As for the U.S. national soccer team, all eyes are on the men’s team ahead of a crucial summer between Copa America and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Meanwhile, the women’s national team is expected to have an easy time in Paris as one of the favorites to win gold at the Olympics.
But after a failed trip to Australia at last year’s Women’s World Cup and a loss to Mexico in the group stage at this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, former USWNT member Carli Lloyd is candid about how the U.S. compares to other countries. told. recent competition.
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stu holden (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images/File)
“Yes, the whole world has caught up…but I actually hate it when people say that because the #USWNT started falling back in the 2020 Olympics and is going backwards,” Lloyd said in February. he wrote in a social media post. “…Now they have to rebuild and claw their way back up #NoOneFearsTheUswntanymore.”
Stu Holden, a former member of the men’s national team and current soccer analyst for FOX Sports, also disagreed with Lloyd’s opinion.
“The soccer played by Spain at the World Cup was some of the best I’ve ever seen,” Holden said while speaking on FOX News Digital. his love for lot, Italy’s premier sports and lifestyle brand. “England played some great football at the Women’s World Cup last summer.
“These teams are now taking the game seriously, investing heavily in infrastructure and youth development, and now, years later, it’s all starting to pay off. They’re realizing what this sport is capable of. “I saw potential in gender and young girls who wanted to play.”And the path it takes to play will continue to grow. ”
Women’s soccer legend Carli Lloyd: “No one is afraid of the U.S. national team” “The whole world has caught up”
Holden likened the U.S. women’s team to how Brazil, led by Pele, always dominated the men’s team, but eventually other countries caught up with the team’s growth. Powerful European countries such as Germany, France and Spain participated, but Brazil always seemed to be the favorite to advance to the World Cup finals and win Olympic gold.
Holden said the USWNT is in the top three in the world, but not clearly the best. In fact, they haven’t won an Olympic gold medal since 2012.
That’s why he believes a winning performance at the Paris Olympics is paramount if the group is to regain any fear it may have lost.
“I’ve seen and heard people, including my colleague Alexi Lalas, say about this Games, ‘Well, this Olympics is like a developmental tournament for the United States, and that’s what it will be.’ [Emma Hayes’] It’s her first tournament in charge and the first time she’s been on a team with the following players. Use this to get them through. ” No, you are the United States of America. I never want that kind of thinking to get into the women’s national team, which goes to tournaments and doesn’t win. ”
Diana Gomez (left) of Portugal tackles Sophia Smith of the United States during the Women’s World Cup Group E match in Auckland, New Zealand on August 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Abby Parr)
“That’s what makes that team great and what’s made that team great for decades. I think they said, ‘We’re the best. Come and take it from us.’ I loved going into the tournament with an unapologetic attitude of, “Good luck, we’re the best.” We’re going to kick some ass,” Holden said.
“You are still the United States, you are still the top two or three countries in the world in women’s soccer, and it is our duty as American soccer players to restore that dominance and reclaim that crown. I hope they think that way,” he continued.
The USWNT’s recent struggles have led to negative perceptions of their off-field duties, even by their standards. Women’s soccer players Megan Lapines and Alex Morgans are well-known champions of women’s rights, gay rights, and many other causes they like to advocate for in public.
As Holden said, it’s clear that “the women’s national team is certainly more than just a soccer team” and he loves it. But he feels that when the on-field product doesn’t win games, people tend to say it’s because they’re too focused on off-field challenges.
“They fully support women’s rights, human rights and gay rights,” he said. “That’s what they represent. I respect and admire them for fighting for more. But they also know that in those moments when things don’t go well on the field, that’s the first thing they do. I understand.”
Alex Morgan of the United States is shown competing against Japan in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup on February 19, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
“I went through the same thing as a player. It’s not the same type of thing, but if you’re doing photo shoots and this and that, coaches say it’s a distraction, and people It’s easy to say that, but I don’t think they care that it’s affecting them because they feel it’s just as important as what they do on the field. I understand that I will contribute to them in different ways, but that will never stop them from doing so and remaining part of the national team’s DNA for many years to come. ”
Holden is interested in how the USWNT’s next generation of players will lead in that regard, considering Rapinoe is no longer on the team.
“You’re going to have Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, Alyssa Thompson and all these young players coming in, but I don’t know how much they’re going to be involved in the same type of things and how much they’re going to be up front. I don’t know yet. Will it be more of a step back? ”Toward performance on the field rather than off? ”
Once again, the USWNT remains a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. But they are no longer the indestructible group that each team was loathe to include in their schedules.
Former U.S. Men’s National Team member and current FOX Sports analyst Stu Holden talks about the Women’s National Team ahead of the Olympics. (Lotto/File)
A way for the USWNT to reestablish its dominance could come at this summer’s Olympics. There they drew in a tough group stage that included Australia, the team that reached the World Cup semi-finals, Germany and Zambia.
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“you should [be] “We went into the tournament expecting to win and anything other than the final would be a failure,” Holden said.
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