An 11-year veteran of the U.S national team, Lindsey Horan has seen it all at the highest level of international football.<\/p>\n
Still just 29, she is closing on 150 senior caps and has played in two FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup\u2122 tournaments, triumphing at the finals in 2019. USA\u2019s bid to defend their title was ended by Sweden in the last 16 at Australia & New Zealand 2023 \u2013 but Horan retains an unflinching optimism her team can swiftly re-establish themselves at the summit of the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
Given her vast experience, when she states USA\u2019s current group are destined for \u201cgreat things\u201d, it\u2019s enough to make any observer stand up and take notice.<\/p>\n
The USA squad for the ongoing Concacaf W Gold Cup \u2013 where they have recorded two thumping wins in their opening two games \u2013 features seven players aged 23 or under. The exceptional emerging talent within the ranks, Horan says, points to a bright future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a really exciting and I think everyone should stay tuned and watch what these young kids can do,\u201d the Lyon midfielder told FIFA.com. \u201cWe’ve got some leaders in there, too, and we’re meshing well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are always going to be setbacks \u00ad\u2013 individually and collectively in the span of your career \u2013 and maybe the World Cup was one of them, but it’s how you come out of that. That’s what we’ve always said after that World Cup. It’s about how it shapes us and how we can turn it into a positive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis camp has been great. The vibes are good and the motivation is high. It\u2019s really cool. You can see the confidence building \u2013 and the young players coming in that are boosting that. We just have to do our thing. I think you’re going to see such great things from this team.\u201d<\/p>\n
As captain, Horan explained how she has approached integrating the young players in the squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made it known that they make up a lot of this team now,\u201d she explained. \u201cThat’s the biggest thing. I\u2019ve told them: ‘We need you guys to get the level you need to be at as soon as possible. Maybe it’s come around a little bit quicker than you thought it would \u2013 but you have to get [used to] the fine details, have conversations, and learn as much as you can in this environment. You guys can all do it and that’s why you’re here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
USA are currently under the watch of interim coach Twila Kilgore, with Emma Hayes set to take the reins in time for the Women\u2019s Olympic Football Tournament later this year. They have kicked off the inaugural W Gold Cup with a 5-0 win over Dominican Republic and a 4-0 victory against Argentina, in which Horan emphatically scored from the penalty spot.<\/p>\n
Horan set out the team\u2019s hunger to win the competition \u2013 and opened up on why it offers ideal preparation for the Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing part of the US national team, we always just want to win,\u201d she added. \u201cI rate the importance of the Gold Cup very highly and it\u2019s a massive opportunity to replicate what we might get in the Olympics \u2013 playing against a lot of good teams in a tournament format. That’s very exciting for us. But the focus is not on the Olympics right now. The focus is on the Gold Cup and winning this competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the youngest members of USA\u2019s new-look squad is 19-year-old forward Jaedyn Shaw, who netted a brace in the win over Argentina. Horan described the qualities which set the San Diego Wave sensation apart.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe’s a real footballer,” Horan said. “She likes to get on the ball, she likes to combine, and she sees a lot of things differently. She has got such an incredible touch and vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really enjoy playing with her because I think she sees a lot of things that I like to do on the field as well. She\u2019s huge talent and she’s going to be such a big player for the national team.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the age of 23, meanwhile, Sophia Smith has unquestionably already elevated herself to \u2018big player\u2019 status. Horan, who watched the striker\u2019s rapid development at close quarters when they were Portland Thorns team-mates, has backed Smith to spearhead USA\u2019s attack for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has a massive role,\u201d Horan said. \u201cThat’s such a cool thing for a young individual like that. She’s also someone that wants to continue to grow as much as possible. She keeps getting better, keeps scoring goals and keeps making such an impact on the game. It’s not a shock to see her blowing up and doing such great things for club and country. There is no limit for that girl. That’s so exciting for all the US fans.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An 11-year veteran of the U.S national team, Lindsey Horan has seen it all at the highest level of international football. Still just 29, she is closing on 150 senior caps and has played in two FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup\u2122 tournaments, triumphing at the finals in 2019. USA\u2019s bid to defend their title was ended […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":947001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27192],"class_list":["post-947000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=947000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/947000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/947001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=947000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=947000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=947000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}