Carli Lloyd insists United States are ‘light years’ behind England and Spain | OneFootball

Carli Lloyd believes the United States Women’s National (USWNT) are ‘light years’ behind Euro 2025 finalists England and Spain.

The United States legend expressed scepticism about where the nation lies in comparison to some of their rival superpowers of the women’s game.

This is despite the United States taking Olympic Gold at last summer’s Paris Games.

Lloyd, who won the Women’s World Cup with USA in 2015 and 2019, still believes Emma Hayes’ side is behind European nations on a global scale.

What Carli Lloyd said about the USWNT

Carli Lloyd said that the USWNT has ground to make up on their European counterparts, while speaking on the State of the Union podcast.

This comes after watching Euro 2025 which saw England beat Spain on penalties. UK betting sites have already made Spain and England the top two favourites to win the tournament in 2029.

Lloyd said: “After watching this tournament (Euro 2025), I mean, even teams like Switzerland, Italy, you know, Italy, you could argue that they had a little bit of an easier path to get to the semi-final, but they still came out brave.

“They were tactically flexible. They played really, really well.

“And so, yeah, it kind of got my wheels turning a bit to think about our current US women’s national team, where they’re at right now.

“I know that they had just won the Olympics. I still think they’re hovering currently right now, third or fourth behind Spain, England – you could throw in Sweden there.”

Lloyd’s comments might come as a concern to the United States ahead of the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

USA were eliminated in the Round of 16 at the 2023 World Cup, following a penalty shootout defeat to Sweden. Hayes was appointed as their new manager later that same year.

Lloyd said: “I know Emma’s spending a lot of time getting a lot of different players minutes and caps and doing all that to build the 2027. But Europe is in a really, really good position right now. I mean, Spain is undeniably the best. I think they are light years ahead as far as a playing style.”

What’s next for the UWSNT?

The UWSNT are next in action in October, when they have two friendlies against Portugal in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

They will have an eye on the CONCACAF Women’s Championship which takes place in November next year, and will also serve as the qualifiers for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil