United States Women’s National Team captain Lindsey Horan didn’t shy away from saying how tired she is of American soccer fans not understanding the sport or her game.
Compared to European fans, Horan — who plays for Lyon in France — claimed Americans aren’t as sharp about the game, she said in an interview with The Athletic.
“American soccer fans, most of them aren’t smart,” the midfielder said. “They don’t know the game. They don’t understand. [But] it’s getting better and better.”
She also slammed American commentators for assessing her play on the pitch.
“I’m going to piss off some people, but the game is growing in the U.S. People are more and more knowledgeable, but so much of the time people take what the commentators say, right? My mom does it! My mom says, ‘Julie Foudy [a commentator and former USWNT midfielder] said you had such a good game!’ And I’m here just going, ‘I was f–king s— today,'” Horan said.
Horan, 29, who has been a co-captain of the USWNT with veteran forward Alex Morgan, said her time in France has been significantly different due to the popularity of the sport there.
“From what I’ve heard, people understand my game a little bit more, a sense of my football and the way I play,” Horan said. “It is the French culture. Everyone watches football. People know football.”
Horan went on to explain that fans don’t always understand the stakes and pressures that come with playing for the national team.
She made her debut in 2013 and has tallied at least one goal for the U.S. every year since 2015, which makes for the longest such streak by any player currently on the team.
“You have to be amongst this team for a while to know what the f— that takes. … It’s one of the most competitive national teams to be a part of,” she said.
Horan wasn’t interested in any of the criticism she heard after the USWNT’s disappointing run at the 2023 Women’s World Cup that saw them get knocked out by Sweden in the round of 16.
The team was looking to get a repeat title after taking the cup in 2019 but fell short of even reaching the semifinals.
“If you’re not backing it up on the field, people are going to come and talk s— about what you’re doing, where your priorities are,” she said. “Like, ‘Are you getting ready for the game? Are you caring more about this s—?'”
Horan and the women’s team — without recent retirees Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe — will be after the gold medal at the Paris Olympics this summer.