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Carli Lloyd: The top five moments of the soccer legend’s career

(Francois Nel/Getty Images)

After a legendary career with the United States women’s national team, future Hall of Famer Carli Lloyd announced her retirement from soccer on Monday. Lloyd will finish out the NWSL season and play in four USWNT friendlies this fall, so it’s not goodbye just yet.

Throughout her 17-year career with the national team, Lloyd authored perhaps more iconic moments than any other player in USWNT history.

Here, we’re counting down the five we’ll never forget:

5. Her 300th cap

Earlier this year, in a friendly against Sweden, Lloyd reached 300 caps with the USWNT, becoming just the third player behind Kristine Lilly and Christie Pearce to do so.

In total, Lloyd has amassed 312 caps and counting for the USWNT, second all-time in both U.S. and world history behind only Lilly. In that time, Lloyd has played with more than 100 different teammates.

Lloyd has scored 128 times on the international stage with the USWNT, including some of the most important goals in team history and the last two scored in Tokyo. Speaking of:

4. Tokyo Olympic swan song

Though her final Olympic appearance didn’t come in the gold-medal game, Lloyd helped the USWNT capture bronze at the Tokyo Olympics.

Megan Rapinoe opened the scoring for the U.S. against Australia, scoring two early goals. Not one to be outdone, Lloyd scored the final two goals of her Olympic career to help the USWNT beat Australia 4-3 and secure the bronze.

With the brace, Lloyd became the all-time leading goal scorer in USWNT Olympic history, with 10 goals across four tournaments.

3. 2012 Olympic-winning brace 

Facing Japan in the gold-medal match at the 2012 London Olympics, only a year after losing in a shootout in the World Cup final, Lloyd scored twice to help the USWNT get revenge and win gold.

Lloyd’s back-to-back goals made her the first player, male or female, to score a brace in an Olympic final. She also became the highest-scoring midfielder in USWNT history, overtaking Julie Foudy’s 45-goal record.

2. 2008 Olympic winner 

During the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Lloyd first scored a game-winner in the USWNT’s 1-0 win over Japan in the group stage. That proved to be a valuable warm-up for the final against Brazil.

There, in extra time, Lloyd buried a rocket from outside the box to secure the gold medal for the U.S.

It was quite the year for Lloyd, who bagged nine goals and nine assists while earning her 100th senior cap for the USWNT.

1. The historic hat trick

The 2015 World Cup was historic for both the USWNT and Lloyd. In the championship game against Japan, a rematch of the 2011 final, Lloyd went on an unprecedented (and still unmatched) one-woman tear, putting together one of the most brilliant performances in the history of soccer.

Lloyd scored first in the third minute, then again in the fifth, before securing her hat trick in the 16th minute with one of the most ridiculous goals ever scored in a final: a half-field chip of the Japanese goalkeeper.

Lloyd’s hat trick was the first-ever in a World Cup final. And she did it all in 16 minutes.

“When Carli kind of went on her tear, I was just thinking like, ‘This is the most bizarre game I’ve ever been a part of’,” said USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn in 2019.

“You’re obviously not focusing on scoring a hat trick in a World Cup final,” Lloyd said of the game. “I’m a pure winner. I am so hungry and so competitive, and once I get into those moments, nothing will stand in my way.”

That year, all Lloyd did was win, claiming the Golden Ball as the tournament’s MVP before being named FIFA’s Player of the Year.

Marta Weighs 2027 World Cup as Brazil Hunts 2025 Copa América Title

Legendary Brazil captain Marta runs across the pitch during a 2025 match.
Marta unretired to join Brazil at the 2025 Copa América tournament. (Paulo Dias/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Though international retirement did not stick for Brazil legend Marta, with the 39-year-old currently captaining her world No. 4 national team at the 2025 Copa América tournament, her World Cup future remains in question.

Brazil will be hosting the 2027 event — the first ever held in South America — with the record-breaking attacker turning 41 years old a few months before the World Cup's June 24th kickoff.

"I don't know whether I'll still be playing in 2027 or whether I'll be fit," she told Brazilian outlet Globo on Sunday.

"I still have a very strong desire to be a mother. So, I might wake up one day and decide to call my doctor to see if it's still possible. If it is, then bye, I have to go."

Should she decide to compete, Marta will join fellow Brazilian icon Formiga in logging seven total World Cups — the most of any athlete, man or woman, in soccer history.

In the meantime, the country's all-time leading goalscorer is currently working to help claim Brazil's ninth overall Copa América trophy.

Though early in the 2025 tournament, the Seleção is already on their way to a fifth straight title, opening their campaign with a 2-0 defeat of No. 48 Venezuela on Sunday.

"Brazil is the favorite, and we know it," said Marta. "We know our responsibility to bring home the title." 

How to watch Marta in the 2025 Copa América tournament

In their second of four group-stage matches, No. 4 Brazil will play No. 105 Bolivia at 5 PM ET on Wednesday.

The match will air live on FS1.

WNBA Expansion Team Portland Reignites Original “Fire” Name

A graphic of the revived Portland Fire team name.
The 2026 WNBA expansion team is leaning into its roots by reviving the original team name, the Portland Fire. (Portland Fire)

Portland's original WNBA team name is back, with the 2026 expansion side announcing the return of the the Portland Fire moniker on Tuesday — the name held by the city's first WNBA squad from 2000 to 2002.

With details including a "Rose on Fire" emblem— a nod to Portland's "Rose City" nickname — the city-specific nods in the new logo seek to capture Portland's identity.

"[It's] an important heritage," team interim president Clare Hamill told The Athletic this week. "The opportunity to bring the Portland Fire back, reborn, was 100 percent — creatively and for the brand and for fans — the way to go."

While the team is still searching for its head coach and general manager, excitement is growing, with fans anteing up to the tune of over 10,000 season-ticket deposits since the WNBA awarded the franchise last fall.

"Portland has long stood at the forefront of women's sports, and with nearly 11,000 season ticket deposits to-date, this community has made it clear they're ready to embrace the return of women's professional basketball," said Lisa Bhathal Merage, a co-founder of RAJ Sports — the ownership group of both the WNBA team and the NWSL's Thorns. "We're proud to reignite the Portland Fire."

In addition to the Portland Fire, the Toronto Tempo will hit WNBA courts next season, with three more expansion teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia set to tip off in 2028, 2029, and 2030, respectively.

2025 Euro Quarterfinals Take the Pitch

Italy's Elisabetta Oliviero celebrates a goal with her teammates during a 2025 Euro match.
The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off with Italy facing Norway on Wednesday. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off on Wednesday, with the eight remaining contenders sitting just three wins away from becoming champions of Europe.

While every win-or-go-home game promises excitement, a few of this week's matchups hold extra intrigue:

  • No. 16 Norway vs. No. 13 Italy, Wednesday at 3 PM ET (FOX): After winning Group A last week, a wobbly yet talented Norway side will kick off the 2025 Euro quarterfinals against second-place Group B team Italy — a squad with a proven ability to hit a counterpunch should they go down early.
  • No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 5 England, Thursday at 3 PM ET (FOX): Sweden looked utterly dominant in their 4-1 dismantling of Germany to win Group C on Saturday, and their reward is a date with the reigning champions, who bounced back from an early loss to France.
  • No. 2 Spain vs. No. 23 Switzerland, Friday at 3 PM ET (FOX): The 2023 World Cup champs have looked like the favorites to win it all by cruising through Group B, while a stoppage-time goal last Thursday sent the tournament hosts to their first-ever Euro quarterfinal.
  • No. 10 France vs. No. 3 Germany, Saturday at 3 PM ET (FOX): France emerged unscathed from the notorious "Group of Death," earning the Group D winners an advantage of momentum over a German side reeling from their 4-1 group-stage loss to Sweden.

Caitlin Clark Injury Clouds 2025 WNBA All-Star 3-Point Contest Announcement

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark reacts to a possible re-injury as she exits a 2025 WNBA game next to teammate Aliyah Boston.
Clark exited Tuesday's game after appearing to re-aggravate a groin injury. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)

The WNBA announced superstar lineups for the 2025 All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge on Tuesday, though the league will have to hope their best laid plans survive to see the weekend.

Along with the previously self-confirmed Sabrina Ionescu (New York) and Sonia Citron (Washington), Friday's 3-Point Contest roster will include Caitlin Clark (Indiana), Kelsey Plum (LA), and reigning event champion Allisha Gray (Atlanta).

Gray will also be defending her 2024 Skills Challenge title, with Natasha Cloud (New York), Skylar Diggins (Seattle), Erica Wheeler (Seattle), and Courtney Williams (Minnesota) looking to usurp the Dream guard on Friday.

Despite the WNBA's confirmation of Clark's long-awaited 3-Point Contest debut, her availability is now in question after the Fever guard appeared to re-aggravate a lingering groin injury, forcing her early exit from Indiana's 85-77 win over Connecticut on Tuesday night.

Fever head coach Stephanie White said afterwards that Clark "felt a little something in her groin," with further evaluation expected as Indiana travels to face New York on Wednesday.

This year's All-Star contingent already suffered one loss, with Atlanta guard Rhyne Howard sidelined with a left knee injury through the end of the month. In her stead, Minnesota guard Kayla McBride will step in, making her fifth career All-Star appearance.

Set to captain one of this weekend's All-Star squads, the WNBA is hoping that Clark is fully available for what's shaping up to be a huge celebration of basketball in Indianapolis.

How to watch the All-Star 3-Point Contest and Skills Challenge

The 2025 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest will take the Indianapolis court at 8 PM ET on Friday, with both competitions airing live on ESPN.

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