- World Cup points up for grabs
- Friendships put to one side
- Honours even in battling draw
WHAT HAPPENED? The vastly-experienced midfielder, who is now captain of her country, confronted a familiar face on the hour mark of an intriguing contest after being caught on the knee by a full-blooded challenge. Horan briefly put club friendships to one side as she squared up to Van de Donk – who she plays alongside in France – and was still fired up a couple of minutes later when she netted the United States’ equaliser in a 1-1 draw that prevented them from suffering a first defeat at FIFA’s flagship event since 2011.
WHAT THEY SAID: Horan told reporters afterwards of why she took issue with Van de Donk and how harmony has been restored between the pair: “Me and Dan always go up against each other. It’s a physical battle. I respect her so much and that’s how it should be. In the moment I got a little pissed at her, but Rose (Lavelle) put in an absolute dime and I was able to get my head on it.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Horan was informed by Lavelle and Co that she needed to cool down as she had already collected one yellow card during the group stage and faced the threat of a ban if she picked up another. She added on the coming together with a club colleague that merely highlighted her passion for the game: “These kind of matches are competitive. There’s battles all over the field. And you know, Dan is that type of player that, when she’s on my team, it’s incredible because she’s going to fight to the last second to win a game or go into that last tackle, and that’s what she did. And unfortunately, I did not take it in a good way. I got a little heated and she got to hear it. And Julie (Ertz) came up to me in the box and she was like, ‘Linds please just don’t get another yellow card.’ Just score this goal to shut everyone up. And that’s what happened.”
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Van de Donk also shrugged off the incident afterwards, saying: “I think it was just the duel on the sideline — that I won. (Lindsey) got a bit feisty. She came over. We just had a little talk and the referee came in between but it wasn’t really necessary. We just played football again after that.” The USWNT and Netherlands remain locked together on four points after two games in Group E, with both expected to make their way into the last 16.