Photo by Robin Alam/USSF/Getty Images
The USWNT vibes are off, and former players are not happy
The US Women’s National Soccer team is headed to the Round of 16, but the general vibes are relatively low. Following a dispiriting 0-0 draw against Portugal (they advanced with a draw, but it wasn’t fun nor good vibes all around), the current USWNT drew the ire of USWNT legends who were on commentary during the game. Former USWNT player Carli Lloyd spoke about the team after the game, and was visibly frustrated.
Manager of the US soccer team Vlatko Andonovski responded to the criticism levied against both himself and the team after the game:
The general consensus amongst ardent USWNT watchers is that the overall vibe of this team has been…off. After a 3-0 victory over Vietnam, the women’s team has drawn twice, 1-1 to the Netherlands and a 0-0 draw against Portugal that saw the USWNT goalpost stop a potential goal for the Portugese. After the game, Kelly O’Hara stepped up during the postgame to get the morale higher amongst the team.
A lot of the ire has gone towards Andonovski, who has been very stingy on his use of substitutions and the lack of offensive detail among the team. On top of that, there might have been a fire alarm going off during the game, which seems more like a bad omen than anything else at this point.
Everyone ignoring the fire alarm while the USWNT play like crap is a little too on the nose as a metaphor
— Kim McCauley (@kimischilling) August 1, 2023
With the US advancing, but only being in second place in the group (the Netherlands scored seven goals in a win against Vietnam to win the group) means they are on track to face the winner of Group G. That looks like it’s going to be Sweden, which came into the World Cup ranked third in the country.
Hopefully the USWNT can fix the vibes and make another deep run.
