Korbin Albert was given an unexpected start for Tuesday’s United States women’s national team Olympic send-off game vs. Costa Rica. Rose Lavelle was a late scratch due to muscle tightness and head coach Emma Hayes put Albert in the starting XI.
The 20-year-old midfielder has a rocky relationship with the USWNT fanbase after she reposted anti-LGBTQ+ content on social media back in March. She was also caught liking a post celebrating the career-ending injury to Megan Rapinoe.
Albert apologized for her social media activity but has been booed by the home fans in every USWNT game since. Tuesday’s friendly at Audi Field in Washington D.C. saw more boos for her when her name was announced in the starting XI.
Korbin Albert boos during Costa Rica friendly
So if people wondered how Korbin Albert got received on the roll call, about the same as New Jersey received her pic.twitter.com/k3fyIfSavc
— Douglas Reyes-Ceron (@dreyesceron) July 17, 2024
Was like that in my section also https://t.co/nZnh8Op6Zs pic.twitter.com/yIT51rNWKS
— Guthrie Edson (@EdsonGuthrie) July 17, 2024
The situation was no different in the friendly against Mexico on Saturday and last month's friendlies vs. South Korea.
Crowd boos as Korbin Albert replaces Lindsey Horan. Happy pride, everyone.#uswnt pic.twitter.com/lc0npsZjHG
— Arielle Orsuto (@ArielleOrsuto) June 1, 2024
After it was announced that Albert was on the Olympic roster Hayes said she wanted USWNT fans to embrace the young midfielder. Hayes added that Albert has really struggled with the negativity, and it has impacted her performances on the field.
“She’s had a really, really tough time. She’s really struggled,” Hayes said in June. “I think some of that has shown in her performances… She can hear the noise in the stadium, that’s affected her.”
Albert’s form for the USWNT has declined since the social media incident. Earlier in the year she was a spark in the midfield during the W Gold Cup starting in all three knockout stage games including the final.
Since then, she hasn’t looked the same with so-so substitute cameos in the SheBelieves Cup and minimal influence in the latest round of friendlies.
It’s hard to say when/if the booing of Albert will ever cease. Whenever she appears on the USWNT’s social media posts the comments are overwhelmingly negative toward her.
One of the chief complaints from fans is that they want to see and hear more from Albert about how she’s changed since the social media controversy. They also want to know the work being done behind the scenes with Albert.
It will be interesting to see if the traveling USWNT fans in France for the Olympics continue to boo Albert. The USWNT’s opening game of the Olympics is against Zambia on Thursday, July 25.
