Horan says USWNT not fully prepared for Women's World Cup

Lindsey Horan admitted the USWNT was not “fully prepared” for the Women’s World Cup. Sweden sent the Stars and Stripes home in the round of 16. It was the team’s worst-ever finish at the prestigious tournament.

Horan made the comments regarding the Women’s World Cup alongside former USWNT stars Tobin Heath and Christen Press on YouTube channel RE-INC. The current star of the team discussed former head coach Vlatko Andonovski and how the squad had only a small timeframe to get ready for the competition.

Horan claims USWNT may have overcomplicated World Cup prep

“When a coach comes in, it’s like, hey, how do we get the best out of every single individual player putting the most simplicity into a 10-day camp every few months and getting the best out of your team, and without overcomplicating everything?” stated Horan.

“Because yes, I could talk about the last four-year cycle, and we don’t need to get into every single thing, but that’s not what we did. We did not get the best out of every single individual. I don’t think everyone was fully prepared and that’s on us as well.”

Andonovski stepped down from his role less than two weeks after the USWNT exited the tournament. Kate Markgraf, the national team’s general manager, also recently resigned as well. One of Markgraf’s first duties as GM of the team was to hire Andonovski back in 2019.

U.S. players were too tense during matches

Along with preparations not necessarily being in order, Horan also claimed that the squad was not relaxed at the tournament. This was particularly the case in the group stage. “Looking at those three group stage games, and you felt it in the team,” continued Horan. “You felt this tense feeling, and people were just not enjoying their football or they weren’t enjoying individually playing.”

The USWNT will quickly get back to the pitch with two friendlies scheduled against South Africa in September. Both fixtures are in the United States. FIFA ranks South Africa No. 54 in the world. Twila Kilgore is serving as interim head coach of the USWNT.

PHOTO: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire