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USWNT star Carli Lloyd: 2019 World Cup 'was absolutely the worst time of my life'


U.S. Women’s National Team star forward Carli Lloyd, fresh off of winning her second-consecutive World Cup, acknowledged that she was frustrated with a diminished role, despite the team’s historic success.

"I'm not going to lie and sugarcoat it," Lloyd said in a podcast with ESPN. "It was absolutely the worst time of my life. It affected my relationship with my husband, with friends. It really was rock bottom of my entire career. But somehow, you see light at the end of the tunnel, and I can honestly say I'm having more fun now playing than I ever have in my career. I think I just learned a lot throughout it."

Lloyd, 37, played in all seven matches during the World Cup, but was relegated mostly as a reserve player off the bench. In the interview, Lloyd said that when USWNT coach Jill Ellis was transitioning to a 4-3-3 formation in 2017, Lloyd sprained her ankle as a member of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Houston Dash.

Most of Lloyd’s playing experience, to that point, had been as a midfielder, but under the 4-3-3 formation, she would switch to forward.

Lloyd was named a co-captain of the World Cup squad, but remained on the bench, starting only one match, against Chile.

"There's no denying it," Lloyd told ESPN. "I deserved to be on that field that whole World Cup, but I wasn't. And I think I've grown as a person, as a player. It sucked. It absolutely sucked."

But even with the reduced role, Lloyd continued to set records. In a June 16 match against Chile, she became the first player in Women’s World Cup history to score a goal in six consecutive matches with a left-footed volley.

In the same match against Chile, she added another goal in the 35th minute with a header and then became the oldest player in Women’s World Cup history to score two goals in one match.

Lloyd stressed that while she was personally frustrated, she remained happy with the success that her teammates enjoyed.

"I was super happy for my teammates and happy for Megan (Rapinoe), who put the team on her back, and for several other players," Lloyd said. "It was great to see, and I'm happy that I could still have been a part of it."

In recent weeks, Lloyd has said that she would like to try place kicking for an NFL squad, after she converted a 55-yard field goal at a training camp practice with the Philadelphia Eagles.

LLOYD: 'No reason why a woman could not' be NFL kicker

Now that Ellis has retired from her post with the USWNT, Lloyd reiterated that she wants to represent the U.S. in future soccer competitions, starting with the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

"I hope a coach comes in that values me, respects me, wants me (as) a part of the Olympic plans," Lloyd said. "There's no question my abilities are there. I'm able to do it. Physically I'm able to do it. I would love to be a part of it, but I want to have an open, honest conversation, because if I'm not, I can't go through what I went through for three years."