Former United States women’s national team captain Carli Lloyd never shies away from criticizing the current team and gave her opinion following the stunning Gold Cup loss to Mexico on Monday.
Mexico did the unthinkable and ended their 16-game losing streak vs. the USWNT and handed the U.S. their first loss to a Concacaf opponent on home soil since Nov. 11, 2000.
Lloyd wasn’t a pundit for the game but took to Twitter to share her thoughts.
Carli Lloyd reaction to Mexico loss
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..now they have to rebuild and claw and climb their way back up. #NoOneFearsTheUswntanymore
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) February 27, 2024
Lloyd also had a snarky tweet aimed at Lindsey Horan who recently said most American fans aren’t smart because they just echo the same opinions as pundits. Lloyd, a pundit for FOX Sports, hinted at Horan’s comments joking that she watched the Mexico game but doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
I did…but I don’t know what I’m talking about. https://t.co/5qHwHCLhsm
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) February 27, 2024
Lloyd and a large portion of the USWNT fanbase have long been at odds with each other over differing opinions.
The USWNT legend somewhat agrees that the world has caught up to the U.S. but believes the recent struggles for the team have been more so due to the USWNT’s regression.
Interim head coach Twila Kilgore cited the world getting better as part of the reason for the USWNT’s loss to Mexico.
“It just shows how far the game is coming and there’s no easy games anymore,” Kilgore said.“If we don’t take care of business and we don’t execute, this is to be expected and we’ll step up and take ownership of that.”
Are the USWNT truly going off the rails and no one fears them anymore? Depends on who you ask.
In this writer’s opinion the USWNT’s struggles stem from being in a transition phase with younger players trying to fill some rather large shoes left behind by stars like Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz, Sam Mewis and more.
There’s also a coaching transition as the USWNT await arguably the best women’s coach in the world, Emma Hayes. The Chelsea head coach will join the national team in May.
The USWNT are still among the best in the world. In the 2023 calendar year they played 18 games, lost just one on penalties and only conceded three goals.
Are they what they once were in the late 2010's? No. Have they completely fallen off? No.
How the USWNT respond to the Mexico loss will be a true test of the team’s character and they should still be expected to win the Gold Cup.
