In the days since the U.S. Women’s National Team narrowly advanced to the Round of 16, some former USWNT stars have criticized the team’s performance. Former captain Carli Lloyd, now a Fox Sports analyst, has been among the harshest critics.

Abby Wambach, the six-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year has offered a different approach: hope.

“There are two different ways you can consume sport. You can be hypercritical, or you can be hyper-hopeful,” Wambach said in an interview with AllforXI. “I happen to lean into the hopeful side of things. I have no advice, I just want the players to know that we believe in them.”

Wambach played in four World Cups in her international career, helping the USWNT to a championship in the 2015 tournament before retiring. The program won the crown again in 2019, but it has stumbled early this year: Coach Vlatko Andonovski’s team beat Vietnam, 3-0, in its opening contest, but then played Netherlands to a 1-1 draw and Portugal to a 0-0 draw.

Wambach cautioned fans against giving too much weight to commentators’ takes.

“The commentators can have their opinions, but can we just be smart about this,” she explained. “They’re going to say these are their opinions, through and through, but, they are getting paid to say things, and a sure way to continue to get paid to say things is to say the things that gets the most likes, clicks, and engagement. Don’t fall into the media trap of criticism over hope. Hope is the way.”

On Sunday, when the USWNT plays Sweden in the Round of 16, Wambach will be watching, and hoping, for a victory.

“These players are putting more pressure and have higher expectations than anybody else,” Wambach said. “I don’t care how many people in the world there are with their expectations and criticisms, these players have the highest expectations of themselves.”

After rolling out the same starting lineup for the first two group-stage matches, U.S. women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski made several changes Tuesday against Portugal: Rose Lavelle started at midfield, and Lynn Williams started at striker.

Former players and coaches had been calling on Andonovski to give Williams, in particular, more of an opportunity. The 30-year-old World Cup debutante did not play in either of the USWNT’s first two matches, even as a substitute. While Williams didn’t score in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw, she did record six of the team’s 17 shots, including a promising header in the 14th minute that was saved by Portugal goalkeeper Inês Pereira.

Carli Lloyd, the former USWNT captain turned Fox Sports analyst, had called for Andonovski to use Williams as a reserve in the second half of the 1-1 draw against Netherlands as the team’s offense stagnated.

“I would’ve liked to see Lynn Williams come in — I think she’s been having a really great NWSL run this season,” Lloyd said. “And sometimes making subs puts the other players on their toes a little bit — you’re coming off, the next person’s coming in and they’ve got to perform.”

Former USWNT midfielder Tobin Heath echoed that sentiment on her podcast, “The RE-CAP Show,” after the Netherlands match.

“Vlatko raved about Lynn Williams being the best 15-minute player he could put on this roster, and in that moment we needed a 15-minute player to come in,” Heath said.

Andonovski had said Williams likely would have been the first substitute used against the Netherlands, if he had opted to change things up. Instead, he used just one substitute, swapping Savannah DeMelo for Lavelle at halftime.

On Tuesday, he avoided at least that vein of criticism by starting Williams in place of 21-year-old Trinity Rodman — but it remains to be seen if the lineup will take that same shape in the Round of 16 after the team’s underwhelming performance against Portugal.

The U.S. women’s national team is advancing to the Round of 16 at the World Cup, but the tournament has hardly gone smoothly so far: Head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s team went 1-0-2 in Group E, only narrowly avoiding defeat Tuesday against Portugal with a 0-0 draw.

The team’s uneven performance has led some fans and experts to panic. But Heather O’Reilly, a former USWNT midfielder turned Fox Sports analyst, sees a lot of similarities to the 2015 team that won the World Cup after starting slow in the group stage.

“There was so much chatter. Are we going out early? Does this team have it?” O’Reilly said. “That doesn’t help. That doesn’t help the players, That doesn’t help the staff. That doesn’t help the football. We need to get behind the team.”

Former USWNT captain Carli Lloyd, also a Fox Sports analyst and a hero of the 2015 team, has been among the harshest critics of the team’s performance this World Cup.

“There’s been a shift within this team, within the federation, within the culture, the mentality,” Lloyd said after the Portugal match. “The importance and meaning of winning has changed. What has come from winning has become more important.”

O’Reilly, however, was quick to point that the team was hardly dominant in the group stage in 2015: The USWNT beat Australia, 3-1, in its first match, but then played Sweden to a 0-0 draw and escaped with a 1-0 win against Nigeria.

“Our backs were against the wall,” said O’Reilly, who played on that team alongside Lloyd. “We fought back. A couple tactical changes were made. Carli Lloyd made history.”

O’Reilly acknowledged that Andonovski needs to make some changes – she suggested moving Julie Ertz back to midfield from center-back – but believes the USWNT has what it takes to once again right the ship.

“They’ve only given up one goal in three games. They’re a very defensive-minded group. Vlatko Andonovski, he’s a conservative coach, so we have to embrace that,” she said. “This team, they don’t even care who they’re playing. They don’t care if it’s Sweden… They’re going to take care of business with the next opponent, and they have this crazy self-belief they’re going to move on.”

Lindsey Horan and Alex Morgan are two of the most prolific U.S. women’s national team goal scorers of the past decade. But in the team’s 0-0 draw against Portugal, neither player found the back of the net.

The lackluster offensive performance was the continuation of an unsettling trend for the USWNT, which finished runner-up in Group E to advance to the Round of 16. The team attempted 17 shots against Portugal, including six on goal, but could not finish.

“We had our opportunities in front of the goal, even like two yards out,” Horan said. “We have to finish them.”

Added Morgan: “We could’ve made other decisions or been a little bit more patient on certain crosses.”

Horan has scored twice in the World Cup, once in the team’s 3-0 victory over Vietnam and again in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands. Morgan, who scored six goals in the 2019 World Cup, has yet to score, and missed a penalty against Vietnam — the first U.S. penalty to be saved at a World Cup since 2003, when Mia Hamm was denied against Norway.

The USWNT finished with 28 shots (seven on goal) against Vietnam and 18 (four on goal) against the Netherlands. After the Portugal game, Horan was asked if the USWNT’s team effort would be good enough against Sweden, its likely opponent in the next round.

“We always want to be better, we always want to improve,” said Horan, who recorded six goals and five assists in 22 matches for the USWNT in 2021. “This result was good enough to put us through to the next round, but it’s not good enough for us, and we know that. We have to move forward, and we learn our lessons from the few things we can take away from this game.”

In the wake of the U.S. women’s national team’s 0-0 draw against Portugal, former captain Carli Lloyd, now an analyst for FOX Sports, said the team’s play was “uninspiring,” among other harsh words. Coach Vlatko Andonovski took exception to the criticism.

“To question the mentality of this team, to question the willingness to win, to compete, I think it’s insane,” Andonovski said.

The USWNT advanced to the Round of 16 with the draw, but just barely: Portugal substitute Ana Capeta nearly scored in second-half stoppage time, but her shot pinged off the right post; a loss would’ve knocked Andonovski’s team out of the tournament. After the draw, USWNT players were seen dancing and smiling.

“I have never witnessed something like that,” Lloyd said of the players’ celebration. “The player of the match was that post. You are lucky to not be going home right now.”

Andonovski took over the USWNT in October 2019 after his predecessor, Jill Ellis, led the program to consecutive World Cup championships. Ellis had endured criticism for some of her tactical decisions, among other things, and the hope was Andonovski could be a steadying presence as the team continued to chase greatness.

Then the USWNT finished third at the 2021 Summer Olympics, leading some to question Andonovski’s leadership. On Tuesday, after narrowly avoiding disaster, Andonovski defended his team.

“This team wanted to win this game more than anything else,” he said. “I’ve never seen this team step on the field and not try hard, or not compete. Everyone is entitled to (their) opinion, they can say whatever they want, but I just know how this team feels.”

Andonovski added: “It’s not like we played well by any means. We owned it. We know it’s not good enough. We’re not happy with our performance. But we qualified for the next round, we’re moving on.”

Asisat Oshoala made global headlines in Nigeria’s 3-2 upset win over Australia in the group stage of the World Cup on Thursday.

Oshoala came off the bench to score the decisive goal in the victory for Nigeria in the 72nd minute. She then channeled U.S. women’s national team legend Brandi Chastain’s iconic 1999 celebration by tearing off her jersey.

Who is Oshoala? Just Women’s Sports has the rundown.

Age: 28
Position: Forward
Nigeria debut: June 8, 2015
Total caps: 24

Who is Oshoala?

Oshoala is one of the most celebrated African players of all time. The 28-year-old forward for Nigeria and Barcelona was born in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria. Her parents did not approve of her playing soccer, and she had to sneak away when she played. She dropped out of high school at 15 to pursue the game.

She turned into one of her nation’s biggest stars and, with her goal on Thursday, became the first African player to score in three Women’s World Cups. She has won Africa’s Women’s Footballer of the Year a record five times.

“I want to make sure I fight for my teammates, fight for this badge. This is the best county in the world,” Oshoala said after the Australia win.

Where does she play professionally?

Oshoala joined Barcelona on loan in 2019, and then transferred to the team after the season. She has scored 95 goals for the club and helped lead the team to the 2019-20 Copa de la Reina and 2019-20 Supercopa de España Femenina championships.

Before that, Oshoala played for Chinese club Dalian Quanjian, Arsenal and Liverpool.

What does she bring to Nigeria?

Oshoala brings a wealth of experience, having played in three previous World Cups and served as captain of the 2019 team. She also led Nigeria to African Women’s Championships in 2016 and 2018.

She remains one of most Nigeria’s dangerous weapons despite starting the Australia game on the bench, a decision meant to manage her long-term leg injury, coach Randy Waldrum said. When she does play, she can provide instant offense.

“She’s such a force physically,” Waldrum said. “She can create problems — the third goal was massive. When we talked about her role — she’s like any player, she wants to be on all the time — I said, ‘I just have a feeling, come on for the last 30 minutes and make a difference.’”

What have coaches said about Oshoala?

Randy Waldrum, Nigeria coach: “When you think of African football, people think of Asisat, and she’s a big blend of a couple of great traits; she’s just a stud athlete, a big player, physically strong, fast, hyper-athletic, and she’s got a great soccer IQ.”

Jonatan Giráldez, Barcelona coach: “Attitude, desire, predisposition. Asisat was one of the most important players at the start of last year.”

U.S. women’s national team players have become iconic figures in recent years, with their faces splashed across social media, TV commercials, magazine covers and more. They are characters in the ongoing story of the nation’s relationship with soccer, equal rights and more.

So it is fitting that many of the players are drawn to compelling narratives off the field. The USWNT team is full of readers, with interests spanning an array of book genres: science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, memoirs and more.

Take Sophia Smith, who is keen on reading romance novels and is one of many players on her NWSL club to dive into the popular Sarah J. Maas fantasy series “A Court of Thorns and Roses.” She has helped inspire many of her teammates’ own reading routines.

“It’s something for us all to connect over outside of the sport and have fun little conversations off the field,” Smith told the Washington Post’s Ella Brockway. “When you’re in a stressful, high-intensity environment, it’s nice to have something a little more chill and relaxing to go back to and a group of people to be interested in doing the same thing.”

Smith, Crystal Dunn and captain Becky Sauerbrunn – who is out of the World Cup with a foot injury – are all teammates on the Portland Thorns, a team full of “voracious readers,” as Sauerbrunn told Just Women’s Sports.

“It makes me so proud whenever I see someone walking with a book in their hand,” Sauerbrunn said. “We recommend a lot to each other, but we all read at different rates.”

@justwomenssports The @Portland Thorns are in their reading era 📖 #booktok #nwsl #beckysauerbrunn #woso ♬ original sound - Just Women’s Sports

Some USWNT players are even published authors: Alex Morgan (“The Kicks,” a children’s book series), Megan Rapinoe (“One Life,” a memoir) and Trinity Rodman (“Wake up and Kick It,” a children’s book in partnership with Adidas).

Reading provides a way for the players to decompress from the high pressure of national-level soccer – and, for a few moments at least, step out of the spotlight of their own stories.

“When you’re out of practice and you’re out of meetings, the last thing you want to do is talk about soccer,” Ashley Sanchez said. She and Trinity Rodman both are fans of romance author Colleen Hoover, and sharing paperbacks with Smith helped inspire their passion.

“It is nice to be able to have something in common,” Sanchez continued. “Sometimes it’s, like, eight of us reading the same book at the same time.”

The Netherlands struck first against the U.S. women’s national team on Thursday, when Jill Roord scored in the 17th minute.

From there, however, the USWNT’s defense tightened up. The Dutch didn’t register another shot on goal the rest of the game, and after the 1-1 draw in the World Cup group-stage game, coach Vlatko Andonovski credited Julie Ertz for solidifying the backline.

“It was what we needed,” Andonovski said of Ertz’s effort. “We’re happy with Julie’s performance, we’re happy with our backline.”

The coach has so far moved Ertz to center-back for this World Cup, a position she hasn’t played regularly since transitioning to defensive midfield in 2017. Ertz was named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 2017 and again in 2019.

After the Netherlands’ game, Andonovski was asked if Ertz moving back to her old position was due to “where she is at at this point in her career.”

“It has nothing to do with where she is in her career,” Andonovski said. “I feel comfortable with Julie playing at the nine, too, or seven or 11. She’ll give you her best, and she’ll play 90 minutes and she’ll be good.”

The veteran, for her part, has taken the shift in her role in stride. Ertz — alongside defenders Emily Fox, Naomi Girma and Crystal Dunn — shut out the Dutch in the second half, and then gave Lindsey Horan a brief pep talk before Horan’s game-tying goal in the 62nd minute.

“I think, obviously, coming back from being a goal down is huge, especially in this tournament,” Ertz told FOX Sports after the game. “That’s what this tournament is about. You roll up your sleeves, you find your grit, and then you find your goals.”

Julie Ertz came to Lindsey Horan with a plea.

It was early in the second half of the U.S. women’s national team’s game against the Netherlands on Thursday, and Horan, the USWNT’s fiery midfielder, had just fallen to the pitch after a hard body check from Dutch midfielder Danielle van de Donk.

Horan, who had received a yellow card in the USWNT’s opener against Vietnam, popped up and pushed van de Donk, her club Lyon teammate. That’s when Ertz stepped in.

“Julie came up to me in the box and she was like, ‘Linds, please, don’t get another yellow card. Just score this goal to shut everyone up.’ And that’s what happened,” Horan said.

Moments later, in the 62nd minute, Horan leapt into the box and headed Rose Lavelle’s corner kick into the back of the net, knotting the game at 1-1. Neither side would score again, and it was Horan’s effort that ensured the USWNT earned a point for the game and remained atop Group E heading into the final group-stage matches.

If not for Ertz, Horan’s rage might’ve been directed elsewhere.

“Dan is that type of player — when she’s on my team it’s incredible, because she’s going to fight to that last second to win a game or go into that last tackle,” Horan said. “That’s what she did, and unfortunately I didn’t take it in a good way. I got a little heated and she got to hear it.”

Horan and van de Donk hugged after the match and made up. But it’s what happened during the contest that will stick most with Horan. As the USWNT looks toward the rest of the World Cup, Horan will look to channel Ertz’s message.