NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center:'I didn't like what I saw': Carli Lloyd doubles down on USWNT World Cup criticism

Former U.S. women's national team star and NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Centercurrent FOX Sports soccer analyst Carli Lloyd doubled down on her pointed criticism of the American side at the 2023 World Cup that was eliminated in the round of 16.

After the U.S. escaped through the group stage following a scoreless draw on Aug. 1 against Portugal, Lloyd called the performance "uninspiring" and "disappointing" in comments made during the postgame broadcast. Now, a little less than two weeks after the U.S. women suffered their earliest elimination in a World Cup or Olympics, Lloyd isn't backing off of her opinion.

"This wasn’t anything that was scripted," Lloyd said Tuesday in an interview with The Athletic. "This was a reaction to what I was seeing, what I was feeling, what came from my heart. ...

"So I think maybe I was the only one brave enough to say it how it is. I’ve always been somebody that is blunt, that’s honest, that maybe comes across to the media as being selfish, arrogant, all these words that I’ve heard about me. And that’s been pretty wild to hear because it’s really not true. I think there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and I just saw this team go in a direction where the values that were built and instilled in this team is not what was displayed out at this World Cup."

Lloyd, 41, was part of the teams that won two consecutive World Cups and appeared in 316 matches for the USWNT, scoring 134 goals with 64 assists. In July 2015, Lloyd scored a hat trick in the first 16 minutes of the World Cup final against Japan, an eventual 5-2 U.S. victory.

WORLD CUP CENTRAL: 2023 Women's World Cup Live Scores, Schedules, Standings, Bracket and More

"I did speak the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts," Lloyd told The Athletic. "But it came from my heart. The world has caught up. I get that. But there’s no reason why we still can’t be at the top. But we have regressed so far down that there really is no gap. That’s what’s hard to swallow because the team has been built on legacies that have been passed down from generation to generation, and I simply didn’t like what I saw."

What did Carli Lloyd say about the USWNT performance against Portugal?

During postgame comments, Lloyd said the American side was lucky not to be eliminated after a Portugal shot late in the game hit the crossbar.

"Today was uninspiring. Disappointing. They don’t look fit. They’re playing as individuals and the tactics are too predictable," Lloyd said Aug. 1. "(They're) lucky to not be going home right now."

In particular, Lloyd took offense to images of the players dancing and celebrating after getting through the group stage, despite their inconsistency on the pitch.

"I’m all for positivity, but at the same time, the cheering, the dancing, I’ve got a problem with that," Lloyd said. "Because, I wouldn’t be happy. I know several other (former USWNT) players wouldn’t be happy with that tie. It hasn’t been good overall these (first) three games. It’s a body language thing, it’s a facial expression.

"I really don’t know if they’re upset with how they’ve played and the results of this World Cup."

Did any USWNT players respond to Carli Lloyd's comments?

Yes. Co-captain Lindsey Horan dismissed Lloyd's comments as outside noise.

"It’s kind of frustrating for me to hear, especially knowing this team and knowing how much we put into every single game, how much preparation we put into every single game, seeing our trainings, seeing how hard we work," Horan said Aug. 3.

"Again, it’s noise and, again, it’s an opinion and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. We know that’s how it goes. "I always want to defend my team and say, 'You have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes, you have no idea every single training what we’re doing individually, collectively, etc.' "