Carli Lloyd is going down as one of the greatest athletes in American history. The 39-year-old legend has announced that she will be hanging up the cleats. Lloyd will finish out the season with Gotham FC and will play in four exhibition games for the United States Women’s National Team this fall. No doubt, her accomplishments, and legacy solidify her as a pioneer for women’s soccer and women’s sports overall.
Lloyd’s resume includes two World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals, and a two-time FIFA Women’s Player of the Year. In addition, her 312 caps are the second most for the women’s national team. She’s also one of three players to earn 300 caps with the national team. Furthermore, Lloyd’s 128 goals make her the national team’s fourth all-time leading scorer.
▪️ 2x World Cup
▪️ 2x Olympic Gold
▪️ 2x FIFA Women’s player of the year
▪️ Second most-capped USWNT player
▪️ 128 international goals
▪️ One World Cup final hat-trickCarli Lloyd will leave the game as a legend 🐐
(🎥: @FIFAWWC)pic.twitter.com/YcO199vZuW
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 16, 2021
Lloyd began her career with the national team in 2005. In 16 years, she’s represented the United States four World Cup tournaments and three Olympics. In addition, her 25 matches in World Cup competitions and 22 matches in Olympic competition are the most of any player in the history of the national team. Furthermore, Lloyd is one of only two players to score eight hat-tricks, the other being Mia Hamm.
Perhaps Lloyd’s most famous performance was during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup final against Japan. In the USWNT’s 5-2 win in the final, Lloyd scored the first hat-trick in a Women’s World Cup final, as well as the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history. Furthermore, she became only the second player in history to ever score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Prior to that, the only hat-trick in a World Cup final had been by Geoff Hurst in the 1966 Men’s World Cup final between England and West Germany.
The USWNT just returned home after competing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Although they didn’t make the final, they were able to bring home the bronze medal. Lloyd scored twice in the tournament, becoming the women’s national team’s all-time leading scorer in the Olympics with 10 goals total.
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