Carli Lloyd won't rule out retirement after helping USWNT win World Cup
LYON, France — Carli Lloyd won her second World Cup title on Sunday, the star of the 2015 champions coming on for the final eight minutes, including stoppage time, to close out the United States’ 2-0 win over the Netherlands at Stade de Lyon.
Lloyd was also one of three U.S. players to play in all seven games at France 2019, joining goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and central defender Abby Dahlkemper. But just minutes after the Americans walked off the field, the squad’s most senior player seemed to hint at the possibility of retirement.
“The goal was winning. It’s been a really tough couple of years for me — I’ve been open and honest about it,” the 36-year-old said. “First and foremost, I’m really proud of this team and proud to be on this roster of 23 players to win another World Cup.”
Earlier in the tournament, Lloyd indicated that she wanted to stick around at least until the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. But the New Jersey native will turn 38 shortly before that event begins. Pressed by a reporter if she wanted to continue playing after this summer’s triumph in France, she was noncommittal.
“Like I said, it’s been a really tough couple of years,” she said. “It’s not based on my ability. And for whatever reasons, coaches made the decision. I tried to put up a good case.
“So I’m going to go home, I’m going to kind of let the emotions die down a little bit, speak to my husband and we’ll go from there.”
Whenever Lloyd walks away, she’ll go down as one of the USWNT’s all-time greats. Since making her debut in 2005, she’s scored 113 goals in 281 international appearances — including three at France 2019 in just 194 minutes of action — good for fourth on the USA’s career list after Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly. She also notched a hat trick in the 2015 World Cup final against Japan, and was named the world’s best player by FIFA later that year.
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