U.S. women’s soccer team captain Lindsey Horan expects “great things” from her youthful side as they look to move on from their World Cup disappointment and focus on the ongoing W Gold Cup ahead of the Olympics.
The USWNT suffered their worst-ever World Cup result when they were knocked out by Sweden in the last-16 in the 2023 edition in Australia and New Zealand. The team received a lot of criticism from fans for their early exit, which led to coach Vlatko Andonovski stepping down later.
Now under interim coach Twila Kilgore, the U.S. is competing at the CONCACAF W Gold Cup, before newly-appointed Emma Hayes takes over the team for the Paris Olympics later in the year.
Kilgore has named a youthful squad for the ongoing W Gold Cup, featuring seven players aged 23 or under. The U.S. kicked off the tournament with a 5-0 win over the Dominican Republic and a 4-0 victory against Argentina, in which Horan scored from the penalty spot.
The Americans, who are guaranteed a top-two finish in their group, are due to face neighbors Mexico on Monday Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
“There are always going to be setbacks – individually and collectively in the span of your career – and maybe the World Cup was one of them, but it’s how you come out of that,” Horan told FIFA.com in an interview.
“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.”
The USA leads Group A with six points while Mexico is in second with four points and heads into Monday’s matchup with great momentum, beating the Dominican Republic 8-0 the last time out.
Horan, who has played in two World Cup, said the mood in the USA camp has been great.
“The vibes are good and the motivation is high,” the captain added. “It’s really cool. You can see the confidence building – 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.”
After its unsuccessful World Cup title defense last year, the U.S. lost its top spot in the FIFA world rankings and the team is currently second behind world champions Spain.
Horan said the USWNT wants to find its way back to the top of the women’s game.
“Being part of the US national team, we always just want to win,” she added.
“I rate the importance of the Gold Cup very highly and it’s a massive opportunity to replicate what we might get in the Olympics – 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.”