USWNT captain Lindsey Horan responds to Carli Lloyd’s criticism of the team’s World Cup effort

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — There has been all manner of responses to Carli Lloyd’s scathing criticism of the U.S. women’s soccer team’s play at the World Cup so far: from manager Vlatko Andonovski, from various current players, and from players not here such as Midge Purce, Christen Press, and Tobin Heath.

But when Lindsey Horan’s turn came Thursday, it meant something different. Not only is Horan the captain of this World Cup squad, but she inherited the vaunted No. 10 jersey from Lloyd when the Delran native retired two autumns ago.

A reporter not from the United States raised the subject when Horan and Lynn Williams met with the media at the last U.S. news conference before the team and the media horde following it cross the Tasman Sea to Melbourne, Australia. The Americans will face perennial nemesis Sweden there on Sunday (5 a.m. Philadelphia time, Fox29, Telemundo 62, Peacock) in the round of 16.

» READ MORE: Carli Lloyd went after the USWNT after its World Cup draw

Horan was ready and did not hold back.

“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 trainings, seeing how hard we work,” she said. “You can’t question that we didn’t want to win the game. You can’t question [whether] we weren’t working as hard as we possibly could.”

That doesn’t mean the U.S. played well in the scoreless tie with Portugal, or in too much of the 1-1 tie with the Netherlands that did even more damage. Horan acknowledged that multiple times Thursday.

“We know that things could have been better,” she said. “We know that we could have done more; we know that we could have scored opportunities. It was a really good team that we faced.”

» READ MORE: U.S. women’s soccer team falls flat in 0-0 tie with Portugal, drops to second in its group

And for as much widespread disagreement as Lloyd’s remarks provoked — especially around her criticism of U.S. players dancing and taking selfies with fans at the Portugal game — there was no doubt about where she was coming from. As Press and Heath put it in their video show, Lloyd’s passion and drive as a player were among the most ferocious of any player in U.S. team history.

“It was a very Carli Lloyd reaction,” said Heath, a fellow New Jersey native who played with Lloyd for over a decade. “That’s exactly how Carli is. That’s what she brought to the U.S. women’s national team. That’s what made her great; that’s what made the teams that she played on great.”

» READ MORE: The USWNT’s failure over its last two World Cup games could make its next one its last

Horan and her teammates are doing their best to shut out the talk, just like every past U.S. team has done during major tournaments.

“Again, it’s noise, and, again, it’s an opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we know that’s how it goes,” Horan said. “But for me, it’s like, 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, et cetera. So for anyone to question our mentality, you know, hurts a little bit.”

Horan didn’t say directly whether it mattered that Lloyd specifically said it. But she hinted that it didn’t matter, and wouldn’t have mattered who on the outside — where Lloyd now is — would say such a thing.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter; I don’t really care,” she said. “It’s what’s going on inside of here, it’s what’s going on inside of the team, and getting ready for that next game.”

» READ MORE: Women’s World Cup TV schedule, live streaming, kickoff times on Fox and Telemundo

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