Featured Image Credit: Optus Sport/Getty.
Topics: Womens Football, Womens World Cup, United States
Jayden Collins
Topics: Womens Football, Womens World Cup, United States
United States has been torn to shreds over celebrations following their Women’s World Cup 0-0 draw with Portugal.
The American side scraped through the group stages with their result against Portugal enough to secure the second-place finish in Group E.
But it was almost a disaster for the reigning World Champions - with Portugal substitute seeing her shot in the 92nd-minute bounce off the post.
That goal would’ve been enough to send the European side through and send the United States crashing.
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While they scraped through by the skin of their teeth, their five-point haul is their worst-ever performance at a World Cup group stage.
Despite that, the American players were in a celebratory mood with the likes of Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman and Kelley O’Hara seen taking photos and high-fiving fans.
Meanwhile, the likes of Megan Rapinoe were seen dancing after surviving the matchup.
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It’s scenes that left American football icon Carli Lloyd absolutely seething after the match.
Speaking on Fox Sports World Cup post-game show, she ripped into the players and their celebrations.
She said: “I have never witnessed something like that. There’s a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family.
“But to be dancing, to be smiling. I mean, the player of the match was that post. You were lucky to not be going home right now.”
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She maintained that the team’s ‘uninspiring’ performance was no cause for celebration.
She continued: “It started to shift post-2020 and there are a lot of off-the-field things that are happening.
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“You never want to take anything for granted. You put on that jersey and you want to give it everything you have for the people who came before you, the people who are going to come after you and I am just not seeing that passion.
“I am seeing a very lacklustre, uninspiring, taking it for granted. Winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”
She warned her former team that they were walking a ‘fine line’ between confidence and arrogance.
Lloyd added: “We saw before the game, the dancing. There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance, and I think that’s a fine line of where is the direction going with that.
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“It’s OK to be confident, but you never want to cross that line of becoming arrogant and this is exactly what can come and bite you.”