to three-peat.
As part of the Fox Sports broadcast team at the World Cup, which is co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, Lloyd wasn’t terribly concerned by the final scoreline. The United States squandered several good chances in front of goal and had a difficult time threading that final pass through a very low block from Vietnam.
Lloyd followed up a standout collegiate career at Rutgers with over 300 international appearances, three World Cup medals (won two) and three Olympic medals (two gold medals, one bronze).
“The game has come a long way and Vietnam actually came out and held their own for a bit. First game, they did score three goals, could they have scored several more? Absolutely,” Lloyd said on the broadcast.
“I would say my biggest takeaway was they still seem a bit disjointed. There’s not a lot of cohesion going. You saw the first goal with Sophia Smith there was link-up between (Lindsey) Horan, (Alex) Morgan and Smith. From an overall standpoint, it seemed a bit disjointed if we were to compare to coming into the 2019 World Cup where I felt like the whole team was firing on all cylinders.
“You don’t have to be your best but it’s going to take a lot.”
Lloyd thinks that the lack of cohesion and link-up play stems from the relative unknown nature of the team that took the field on Friday.
“For starters, that lineup hasn’t played together, yet. They just rolled out that lineup. It’s just getting on the same page, it’s hard to break down a low block. I felt at times there was some individual brilliance in taking on the dribble but you need a little more 3v2s, a little more combination in the center of the park Pull them out a little bit, suck them in, then you can go wide,” Lloyd said.
“I think coming out in the second half, they did a better job of putting inc crosses and stuff like that.”
Lloyd had a decorated and memorable career with the U.S. women’s national team, but she has hung her cleats up.
With the 2023 World Cup kicking off in New Zealand and Australia, longtime U.S. women’s national team forward Carli Lloyd will not be on the field for the Americans.
Lloyd, who played in four World Cups and helped the U.S. win two of them – as she was part of the championship squads in 2015 and 2019 – called it quits and hung up her cleats for good in November 2021. She scored her final goal for the national team in a friendly against Paraguay in Cincinnati on Sept. 21, 2021.
A month before that, Lloyd scored twice in the USWNT’s bronze medal match win over Australia at the Olympics.
At the time of her retirement, Lloyd was 39 and wrapped up one of the most decorated careers of any women’s soccer player. Her accomplishments include:
The first woman to ever score three goals in a FIFA World Cup Final.
The first player to ever score in six straight World Cup matches.
The oldest player to ever score for the U.S. women’s national team.
The USWNT’s third-all-time leading scorer.
Is second all-time in caps for the U.S.
Is fifth all-time in assists for the U.S.
At the time of her retirement, was one of just four international women’s soccer players to play more than 300 times for her country.
A two-time winner of the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year (2015 and 2016).
Is one of nine USWNT players to score five goals in a single match.
Scored the most goals for the U.S. at the Olympics with 10.
Lloyd played in four World Cups and four Olympics for the Americans. In 316 games wearing the stars-and-stripes, she scored 134 goals and dished out 64 assists.
As good as Lloyd was, she could also be a bit of a frustrating player and vocal when things didn’t go her way. She famously only started in one match during the USWNT’s run in the 2019 World Cup, and later gave several interviews about how much that “absolutely sucked” despite the Americans winning the sport’s highest crown for the second straight time.
Lloyd wowed people on the soccer turf during her time with the national team, gaining fans from Tiger Woods to Barack Obama.
Most of us will always remember her hat trick in the 2015 World Cup Final though, particularly that strike from midfield in the 16th minute that sailed over Japan’s keeper before nestling up against the back of the net, putting the USWNT ahead 4-0 and essentially securing their victory.
