USWNT Coach Vlatko Andonovski Slams Former Player Carli Lloyd’s ‘Insane’ Criticism After Tied Game

The United States women’s national soccer coach Vlatko Andonovski responded to former player Carli Lloyd’s criticism after the team’s last game ended in a tie.

"The one thing I want to say is that this team wanted to win this game more than anything else,” Andonovski, 46, said on Tuesday, August 1, in a post-game press conference. “They've put everything they could in preparation for this tournament and every game that they go into, so to question the mentality of this team, to question the willingness to win, to compete, I think it's insane.”

He continued: "I've never seen this team step on the field and not try hard or not compete. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, they can say whatever they want, but I just know how this team feels. It's not like we played well by any means. We owned it. We know it's not good enough. We're not happy with our performance, but we qualified for the next round. We're moving on."

Andonovski’s comments came shortly after Lloyd, 41, called out the team for their lackluster performance against Portugal during the post-game show. (After retiring from the sport in 2021, Lloyd has become an analyst on Fox Sports.)

“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, for the people who come after you,” she said. “I’m just not seeing that passion. I’m just seeing a lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted [attitude], where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”

Lloyd then shared her disappointment in her former team for celebrating after the match despite not securing the win.

“I’m all for positivity — they have advanced out of the group,” she said. "But at the same time the cheering, the dancing — I’ve got a problem with that because I wouldn’t be happy. I know several of their players, former players, ’99ers [champions] — they wouldn’t be happy with that tie. It hasn’t been good overall in these first three games."

Before the Portugal match, the USWNT also tied against the Netherlands in July. In the match, Andonovski made the controversial decision to not sub in any players which led to criticism from fans and commentators. Following the game, Andonovski defended his decision because he believed the team on the field was playing “well.”

“We were around the goal the whole time, and I just didn't want to disrupt the rhythm at that point because sometimes a substitute comes in and it might take a minute or two to get into a rhythm,” he explained at the time. “We just didn't want to jeopardize anything because I thought all three of our forwards were very good today, dangerous, created opportunities and were a handful.”