'We need to change every bit of culture we had' - USWNT captain Lindsey Horan issues honest reflection on US soccer after failed World Cup campaign

The USWNT, favourites at the 2023 World Cup, endured a forgettable tournament, losing to Sweden on penalty kicks in the last 16. Since then, the setup has undergone significant change, with head coach Vlatko Andonovski resigning, and Chelsea manager Hayes set to take over. The instability has led to questions surrounding the longevity of the team, and Horan, a long-time squad member, weighed in.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic, Horan offered an honest take on the national team. For her, it started with getting back to a winning mentality: "We’ve been so successful for so long in a certain way that we play, that attack and transition. We’ve had individual brilliance. We’ve had soccer players on the field and real players that want to play and it all kind of meshed together or it would always work out, or our DNA would take us to this place where we come out on top because our mentality was so f*cking good.”

Horan also called for a reevaluation of the team culture, something she felt was lacking during the World Cup; "We need to be doing everything we possibly can to be improving, to make each other better, holding the standards. We need to change every bit of culture that we had prior to the last World Cup and going into this Olympics because we need to win. And that starts now."

The captain also gave a blunt assessment of US soccer fans, who she felt weren't educated enough about the game: "American soccer fans, most of them aren’t smart. They don’t know the game. They don’t understand. (But) it’s getting better and better. I’m gonna 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, '[ESPN analyst] Julie Foudy said you had such a good game!’ And I’m here, just going, ‘I was f*cking sh*t today.’”

The USWNT face a crucial few months. Hayes is set to take over in four months, after concluding the WSL season with Chelsea. She will manage the team for the first time in the upcoming Olympics, where the US will hope to be in the mix for a fifth gold medal.

The captain seems set to be part of the national team setup going forward, where she will lead an evolving squad into the Paris Olympics. In the meantime, Horan will continue to feature for Lyon, who are top of Ligue 1 Feminine.