USA legend Carli Lloyd believes the Lionesses are the new superpower of women’s football - and has urged America to poach head coach Sarina Wiegman.
England won Euro 2022 last year and face Spain in Sunday’s World Cup Final.
It caps a remarkable period of success under Wiegman, with England losing just once in 38 matches since she took charge in September 2021.
In contrast, the USA have struggled and for the first time in their history they failed to make the semi-finals of a World Cup.
“I unfortunately saw the trajectory of where the team was heading,” said Lloyd, who made 316 caps for the USA during her career.
“We have all the resources poured in, we have the talent pool, we have the support, we have the experience and so there’s all this narrative of ‘the world has caught up’, but in my opinion the team wasn’t fit enough, the team didn’t show that mentality that is needed to win like you’re seeing with England.
“You’re seeing an England side that essentially has kind of resembled our teams over the years. They go down a goal but there’s no need to panic, they’re figuring it out.
“They’ve not necessarily been playing their best football, but they’ve got the resilience and I think that’s key and that’s why they’re in the final.”
After the USA’s poor performance at the World Cup, their head coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned and Lloyd wants Wiegman to replace him.
“This is probably going to be the most crucial hire that US soccer is going to have to make and they have to get it right,” she said.
“I do think that there is going to be a new identity perhaps that needs to be brought to the squad and it’s going to be a very, very interesting time.
“If I could come back and play again I’d love to play for Sarina Wiegman. She just looks like an amazing person, amazing coach, understands that line of treating the players with respect and getting to know them, but also getting the best out of them.
“I think she’s great but clearly there’s been some talk of her not going anywhere so I honestly don’t know.
“There’s not many coaches that I would say, besides her, that has really elevated themselves to be one of the best.”
