Lindsey Horan: ‘I’m so thankful we worked our butt off till the very end.’

USA won the Women’s World Cup for the fourth time with a 2-0 victory over European champions the Netherlands.

While stars like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan grabbed the headlines for the USA during another triumphant tournament, Lindsey Horan was one of the unsung heroes of the World Cup.

Speaking after winning her first World Cup, Horan said:

“We realised we’d won when the whistle blew. The second goal really kind of helped to seal the deal but when the whistle blew we ran out and we were champions which is the most amazing feeling.”

There have been clamours for Horan to start more games during the tournament. She played the full 90 minutes in all three of USA’s group games but was then used as a substitute for their round of 16 and quarter-final matches. Horan was then reinstated to the starting line-up when USA beat England in the semi-final only to be back on the bench for the final, in which she played no part.

“It’s hard at times to watch from the side but it’s this whole team that makes us win and every single person on the team contributed so it’s amazing what all 23 players have done.”

While a squad needs all 23 players, especially if they are to win the tournament, Horan may feel disappointed not to have played more.

As well as 2015 and 2019, the USA also won the tournament in 1991 and 1999. Horan knows how important those victories were:

“The class of ’99 were the ones the started it, they are the legends we all look up to. I hope we never lose the fire and mentality which could make us legends for future USWNT players. I was very young but I watched tapes and still took after them as much as I could.”

Talking about USA’s fourth World Cup win, Horan stated:

“So many countries have progressed over the last few years, and that’s why this World Cup was so amazing and made sure it was so competitive. It was up for grabs and I’m so thankful that we worked our butt off till the very end.”

On their way to victory, USA beat Spain, hosts France, one of the favourites England and then the Netherlands. It is fair to say they did it the hard way and swept all before them.