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The United States women’s national team narrowly surpassed Japan in the Olympic quarterfinals on Saturday with a nervy 1-0 victory with several poor individual performances. USWNT captain Lindsey Horan had one of the worst showings.
The 30-year-old captain had a number of sloppy turnovers that turned into opportunities for Japan, she was far too slow on and off the ball and had a scare or two back on defense.
In the 35th minute she uncharacteristically let Japan’s Mina Tanaka spin away from her in the box to rip a shot that forced Alyssa Naeher into action.
Unfortunately for Horan the subpar performances have been a trend during the Olympics. She started off well with two assists in the opening game vs. Zambia but hasn’t been as effective in the midfield since.
It’s seemed as the tournament has progressed she’s gradually declined. She's been so-so for most of 2024 with a few stand out performances.
Her game against Japan was so disappointing that one USWNT fan tallied a list of every time she made an error. The list was long.
Can’t lie I was so checked out by extra time and it is currently 1:46am but here it is horass hive!! https://t.co/dNl6HwUWYn pic.twitter.com/FOEsr8NU6I
— gen (@trentslavelle) August 3, 2024
Horan completed 82% of her passes, however the ones she didn’t often caused trouble and led to Japan counterattacks.
Just about every outlet that put together player ratings from the Japan game had Horan as the worst player on the field for the USWNT.
How outlets ranked Lindsey Horan vs. Japan
- USA Today — 5/10
- Sporting News — 5/10
- Goal.com — 5/10
- CBS — 6.5/10
- Give Me Sport — 5.5/10
Despite wearing the captain’s armband, Horan just hasn’t had the biggest impact and influence. Fans online seem to agree.
All this talk about Alex Morgan being ‘washed’ and needs to stay off the USWNT… like let’s have the same discussion about Horan at this point. It’s the same thing every. single. game. #USWNT
— #BB26 (@parvsveto) August 3, 2024
every time Horan touches the ball #USWNT pic.twitter.com/rGl9Dw695K
— Alli Pinter (@allipinter) August 3, 2024
literally me anytime horan touches the ball #uswnt pic.twitter.com/S2i62ytoHr
— the daily miahl ꘩ (@readingonfilm) August 3, 2024
“a little off in these first 10 mins from horan” babe she’s been off the whole tournament i’m afraid
— jill ☀️ (@alikriegys) August 3, 2024
It’s hard to imagine a USWNT midfield without her presence. In 2024 she’s started 15 of the 16 games the national team have played so far. She started 17 of the 18 games played in 2023.
Head coach Emma Hayes clearly thinks highly of Horan as she decided to keep her on the field for all 120 minutes against Japan. Horan being benched in the Olympics is highly unlikely, however looking to the future it will eventually become reality.
How long it takes until the day Horan is benched is up to Hayes.
The question of who would replace Horan in central midfield is an interesting one. Perhaps Rose Lavelle could fill Horan’s postion while the likes of Jaedyn Shaw, Catarina Macaro or Croix Bethune take up the attacking midfield role.
Korbin Albert could also be a candidate as she filled in for Sam Coffey in the defensive midfield role but didn’t look entirely comfortable in the Japan game. A box-to-box role could suit Albert better as we’ve become familiar with her finishing abilities.
One other name to think about for the USWNT midfield future is Hal Hershfelt. The 22-year-old plays for the Washington Spirit and is one of the alternates that Hayes brought to the Olympics.
Ashley Sanchez is another option in the midfield but has been left out of the USWNT picture for some time. She was brought to the 2023 Women’s World Cup but didn’t get any minutes. She’s yet to make an appearance for the national team in 2024.
