Latest news with #USWNT
CNN
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Women's soccer is enjoying a historic moment. But progress is uneven
Sport is all about history, about legacy, about storylines emerging over years of competition. Each major soccer tournament, then, is a marker that helps fans to track the progression of players, of teams and of the game in general. Until recently, women's soccer outside the United States had a relatively short history which, at least in the popular imagination, was defined as much by the fight for equality off the pitch as any match on it. But in the last few years, the sport has exploded in popularity around the globe. Women's soccer is still growing, but it isn't new anymore. The US Women's National Team (USWNT) and its stars aren't the sport's sole figureheads. Even casual fans know the game's history now. So, on Sunday, when England's Chloe Kelly confidently walked up to take the decisive penalty in the women's Euro final shootout against Spain, an entire nation understood the moment. It knew she had scored the winning goal in the final three years ago and had cheered with her at the time as she famously waved her shirt above her head in celebration. Knowing the history also makes watching a penalty shootout all the more difficult. Fans fell silent across England, including in London's Boxpark Wembley, where 1,200 people had gathered for the spectacle. Kelly still had to convert the penalty. She did, of course – smashing her shot into the back of the net with both power and precision. Fans exploded with more than two hours of coiled tension, hugging each other, screaming at each other, screaming at the TV, screaming at the ceiling. 'It was unreal. After all the extra-time, all the penalties, everything that we've done throughout this entire tournament, to get to there and for Chloe Kelly to be able to score the winning goal after everything she's done for England … incredible,' England fan Hayley Wade told CNN Sports at Wembley as ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' blared from the speakers around her. The DJ queued up all the hits – including multiple rounds of England's unofficial soccer anthem, 'Three Lions (Football's Coming Home)' – as groups started dancing and stayed to celebrate long after the final whistle. The Lionesses, England's national women's soccer team, celebrated their second consecutive victory in London with scores of fans lining the streets for a jubilant parade. The women's team came from behind in the UEFA European Women's Championship to beat Spain 3-1 on penalties and retain the title. #cnn #lionesses #euros #england An open-top bus parade in central London then took place on Tuesday to celebrate the Lionesses, a positive development from the lack of victory parade after their 2022 victory. But even as the wins in the fight for soccer equity accumulate, the fact remains that disparities persist globally. Once again, the Women's Euros witnessed record crowds. Even in the US, viewing figures at the quarterfinal and semifinal stage almost quadrupled compared to the 2022 tournament, according to broadcaster Fox Sports. And in person, a total of 657,291 spectators attended matches in Switzerland, surpassing the previous record set in 2022. All except two of the tournament's 31 matches were sold out, though admittedly they were held in relatively small soccer stadiums. England fans Sam Meah and Terri Palmer, who were at Wembley when the Lionesses won in 2022, had planned to be at the final in Basel but were unable to get tickets. So, instead, they made for Wembley, the next best place to watch, with their seven-year-old nephew in tow who proudly named England's teenage star Michelle Agyemang as his favorite player. 'When we were younger, women still had to do a normal job,' lifelong Arsenal and Lionesses fans Meah and Palmer told CNN Sports. 'Now, they can just play football like the men, so that's brilliant. That's the difference, it's now a profession rather than just a hobby. It's only going to get bigger. It's only going to get better. I think we will be equal with the men at some point.' Such large audiences have made stars out of the European soccer players, like the USWNT before them. The Lionesses had a small following even in England before their 2022 Euros triumph. 'Within six weeks, they became famous people,' manager Sarina Wiegman noted at the time, per BBC Sport. 'Some players can't walk down the street anymore without being (recognized).' This time around, some of them were already national household names. Fans walked around London wearing their Alessia Russo jerseys, Lucy Bronze jerseys, Leah Williamson jerseys. Russo has been on magazine covers and her face seems to be everywhere on Adidas adverts, alongside Spain's superstar Aitana Bonmatí. Williamson and Lauren James have featured in Walkers (Lays) potato chips commercials throughout the summer. The total prize pot available at the Women's Euros rose to €41 million ($48 million), a 156% increase compared to 2022's total of €16 million ($19 million), but still a tiny fraction compared to the men's prize pot of €331 million ($386 million). As women's soccer becomes more established, so too do the rivalries within it. Rather than dynasties like the USWNT at the Women's World Cup or Germany at the Euros developing, tournaments are becoming more competitive. And as these European countries invest in and embrace women's soccer, they have wrestled back the USA's previous grip over the sport. Spain is widely considered to be the best team in the world now, even following this defeat. Since La Roja's 2023 World Cup victory – and subsequent fallout from then-Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief executive Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the on-field ceremony – women's soccer has changed in the Iberian nation, too. RFEF improved conditions for its women's side after the players demanded change for years, and 15 of Spain's best players even resigned from the national team in 2022 in protest. While the disappointment and shock from Sunday's loss remains fresh, the return of Laia Aleixandri, Lucía García, Patri Guijarro, Leila Ouahabi and Clàudia Pina from the exiled 'Las 15' is a symbol of the improved state of today's Spanish team. But still inequalities remain. Soccer's authorities have a tendency to dismiss, or at least appear to dismiss, the women's game. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin only attended the opening game and final of Euro 2025, compared to at least nine games of the men's tournament last year, per the Associated Press. CNN Sports has reached out to UEFA for comment. And while the European tournament was breaking record upon record, it's been a different story for the South American teams playing in the 2025 Copa América Femenina in front of swaths of empty seats in Quito, Ecuador. Everything from the lack of marketing, inadequate pre-match warm-up conditions, pitch quality, and the absence of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) during the group stage has been condemned by players, managers and fans. 'There wasn't enough space. I don't understand why we can't warm up on the pitch. We hope that CONMEBOL (the South American Football Confederation) will address some of these issues and take steps to improve. Is this professional football?' Brazil legend Marta said about the conditions at the tournament, per AP. Current Brazilian star Ary Borges, meanwhile, said that 'even amateur tournaments are better organized than this.' 'Why do things like this only happen in women's football?' she added, per AP. CNN Sports has reached out to CONMEBOL for comment. The complaints by players and managers forced CONMEBOL to allow outfield players to warm up on the pitch for 15 minutes ahead of matches, rather than in enclosed rooms together, but it is indicative of structural inequalities which still exist in the women's game. 'It's just not isolated in CONMEBOL, it's a global issue,' Alex Culvin, FIFPRO's director of global policy for women's football told AP. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which concluded on Saturday, had a delay of a year and a half between its qualifiers and main tournament after being postponed due to a clash with the Olympics, causing an uproar among coaches and officials. CNN Sports has reached out to the Confederation of African Football for comment on the rationale and controversy surrounding the postponement. And though winner Nigeria picked up the tournament's biggest ever prize of $1 million (part of a $3.475 million prize pot), that still represents only 11% of the men's AFCON total prize pot. Much has changed since the 2022 European Championship and 2023 World Cup. Yet with the next major tournament less than two years away – as the 2027 Women's World Cup heads to Brazil – it's now time to see what further changes are in store.
CNN
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CNN
Women's soccer is enjoying a historic moment. But progress is uneven
Soccer UK FacebookTweetLink Sport is all about history, about legacy, about storylines emerging over years of competition. Each major soccer tournament, then, is a marker that helps fans to track the progression of players, of teams and of the game in general. Until recently, women's soccer outside the United States had a relatively short history which, at least in the popular imagination, was defined as much by the fight for equality off the pitch as any match on it. But in the last few years, the sport has exploded in popularity around the globe. Women's soccer is still growing, but it isn't new anymore. The US Women's National Team (USWNT) and its stars aren't the sport's sole figureheads. Even casual fans know the game's history now. So, on Sunday, when England's Chloe Kelly confidently walked up to take the decisive penalty in the women's Euro final shootout against Spain, an entire nation understood the moment. It knew she had scored the winning goal in the final three years ago and had cheered with her at the time as she famously waved her shirt above her head in celebration. Knowing the history also makes watching a penalty shootout all the more difficult. Fans fell silent across England, including in London's Boxpark Wembley, where 1,200 people had gathered for the spectacle. Kelly still had to convert the penalty. She did, of course – smashing her shot into the back of the net with both power and precision. Fans exploded with more than two hours of coiled tension, hugging each other, screaming at each other, screaming at the TV, screaming at the ceiling. 'It was unreal. After all the extra-time, all the penalties, everything that we've done throughout this entire tournament, to get to there and for Chloe Kelly to be able to score the winning goal after everything she's done for England … incredible,' England fan Hayley Wade told CNN Sports at Wembley as ABBA's 'Dancing Queen' blared from the speakers around her. The DJ queued up all the hits – including multiple rounds of England's unofficial soccer anthem, 'Three Lions (Football's Coming Home)' – as groups started dancing and stayed to celebrate long after the final whistle. The Lionesses, England's national women's soccer team, celebrated their second consecutive victory in London with scores of fans lining the streets for a jubilant parade. The women's team came from behind in the UEFA European Women's Championship to beat Spain 3-1 on penalties and retain the title. #cnn #lionesses #euros #england An open-top bus parade in central London then took place on Tuesday to celebrate the Lionesses, a positive development from the lack of victory parade after their 2022 victory. But even as the wins in the fight for soccer equity accumulate, the fact remains that disparities persist globally. Once again, the Women's Euros witnessed record crowds. Even in the US, viewing figures at the quarterfinal and semifinal stage almost quadrupled compared to the 2022 tournament, according to broadcaster Fox Sports. And in person, a total of 657,291 spectators attended matches in Switzerland, surpassing the previous record set in 2022. All except two of the tournament's 31 matches were sold out, though admittedly they were held in relatively small soccer stadiums. England fans Sam Meah and Terri Palmer, who were at Wembley when the Lionesses won in 2022, had planned to be at the final in Basel but were unable to get tickets. So, instead, they made for Wembley, the next best place to watch, with their seven-year-old nephew in tow who proudly named England's teenage star Michelle Agyemang as his favorite player. 'When we were younger, women still had to do a normal job,' lifelong Arsenal and Lionesses fans Meah and Palmer told CNN Sports. 'Now, they can just play football like the men, so that's brilliant. That's the difference, it's now a profession rather than just a hobby. It's only going to get bigger. It's only going to get better. I think we will be equal with the men at some point.' Such large audiences have made stars out of the European soccer players, like the USWNT before them. The Lionesses had a small following even in England before their 2022 Euros triumph. 'Within six weeks, they became famous people,' manager Sarina Wiegman noted at the time, per BBC Sport. 'Some players can't walk down the street anymore without being (recognized).' This time around, some of them were already national household names. Fans walked around London wearing their Alessia Russo jerseys, Lucy Bronze jerseys, Leah Williamson jerseys. Russo has been on magazine covers and her face seems to be everywhere on Adidas adverts, alongside Spain's superstar Aitana Bonmatí. Williamson and Lauren James have featured in Walkers (Lays) potato chips commercials throughout the summer. The total prize pot available at the Women's Euros rose to €41 million ($48 million), a 156% increase compared to 2022's total of €16 million ($19 million), but still a tiny fraction compared to the men's prize pot of €331 million ($386 million). As women's soccer becomes more established, so too do the rivalries within it. Rather than dynasties like the USWNT at the Women's World Cup or Germany at the Euros developing, tournaments are becoming more competitive. And as these European countries invest in and embrace women's soccer, they have wrestled back the USA's previous grip over the sport. Spain is widely considered to be the best team in the world now, even following this defeat. Since La Roja's 2023 World Cup victory – and subsequent fallout from then-Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) chief executive Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the on-field ceremony – women's soccer has changed in the Iberian nation, too. RFEF improved conditions for its women's side after the players demanded change for years, and 15 of Spain's best players even resigned from the national team in 2022 in protest. While the disappointment and shock from Sunday's loss remains fresh, the return of Laia Aleixandri, Lucía García, Patri Guijarro, Leila Ouahabi and Clàudia Pina from the exiled 'Las 15' is a symbol of the improved state of today's Spanish team. But still inequalities remain. Soccer's authorities have a tendency to dismiss, or at least appear to dismiss, the women's game. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin only attended the opening game and final of Euro 2025, compared to at least nine games of the men's tournament last year, per the Associated Press. CNN Sports has reached out to UEFA for comment. And while the European tournament was breaking record upon record, it's been a different story for the South American teams playing in the 2025 Copa América Femenina in front of swaths of empty seats in Quito, Ecuador. Everything from the lack of marketing, inadequate pre-match warm-up conditions, pitch quality, and the absence of Video Assistant Referees (VAR) during the group stage has been condemned by players, managers and fans. 'There wasn't enough space. I don't understand why we can't warm up on the pitch. We hope that CONMEBOL (the South American Football Confederation) will address some of these issues and take steps to improve. Is this professional football?' Brazil legend Marta said about the conditions at the tournament, per AP. Current Brazilian star Ary Borges, meanwhile, said that 'even amateur tournaments are better organized than this.' 'Why do things like this only happen in women's football?' she added, per AP. CNN Sports has reached out to CONMEBOL for comment. The complaints by players and managers forced CONMEBOL to allow outfield players to warm up on the pitch for 15 minutes ahead of matches, rather than in enclosed rooms together, but it is indicative of structural inequalities which still exist in the women's game. 'It's just not isolated in CONMEBOL, it's a global issue,' Alex Culvin, FIFPRO's director of global policy for women's football told AP. The Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), which concluded on Saturday, had a delay of a year and a half between its qualifiers and main tournament after being postponed due to a clash with the Olympics, causing an uproar among coaches and officials. CNN Sports has reached out to the Confederation of African Football for comment on the rationale and controversy surrounding the postponement. And though winner Nigeria picked up the tournament's biggest ever prize of $1 million (part of a $3.475 million prize pot), that still represents only 11% of the men's AFCON total prize pot. Much has changed since the 2022 European Championship and 2023 World Cup. Yet with the next major tournament less than two years away – as the 2027 Women's World Cup heads to Brazil – it's now time to see what further changes are in store.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Is Chloe Kelly the first player to score the decisive goal at two major finals?
'Chloe Kelly scored the goal that won Euro 2022 and the penalty that won Euro 2025. Including penalty shootouts, has anybody else scored the winner in two major international tournaments? And which women have dominated a whole competition?' asks Emma Pollard. For a player who has never started a knockout match at a major tournament, Chloe Kelly has had … a reasonable impact. She scored the winner against Germany in extra time in 2022, and the winning penalty in the shootout against Spain on Sunday. Kelly also set up Alessia Russo's equaliser in the final, played a key role in both goals against Sweden in the quarter-finals, kept England in the tournament with a nerveless penalty in the subsequent shootout, and then scored a 119th-minute winner against Italy in the semi-finals. We're not done. In 2023, Kelly scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Nigeria in the World Cup last 16. If you include the Finalissima against Brazil earlier the same year, Kelly has scored the winning penalty in three shootouts for England. That's more than every other man and woman in England combined. Eric Dier (Colombia, World Cup 2018) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (Switzerland, Euro 2024) are the only players to do it once. Kelly's substitute role means she hasn't dominated a World Cup or European Championship finals like Carli Lloyd in 2015 or, in the men's game, Diego Maradona at Mexico '86. But she is the first player to score the decisive goal – shootouts included – in two World Cup or European Championship finals. Hers is a modern kind of glory: from the bench, often involving extra time and penalties. Some greats of the women's game have stolen the show in different ways. Germany's Birgit Prinz scored in – and you'll like this – five finals between 1995 and 2009. Germany won them all, four in the Euros (1995, 1997, 2005, 2009) and one World Cup in 2007. Prinz was also part of the team that won Euro 2001, more of which below, but failed to score in the final. To find a recent example of a player grabbing the headlines at the business end of a tournament, you only need to go back a couple of years. The Spain left-back Olga Carmona followed an 89th-minute winner against Sweden in the World Cup semi-final by rifling in the only goal of the final against England. The most dominant performance across a whole knockout stage probably belongs to the aforementioned Carli Lloyd. In 2015, she was player of the match in all four of the USWNT's knockout games. She scored in all four, too, including the only goal against China in the quarter-finals, the opener against Germany in the semis – and a hat-trick inside the first 16 minutes of the final against Japan. For overall impact, that's very difficult to beat. A few other players are worthy of mention, though: Pia Sundhage (Sweden, Euro 1984) Semi-final first leg: scored Sweden's second equaliser in 3-2 win away to Italy Semi-final second leg: scored both goals in 2-1 win (5-3 agg) Final: scored Sweden's only goal across the two legs against England, which ended 1-1 on aggregate, then scored the winning penalty in the shootout (NB: The tournament began at the semi-final stage) Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands, Euro 2017) Quarter-final: second goal in 2-0 win over Sweden Semi-final: opening goal in 3-0 hammering of England Final: equalised in the 10th minute v Denmark, then scored in the 89th minute to seal a 4-2 win Megan Rapinoe (USA, World Cup 2019) Last 16: scored two penalties in 2-1 win against Spain Quarter-final: scored both goals in 2-1 win over hosts France Semi-final: didn't play v England due to injury Final: opened the scoring from the spot in 2-0 win over the Netherlands Those are the best examples we could find from the Women's Euros and World Cup. But if you have any from other tournaments – or we've missed something obvious – please get in touch. 'Excluding added time, England were ahead for one minute in the knockout rounds of Euro 2025,' notes Chris Williams. 'Assuming this is a record, how does it compare to previous tournaments?' Kelly's 119th-minute goal against Italy put England ahead for the only time in their three knockout games against Sweden, Italy and Spain. Including added time, they led for four minutes 52 seconds out of approximately six and a half hours. We'll focus on here on how that compares to previous major women's tournaments. We don't have the added time for previous tournaments so, for purposes of comparison, we've counted each match as lasting 90 or 120 minutes. Before this tournament, the winners of the women's Euros who spent the least time in front were Germany in 2001. They were ahead for a total of 33 minutes, but the context was very different. While England played 360 minutes of knockout football in this tournament, Germany played only 188 in 2001. There are two reasons for that: there were no quarter-finals and the final was decided by a golden goal. Germany won both their knockout matches 1-0. Sandra Smisek scored after 57 minutes against Norway, giving Germany a lead that lasted 33 minutes. The final against Sweden was settled by an iconic golden goal from Claudia Müller in the eighth minute of extra time. The moment she put Germany ahead, the tournament was over. Quarter-finals were introduced to the Euros in 2009. Since then, and before this year, this year the team who spent the least time in front were … England in 2022. The total was 107 minutes on that occasion: 24 in extra time v Spain, 56 v Sweden and 27 in the final against Germany. The briefest frontrunners among the World Cup winners are Japan's class of 2011, who were ahead for a combined total of 42 minutes out of a possible 330 across three knockout games. In the quarter-final against the holders Germany, Karina Maruyama scored the only goal after 108 minutes. Japan then came from behind to beat Sweden 3-1 in the semi-finals, a match in which they led for the last half-hour. In the final against the United States, Japan twice came from behind to draw 2-2, with Homare Sawa scoring in the 117th minute to take the match to penalties. Japan won the shootout 3-1. When the music stopped, they were in the winning chair. Any suggestions from further afield? Mail us with your answers. 'At the age of 19, is Michelle Agyemang the youngest England player to win an individual award at a major tournament?' wonders Alex Smith. Agyemang's impact on Euro 2025 had gone into English football folklore even before the tournament was over. The Arsenal forward still hasn't started an international match but was a threat from the bench in every game and scored dramatic equalisers against Sweden and Italy in the quarter- and semi-finals. Her story resembles that of Michael Owen, who was even younger when he took France '98 by storm at the age of 18. Owen won Fifa's young player of the tournament award after scoring against Romania and Argentina. 'In my mind, Owen was the only good thing to come out of France 98,' said Diego Maradona a few years later. 'He had speed, cunning and balls.' As far as we're aware, the other England players to receive official individual awards were all in their 20s and 30s: Golden BallBeth Mead (aged 27, Euro 2022) Silver BallLucy Bronze (27, World Cup 2019) Golden BootHarry Kane (24, World Cup 2018) Gary Lineker (25, World Cup 1986) Beth Mead (27, Euro 2022, shared with Germany's Alexandra Popp) Jodie Taylor (31, Euro 2017) Bronze BootEllen White (30, World Cup 2019) Golden GloveMary Earps (29, World Cup 2023) Best young playerMichael Owen (18, World Cup 1998) Michelle Agyemang (19, Euro 2025) 'Are the Lionesses the first team to win a major international tournament after going behind in every knockout game?' asks Danielle Patterson. We had a similar question last year, when England's men's team beat Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands after conceding the first goal. They didn't go on to win Euro 2024 – spoiler alert – and the only example we could find at that stage was China in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup. This is how they did it. Quarter-final China 3-1 Vietnam (from 1-0 down) Semi-final China 2-2 Japan (4-3 pens; China's second equaliser came in the 119th minute) Final China 3-2 South Korea (China were 2-0 down after 67 minutes before a spectacular fightback culminated in Xiao Yuyi scoring an injury-time winner) We looked at other comeback kings and queens who didn't go on to lift the trophy; the link is worth clicking just for the story for the crazy story of Jürgen Klinsmann's South Korea at last year AFC Men's Asian Cup. 'Lucy Bronze revealed after Sunday's final that she had played throughout Euro 2025 with a fractured tibia,' writes Tom Walters. 'What other examples are there of footballers playing some or all of a major international tournament with serious injuries?' 'England's two backup keepers at Euro 2025, Anna Moorhouse and Khiara Keating, have just won a major trophy despite both having zero caps,' notes Tim Spargo. 'Has this happened before?' 'With Hugo Ekitiké joining Liverpool, which other players with palindromic surnames have featured in the Premier League (and beyond)?' wonders Michael Martin. 'Lauren James (four) and brother Reece (two) have won six trophies between them in the 2024-25 season. Have any other sets of siblings won more in a single campaign?' asks Magnus Blair. 'We all love it when a goalie comes up for a last-minute set piece,' states Simon Buckton, correctly. 'But has a goalkeeper ever been flagged for offside – or better still, had a goal disallowed for offside?' 'Port Vale have played Everton at Priory Road, Anfield, Goodison Park and now the Hill Dickinson Stadium,' notes Kevin Doran. 'Is there an example of any other team having played another team at four or more home grounds?' 'This week I'm savouring a veritable feast of Luxo-British football in the Conference League: Differdange v The New Saints, followed by Strassen v Dundee United,' writes Martin Davies. 'Both games will take place at Differdange's stadium. Have two British teams played European ties in the same stadium within 48 hours of each other before, or am I going to witness a first?' Mail us with your questions and answers
Fox Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Carli Lloyd Shares The Biggest Challenge With Taking Penalties: 'It's Not The Keeper'
"I don't like the term luck. And that's why I said you create your own luck. You have the opportunities that come your way. You capitalize, and you use them to your advantage." Wise words from U.S. women's national team legend Carli Lloyd on "Alexi Lalas' State of the Union Podcast" about one of soccer's biggest challenges: taking a penalty. It's only 12 yards between glory and certain heartbreak, but it can feel like a mile away. It requires that combination of skill, a bit of luck, and plenty of mental toughness. Penalties were a hot topic at the Women's Euro. England needed them to beat Sweden in the quarterfinals and then Spain in Sunday's final. Across the entire tournament, the penalty conversion rate across the tournament was just 55% (28 scored, 51 taken), the lowest on record at either a Women's Euro or FIFA Women's World Cup (since 2011). Which is why Lloyd praised England's Chloe Kelly, who scored the decisive penalty against Spain. "She said she knew she was going to make it. And for me, that's telling," Lloyd said. "When you step up and you're confident in making a penalty." Lloyd further explained what it took to improve her own penalty-taking skills, spurred by the USWNT falling in the 2011 World Cup final against Japan. And while the U.S. were successful against Brazil in that quarterfinal, PKs ultimately doomed them in the fateful final in Frankfurt. "I practiced penalties here and there. We would prepare as a team. It was definitely something that we took pride in. We all made ours at that point," Lloyd said. "[In the final], Shannon Boxx was first and she missed. So suddenly you start to think, 'Oh boy, she missed.' I step up, I miss. I sailed mine so far over the bar. Tobin Heath misses and then Abby [Wambach] eventually made hers [before Japan won]. "And at that moment, I said to myself: I need to prepare more for penalties because I wasn't prepared. I don't normally take them, so I made a conscious effort after training sessions to just hit penalties all the time, 10 a day after training sessions." At the 2015 Women's World Cup, Lloyd then applied that routine on the way to the title – especially in the round of 16 win over Colombia in which the U.S. initially missed a first-half penalty. "We get one a few minutes later and [Wambach] gets up and hands me the ball and I'm like, 'Okay, I'll take it.' I step up, I make it, and then I have to take another one in the semifinal against Germany. That was at a really, really crucial moment and I made that. I was focused, and it all came down to my preparation." That may be the biggest lesson when you're staring down a goalkeeper as you try to anticipate their moves and tendencies before that shot. "It was such a mind game and I think that's the biggest battle," Lloyd said. "It's not the keeper, it's between your own ears and what you're thinking. Positive self-talk, your routine and your preparation." Get more from the United States Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
U.S. soccer player Sam Coffey talks upcoming USWNT match at Subaru Park
The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team announced Monday that they'll have an upcoming match at Subaru Park – the home of the Philadelphia Union – on Oct. 23, 2025. The game will also include the retirement ceremony for former player and co-captain Alex Morgan. USWNT player Sam Coffey spoke with NBC10's Miguel Martinez-Valle about the match, her connection to Philly, her experience at the Olympics and reuniting with the team. U.S. soccer player Sam Coffey talks upcoming USWNT match at Subaru Park originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
