United States women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd brought more hard truth about the state of her old squad to social media on Monday night.
Lloyd watched as the USWNT lost their Concacaf Golf Cup group stage match to Mexico, 2-0, on Monday and took to X to voice her opinion: No one fears the team like they used to.
"Yes the whole world has caught up… but I actually hate when people say that because the #USWNT started to regress at 2020 Olympics and have gone backwards," Lloyd wrote in her post. ".. now they have to rebuild and claw and climb their way back up #NoOneFearsTheUswntanymore"
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Lloyd had much support in the comments of her post, including one she responded to that said, "American supremacy is a myth! We’re the same as everyone else."
"Yes!" Lloyd said. "Teams used to lose to game before they played us because of fear and intimidation… as the complacency and lack of hunger crept in during 2020 it has given teams the confidence to know the US is beatable so that edge is lost."
Lloyd, who retired from professional soccer in November 2021 following an illustrious career that had two Olympic gold medals and two World Cup titles, has been saying this since last year’s World Cup disappointment. The USWNT lost in the Round of 16 to Sweden via penalty shootout.
It was the earliest exit in a World Cup in USWNT history.
Analysts like Lloyd and Alexi Lalas, who were both in Australia and New Zealand for the tournament, didn’t hold back when they saw a lack of disappointment on the faces of the players themselves.
Lloyd also spoke with her former teammate Hope Solo on the "Hope Solo Speaks" podcast, where she admitted not liking a culture change to the team in her final years playing.
"Even within our squad, the culture has changed," she said in 2022. "It was really tough and challenging to play these last several years. To be quite honest, I hated it. It wasn’t fun going in. It was only for love of the game, really, for me. I wanted to win and wanted to help the team, but the culture within the team was the worst I had ever seen it. So, I’m hoping that the future is bright and some things change."
The USWNT still has solid, young talent including Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Lindsey Horan to name a few. Emma Hayes was also announced as the next USWNT head coach following Vlatko Andonovski’s resignation after the 2023 World Cup.
Currently, Twila Kilgore is serving as interim head coach until Hayes is finished with the 2023-24 Women’s Super League season in England. She will join the team prior to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The USWNT will aim to bounce back in the SheBelieves Cup semifinal on April 6 against Japan, but the true test for this squad will be seen in Paris this summer, where Lloyd and many others hope there is recognition that the U.S. is no longer feared.
Whether they can return to that status moving forward remains to be seen.
