As most Americans were rubbing the sleep out of their eyes Tuesday morning, former U.S. Women’s National Team skipper turned Fox Sports pundit, Carli Lloyd, provided criticism of the current side on the set of a nationally-televised Women’s World Cup post-match show in Sydney that has kept followers of the team awake for the past few days. What Lloyd said, and why she said it, have been a subject of debate for journalists and members of the current squad, grabbing headlines everywhere in the week ahead of a Round of 16 tilt with Sweden. Questions still remain as to how the remarks will affect the two-time reigning tournament champions when they take the field Sunday.
Carli Lloyd USWNT Criticism Brings More Questions Than Answers
What Lloyd Said:
Following a 0-0 final result in the squad’s final group stage game, which included a stoppage-time shot off the post from Portugal’s Ana Capeta that would have eliminated the U.S. from the tournament if it had found the back of the net, the Fox Sports broadcast cut to post-match images of the team. These included Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe dancing and singing together, and Trinity Rodman smiling for photos with fans in the stands.
“I have never witnessed something like that,” Lloyd, seeing and reacting to the images for the first time said. “There’s a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing and smiling…the player of the match was that post. You are lucky to not be 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
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 1, 2023
Listen: Last Word SC Radio: USWNT Criticism, Women’s World Cup, Leagues Cup
The Reaction:
The media frenzy that ensued after the analyst’s remarks included reactions both in favor of Lloyd and criticizing her for saying anything at all. Lloyd’s supporters, including her set mate and former U.S. Men’s National Team defender Alexi Lalas, pointed mostly to the fact that the U.S. has looked lackluster at best in this tournament, and that the team appeared to be celebrating their mediocre performance.
"You were wonderful yesterday."@AlexiLalas backs @CarliLloyd and shares his pride in the USWNT as well as how to look forward to a successful future for the team 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mJLv5C0YyJ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023
Players have expressed they know the team can perform better based on their pedigree and the talent on their current roster, but they do not appear concerned with their second-place finish in Group E. Forward Lynn Williams said in a Wednesday press conference:
“We are not panicking. We have made it to the Round of 16. I think that we haven’t played our best soccer yet which is the most exciting part for us.”
This is only the second time in the history of the Women’s World Cup that the U.S. has failed to win its group, a surprising development considering the team entered the 2023 tournament as the No.1 ranked team in the world, according to FIFA. The team has stagnated in the group stage since an opening 3-0 victory over Vietnam, needing a dramatic second half corner-kick goal from captain Lindsey Horan to tie Netherlands 1-1, and failing to score against Portugal.
Lloyd has a history of accepting only the best results from herself as a player. She was famously cut from the U.S. U21 team in 2003 and subsequently changed her training regimen and lifestyle to make the squad in 2005, as detailed in a 2015 story by ESPN’s Jeff Carlise. She went on to make 316 appearances for the U.S. Women’s National Team, second most in team history, winning the Golden Ball award at the 2015 World Cup and the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2015 and 2016.
Lloyd’s detractors have expressed that her criticism came without having the full context for the dancing and the picture-snapping. Despite being an ex-player, it’s been written by Steph Yang in The Athletic that she cannot fully understand the dynamics of the 2023 team and what occurs behind closed doors.
Manager Vlatko Andonovski said after the Portugal match it is “insane” to say his team is soft based on their performance thus far.
“This team wanted to win this game [against Portugal] more than anything else, and they did everything they could in preparation for this tournament and in every game,” he said. “To question the mentality of this team, to question the willingness, the willingness to win, I think it’s insane.”
Horan also adamantly defended her team Wednesday, and expressed she has blocked out any outside noise.
“For me, I always want to defend my team and say like, ‘You have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes, you have no idea every single training, what we’re doing individually, collectively, et cetera,” she said. “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.”
What It Means
For the first time in a long time, there seems to be doubt amongst the U.S. Women’s National Team. The stars from those teams are aging, and new ones are unproven on the world’s biggest stage. After three group stage games, it appears as though the rest of the world has closed the gap on this once feared squad. They have not at all looked like the juggernaut they did in 2015 and 2018.
While Horan tried to dismiss Lloyd’s criticism and say it will not affect the team as they prepare for Sweden, it does not seem as if it has been dismissed in reality. Team leaders Andonovski and Horan both took real exception to what Lloyd said based on their public comments, putting themselves vehemently on the defensive rather than bluntly calling her remarks background noise. For a team that has won back-to-back World Cup titles, this kind of dustup would normally be easy to handle from a public relations standpoint. Lloyd did walk back her criticism Wednesday.
"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
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 2, 2023
What she said on Tuesday however, has brought far more questions than easy answers. If the U.S. Women’s National Team loses to Sweden Sunday, it is clear this week’s comments from their former teammate were in the back of the current player’s minds.
Photo Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports. Jun 25, 2023; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Carli Lloyd before the game between the Chicago Red Stars and NJ/NY Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena.
