The Portland Thorns showed that they’re the team to beat ahead of the 2021 National Women’s Soccer League season by lifting the Challenge Cup on Saturday afternoon. It shouldn’t have been so dramatic as the Thorns dominated NJ/NY Gotham FC over the course of 90 minutes, but Christine Sinclair’s early effort was all they had to show for it while Carli Lloyd buried Gotham’s only shot on target.
The USWNT is so dominant in world soccer, some games feel like they’re over before they begin. But that’s never the case when Sweden lines up against the U.S., and we saw Saturday as the USWNT narrowly escaped defeat, salvaging a 1-1 draw with a late Megan Rapinoe penalty in a friendly in Stockholm.
Carli Lloyd made history on Saturday, becoming just the third player to record 300 caps for the USWNT, captaining her side on the landmark day in a friendly against Sweden. Only Kristine Lilly and Christie Rampone have appeared for the U.S. more.
Congratulations, @CarliLloyd! pic.twitter.com/SbtKFNWk0U
As much as we at The18 love women’s soccer, it’s a sad fact that the men’s game receives far more attention, whether it’s from FIFA, other media companies, potential sponsors or the fans themselves. (We could spend hours debating why this is the case, but that’s for another story.) Despite this, there are still a large number of women’s footballers who are far more famous than their partners, who are themselves professional soccer players.
El resultado final fue de 6-0. No se trata de un partido de tenis entre un primer sembrado como Federer, Djokovic o Nadal contra uno de nosotros. Apenas lograríamos tocar la pelota con la raqueta al recibir el contundente servicio de alguno de estos tres colosos del deporte blanco.
Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd are both over 35 and showing no signs of slowing down. While both will face stiff competition to make the 18-woman roster for this summer’s Olympics, they both showed they’re still among the best in the world in a dominant first half against Argentina on Wednesday.
Rapinoe, 35, scored twice and Lloyd, 38, added a third as the USWNT won its fourth SheBelieves Cup by strolling to a 6-0 victory over Argentina on Wednesday night in Florida. The U.S. won all three matches in the competition, becoming the first team to win it in back-to-back years.
With two more appearances to start 2021, Carli Lloyd reached 296 caps for the U.S. women’s national team, becoming the most-capped active player. Looking spry as ever, the 2015 Women’s World Cup Golden Ball winner is showing no signs of slowing down. The question is, how much longer will she keep playing? And could she possibly challenge Kristine Lilly’s record for most international appearances in soccer history?
What inspires the world’s best footballers? What do World Cup legends Carli Lloyd and Ivan Rakitić listen to before the biggest games of their lives? That’s what a new FIFA music podcast hopes to explore.
The FIFA PlayOn podcast, which launched Wednesday, delves into the relationship between musician and footballer. Hosted by former One Direction member Liam Payne, each episode features one world-class soccer player and a musical artist to discuss the soundtrack to their lives.
Get ready for FIFA Sound.
After a “perfect” 2020 that saw the USWNT win nine out of nine matches — but also miss eight months of action because of the pandemic — Vlatko Andonovski’s side is ready to begin 2021 with a January camp that includes a pair of friendlies against Colombia (Jan. 18 and 22) at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
With women's soccer at the Olympic Games scheduled to begin on July 21, this latest 27-player squad represents the majority of those battling for the final 18-player squad that’ll represent the U.S. in Japan.