Carli Lloyd sees USWNT as ‘disjointed’ in FIFA Women’s World Cup opener.
Carli Lloyd, a legend for both the Rutgers women’s soccer program and the United States women’s national team, wasn’t considered by what some considered a lackluster first game from the Americans in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The United States, considered the favorite in this summer’s World Cup, beat Vietnam 3-0 in their opening match of the tournament. Given that there was talk of the Americans potentially scoring double-digit goals, the performance was certainly a bit off from a team that is looking to three-peat.
As part of the Fox Sports broadcast team at the World Cup, which is co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, Lloyd wasn’t terribly concerned by the final scoreline. The United States squandered several good chances in front of goal and had a difficult time threading that final pass through a very low block from Vietnam.
Lloyd followed up a standout collegiate career at Rutgers with over 300 international appearances, three World Cup medals (won two) and three Olympic medals (two gold medals, one bronze).
The United States held 65.9 percent possession in the win.
Cas
Related
Former Rutgers goalkeeper Casey Murphy cites New Jersey roots ahead of FIFA Women's World Cup
“The game has come a long way and Vietnam actually came out and held their own for a bit. First game, they did score three goals, could they have scored several more? Absolutely,” Lloyd said on the broadcast.
“I would say my biggest takeaway was they still seem a bit disjointed. There’s not a lot of cohesion going. You saw the first goal with Sophia Smith there was link-up between (Lindsey) Horan, (Alex) Morgan and Smith. From an overall standpoint, it seemed a bit disjointed if we were to compare to coming into the 2019 World Cup where I felt like the whole team was firing on all cylinders.
“You don’t have to be your best but it’s going to take a lot.”
What were your big takeaways from the USWNT’s first match? 🇺🇸@JimmyConrad, @CarliLloyd, @stuholden and @MelissaMOrtiz share their thoughts on #WWCNow pic.twitter.com/ZxhmI717Kq
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 22, 2023
There was certainly some squad rotation from head coach Vlatko Andonovski as he looks to ready his squad for a long and grueling tournament. They next play against the Netherlands on July 26.
Lloyd thinks that the lack of cohesion and link-up play stems from the relative unknown nature of the team that took the field on Friday.
“For starters, that lineup hasn’t played together, yet. They just rolled out that lineup. It’s just getting on the same page, it’s hard to break down a low block. I felt at times there was some individual brilliance in taking on the dribble but you need a little more 3v2s, a little more combination in the center of the park Pull them out a little bit, suck them in, then you can go wide,” Lloyd said.
“I think coming out in the second half, they did a better job of putting inc crosses and stuff like that.”
