USWNT responds to Carli Lloyd's criticism: 'You have no idea what's going on'

Former USWNT player Carli Lloyd harshly criticized the American team following the disappointing 0-0 draw against Portugal in the final group stage match, stating "I'm just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking-it-for-granted [mentality].”

The comments also came after the US women’s national team qualified to the World Cup round of 16 in second place for the first time since 2011, after one victory and two draws left the Stars and Stripes behind the Netherlands in Group E standings. 

"You never want to take anything for granted," Lloyd said. "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 are gonna come after you, and I'm just not seeing that passion. I'm just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking-it-for-granted [mentality], where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening."

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski and team captain Lindsey Horan did not hold back in refuting Lloyd's statements, defending the 23 players for giving it “their all” during every moment of the international tournament so far. 

"It's kind of frustrating for me to hear, especially knowing this team and knowing how much we put into every single game, how much preparation we put into every single game, seeing our training, seeing how hard we work,” Horan said.

"But for me, I always want to defend my team and say: you have no idea what's going on behind the scenes, you have no idea every single training what we're doing individually, collectively, etcetera. So, for anyone to question our mentality hurts a little bit but at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. I don't really care. It's what's going inside of the team and getting ready for that next game."

"To question the mentality of this team, to question the willingness to win, to compete, I think is insane. Everyone is entitled to opinion and, you know, they can say whatever they want, but I just know how this team feels," Andonovski added.

"It’s not like we played well by any means, but we owned it. We know that it’s not good enough … We’re not happy with our performance, but we qualify for the next round. We’re moving on."

The USWNT now prepare to face Sweden in the knockout stage on August 6 in Melbourne, Australia. The two sides have an extensive history, previously playing each other in five World Cup matches. 

The American team holds the edge on the international stage, earning a 3W-1D-1L record since 2003. But Sunday’s match will not come easy after Sweden topped Group G with three consecutive victories to cruise into the round of 16.