The United States haven't impressed so far this World Cuo. Photo / Getty
The United States haven't impressed so far this World Cuo. Photo / Getty
In contrast to their fans, the United States players aren’t worried following their underwhelming start to the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
As back-to-back world champions – who were favourites for a third – the World No 1 narrowly survived the group stage.
In both their 3-0 win against Vietnamand the 1-1 result against the Netherlands, they delivered forgettable performances. It was the same story against Portugal, where their round-of-16 qualification was saved by the goalpost.
After the scare against the Portuguese, fans took to social media: “Happy they advanced, but they need to play like a world class team or they will be heading home after their match with Sweden.”
Another said: “Hopefully the game against Portugal was a wake up call. USA has so many strong players, let’s try something new.”
Even former teammate Carli Lloyd, who has over 300 caps for the nation, criticised their performance so far.
Lloyd said on Fox Sports after their match against Portugal: “I’m not seeing that passion, I’m just seeing a very lacklustre, uninspiring, taking it for granted.”
"I'm just not seeing that passion."
USWNT legend Carli Lloyd didn't hold back when speaking about what she's seen from USA in this World Cup.
However, players have assured fans after their dismal start they’re “not panicking” and are confident they can turn things around and progress deep into the tournament.
During a press conference at their base in Auckland before flying out to Melbourne for their first knockout match against Sweden, captain Lindsey Horan and forward Lynn Williams admitted their football so far hasn’t been great - which isn’t necessarily, all bad.
“We haven’t played our best soccer yet, which is the most exciting part,” said Williams
Horan, 29, added, “We’re going to move forward. This is a new tournament starting now.” She said her team need to get their confidence, belief and joy back, which the skipper felt has been missing.
Williams, 30, said her team is generally in a bubble during the tournament and doesn’t take much consideration of “the outside world.” But Horan said any noise they do hear - including the likes of Lloyd’s – has advantages.
“Pressure is a privilege,” Horan said. “The expectations are always going to be there for this national team and they’re always going to be great - it’s always going to be in the pressure cooker and we love that.”
After reviewing the disappointing last three games, Horan said, “We just need to raise our standards, which we always do and we move forward.
Lindsey Horan in action against Portugal. Photo / Getty
“We go out and we do everything in our power to prepare ourselves for this next game. We want to win, as much as possible, and we want to play better.”
Williams knows their upcoming match against the world No 3 will be no easy feat. Unlike the Americans, Sweden won all three of their group matches at ease.
“We’re just going to play them hard but respect them as well. They’re a very good side - it would be naive for us to think they’re not.
“It’s going to be a tough battle, but we’re just mainly focusing on what we can do and what makes us special and hopefully go out there and win this game.”
The US kick off against Sweden in Melbourne on Sunday at 9pm NZT.
