Two-time World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Carli Lloyd recently wrote an article for Women’s Health magazine. She tells a moving account of her secret journey through unexplained infertility and IVF treatment, which ultimately led to a joyous development: She is now pregnant and is due to give birth to her first child in October.
After retiring, Lloyd, now 41, wrote that her “heart had come alive” and explained how for the first time she felt able to open up and make herself vulnerable.
This is not the player Carli Lloyd that people thought they knew.
“People have to get used to this,” she told Competitor. “They have to understand me a little more. But the fans and the media only see the competitor Carly. They just see my angry, bulging eyes, like I want to hurt someone and be a super competitor. That’s how I’m able to way of survival.
“When I look back at my career and reflect, ‘Would I have done things differently?’ I do think I probably would have tried to enjoy things more. But I have to stay on my toes because some coaches have stabbed me in the back. One knife. You’re part of a team and everyone’s competing against each other, so that guard stayed up until I announced my retirement.
“I feel like, over the past few months, I’ve finally become more vulnerable. I can finally be more like myself.
Lloyd attributes her mentality as a player to the “brutal” environment of the U.S. women’s national team.
“People don’t understand how cruel this is,” she said. “I would say it’s totally unhealthy, but it’s what makes our team the best team and it makes me the best team. It makes me who I am today. I think ( Culture) doesn’t need to change. In order to be the best, you have to be in a very tough environment.
Lloyd’s record demonstrates this success: 134 goals in 316 international games (making her the second-most capped and third-highest goalscoring player in U.S. women’s soccer history) and the 2015 Scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final against Japan.
Today’s broadcaster Carli Lloyd captivates audiences when she talks about what it takes to succeed at the highest level.
Lloyd scores the second of three goals in the 2015 Women’s World Cup final (Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images)
That’s certainly the view of ABC’s Fox Sports, whose “Summer of Football” reaches its peak with Sunday’s doubleheader of the European Cup final (3 p.m. ET) and Copa America final (8 p.m. ET) peak. Fox made Lloyd a central figure in last summer’s Women’s World Cup coverage, and for the past few weeks she also served as a studio analyst during the men’s Copa America.
Lloyd has always been engaging and compelling, though her pointed opinions can sometimes be divisive: During the Women’s World Cup, she inspired strong feelings when she thought players on the U.S. women’s national team seemed to be celebrating excessively.
But Lloyd is highly regarded by broadcasters because She was ready to give her opinion. She doesn’t do indecisive things. She’s “not surprised” by Alex Morgan’s recent omission from the U.S. women’s national team’s Olympic roster and believes the U.S. men’s national team “needs to make changes” as well – U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) is The matter will be reviewed.
“(The United States co-hosts the Men’s World Cup in 2026) is coming up in 2026,” Lloyd said. “Greg is a great guy and I don’t think there’s just one problem here. But on the surface, they do look a little comfortable and maybe need some anger and sometimes someone needs to come in and give a little tough love. But it’s just pure guess.
“Things on the pitch are looking a bit stale from the way they’re playing. Something’s just not clicking. Given where the team is right now – everyone’s in a commotion, the fans, the sponsors, the media, everyone – unfortunately Yes, I think changes need to be made.
“You want to go into 2026 with the support of the country and everyone around you. So I do think a change has to be made and it needs to be someone who thinks outside the box, someone who is international. (Jurgen) Klopp’s name It’s been thrown there.
Is the currently unmarried former Liverpool manager the U.S. national team hire she’s always wanted? “It’s going to be amazing,” Lloyd said. “But there’s no time for development here. It’s about 2026 and you want to field the best team and get the best results.
Lloyd was also combative when some viewers thought she included U.S. captain Christian Pulisic among the sport’s all-time greats such as Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi When the roll call was wrong, she hit back on social media. Last week, she also responded when an X user criticized her appearance, retorting: “You call pregnant women big shots… You clearly haven’t been taught anything in life to respect.”
“I think it’s a very sad state of affairs in the world we live in today,” Lloyd added. “I’m almost 42 and I’m happy in my own skin and confident in it. But It makes me sad that young girls have to go through this.
“Some of the things that have been said about me have been hurtful, disgusting and abusive. Commenting on the America’s Cup, people told me to go back to the kitchen, that I don’t belong in men’s sports. You have to be thick-skinned. In my profession I have a thick skin throughout my career, which makes me strong… I pride myself on being honest and speaking my mind, which is not always a popular choice.
“But the block button does come in handy. People attack me for blocking, but I just don’t have time for people to attack me constantly. You don’t deserve to see what’s going on in my feed.
Lloyd won the 2015 and 2019 World Cup titles with the USWNT (Naomi Baker – FIFA via Getty Images)
Will this prevent Lloyd from appearing as an analyst in the future?
“No, it will never bring me down because the most important thing in my life is my circle of friends. I can’t get a sense of my worth or how well I do my job from all these people on social media Reason. Most of them are just angry about other people’s success and not happy themselves.
Lloyd will be watching this weekend’s America’s Cup final from the Fox studios. She said she was proud to join others such as pitchside reporter Jenny Taft and former England international Kelly Smith, who have previously done broadcasts during their pregnancies. “Jenny said I could use some of the stuff in her closet if I needed to,” Lloyd said. “It gives people the confidence to know that just because you’re pregnant, you can still be on TV and I’m okay with that.
“Of course, my body has changed quite a bit from when I was an athlete. But I’m growing as a person inside of me, and I think that’s one of the most amazing things, it’s such a miracle, and I’m very Enjoy it with pride.
In an open letter published in Women’s Health magazine, Lloyd explained the mental and physical challenges she experienced while trying to conceive. At one point, she said, she began to question why her body wasn’t working for her. Lloyd revealed she became pregnant after three rounds of IVF. She now hopes that more young athletes, and more young women, will receive more education on the subject and have the opportunity to have a broader conversation.
“It would be healthy if more people understood that women are born with a certain number of eggs and that as they age, their eggs also age,” she said. “Maybe if there were other opportunities, if the team I’m in got Sponsor or contact a fertility clinic where you can choose and receive support for freezing your eggs. You will not be able to exercise for a few weeks during the entire process.
“It would be great if we could talk about this more and educate young players and provide those options. I do know that there are several NWSL teams (the top league of the American women’s club competition) that have partnered with fertility clinics, which would be great. Good, but wish more people would join.
“I was very naive and didn’t know what I was getting into. Today there are many women in sports and business who really want to delay having children. Times have changed. Things need to change in that sector too.
(Top photo: Christian Peterson/Getty Images)
