01 August 2023 , 17:17
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United States Women's National Team (USWNT) head coach Vlatko Andonovski has hit back at American soccer legend Carli Lloyd after she slammed a lack of "passion" from the team.
The USWNT – the top-ranked team in the world – have made an underwhelming start to their defence of the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, finishing second in their group behind the Netherlands after a turgid 0-0 draw with Portugal in Auckland on Tuesday. It is the first time since 2011 that the US have not won their group at a Women's World Cup.
Andonovski's team were wasteful and uninspired in the final third, and they were hugely fortunate not to be knocked out of the tournament on Tuesday, with Ana Capeta cracking the post in stoppage time. Portugal would have progressed at the Americans' expense had that chance been converted.
And the disappointing performances Down Under have been met with widespread criticism back home, with 41-year-old Lloyd among the leading critics. With 134 goals in a remarkable 316 appearances, Lloyd is among the greatest players to represent her country, and she has been sceptical of Andonovski's coaching throughout the tournament.
But in the aftermath of Tuesday's game, she questioned the "passion" of the players, something 46-year-old Andonovski did not take kindly to, labelling her suggestion "insane" when it was put to him by a reporter.
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"The one thing I want to say is that this team wanted to win this game more than anything else," Andonovski said. "They've put everything they could in preparation for this tournament and every game that they go into, so to question the mentality of this team, to question the willingness to win, to compete, I think it's insane.
"I've never seen this team step on the field and not try hard or not compete. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, they can say whatever they want, but I just know how this team feels.
USWNT legend Carli Lloyd has not been impressed by what she has seen so far Down Under. (WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)"It's not like we played well by any means. We owned it. We know it's not good enough. We're not happy with our performance, but we qualified for the next round. We're moving on."
After a disappointing performance in the group stage, the USWNT have made life harder for themselves in the knockout stage. They will almost certainly face the impressive Sweden – ranked third in the world off the back of a 5-0 win over Italy in this tournament – in Melbourne in the last 16 on Sunday.
Lloyd insists the players must show more energy if Andonovski's team is to come close to winning a third consecutive World Cup title.
"You never want to take anything for granted," Lloyd said on FOX Sports. "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 lacklustre, uninspiring, taking-it-for-granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening."
The USWNT started the World Cup campaign with a laboured 3-0 win over Vietnam, missing a remarkable number of chances in a game where they had 28 shots to zero. They snatched a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in the following game and they have finished second in a group they were expected to dominate.