- USWNT held to a 0-0 draw
- Lloyd called the team arrogant
- Feels there is a lack of passion
WHAT HAPPENED? The USWNT legend did not hold back with his criticism after Vlatko Andonovski's troops failed to get the full three points against the World Cup debutants. The USWNT also finished the group stage campaign with their worst-ever points tally (5) in their history, which led Lloyd to hit out at the collective efforts of the team. She believes that the current crop of players has failed to live up to expectations post-2020 and has slammed them for "taking it for granted".
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking on FOX Sports, the former USWNT star said: "It started to shift post-2020, there's just a lot of off-the-field things that are happening. You never want to take anything for granted, you put on that jersey and you want to give it everything you have, for the people that came before you and the people that come after you. And I'm just not seeing that passion, I'm just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring [team] taking it for granted. Winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best individual player you can be is just not happening."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lloyd also accused the USWNT, who are looking to lift their third straight World Cup title, for being arrogant after they succumbed to two consecutive draws against the Netherlands and Portugal.
"We saw before the game the dancing... there's a difference between confidence and arrogance. You never want to cross that line of being arrogant and this is exactly what can come and bite you," she added.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT? Despite not being able to fire on all cylinders, the USWNT have qualified for the round of 16 and will face the winners of Group G in Melbourne on August 6.