Carli Lloyd spent 17 years playing for the U.S. women’s national team before her retirement in 2021.

The star forward not only reached the highest levels of the sport but excelled, as she won two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals. She finished her career with 316 caps and 134 goals for the USWNT, and the latter mark ranks third all-time for the national team.

During that time, she dedicated herself fully to the sport.

“Everything revolved around soccer,” she said in a recent interview with Sun Outdoors. “Every thought that I had during the day. Everything that went into my body. The sleep. The hydration. The massages. The recovery. Literally everything.”

In her retirement, Lloyd finally has found time to exhale.

“Being in this retirement phase, I feel like I’m living life for the first time, which is wild,” she said.

Lloyd has joined Gotham FC’s ownership group. She has worked as a soccer analyst for Fox Sports, including at the men’s World Cup underway right now in Qatar. She has found time to travel with her husband and with her family.

“I just feel a little bit more relaxed,” she said. “I feel like I’m able to just live life. It sounds pretty crazy, because I just had 17 amazing years, but I’d be sitting here thinking, I’ve got to train tomorrow, got to to do this, got to do that… It’s almost like that guilt you feel.”

Still, she looks back proudly on what she and her teammates were able to accomplish, on and off the field.

Lloyd joined Hope Solo, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe in filing an equal-pay complaint in 2016, which swelled into a fierce battle for gender parity in soccer. USWNT players reached a proposed $24 million settlement in February over a gender discrimination lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, and they reached a new collective bargaining agreement that guarantees equal pay with the men’s team.

“We always went through negotiations and all these different things, and we’d come out feeling like, ‘Well, we should just accept what we’re being given,'” Lloyd said. “And eventually that gets old. Eventually, you’re like, ‘OK, that’s not good enough.’

“So I’m really proud of everybody. It’s really hard to be in a lawsuit with your employer and to show up and still have to compete and do all that. But first and foremost we were competing and striving to win and make it better for generations to come.”

Only after Lloyd announced her retirement in August 2021, though, did she really soak in every moment.

She played for several more months after announcing her retirement, for the USWNT in friendlies and for Gotham FC in the NWSL, before finally hanging up her boots in November 2021.

“When I announced my retirement until the day I retired, it was the first time in my career where I actually didn’t have tunnel vision,” she said. “I looked up into the crowd, I read posters that people made, I heard the chants, I heard them screaming my name, and I just soaked it all in.”

Her retirement tour helped her learn how to live in the moment, a lesson she has carried through her first year of retirement from the sport.

“I had fun winning. I had fun having a goal and every day working toward something,” she said. “But I can’t say that I fully soaked in every moment and really really enjoyed life and my career as I’m doing now.

The USWNT announced their 2025 season finale on Monday, setting a pair of friendlies against Italy at Orlando's Inter & Co Stadium on November 28th and Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on December 1st.

Facing the now-world No. 2 US for the first time in 15 years, Italy's recent run to the 2025 Euro semifinals shot them to No. 12 in the FIFA rankings.

"As we prepare for World Cup qualifying at the end of 2026, we want to play teams from all parts of the world with different styles and different strengths, so getting to play Italy, one of Europe's up-and-coming teams, will be a great way to end the year," said USWNT head coach Emma Hayes in a statement announcing the friendlies.

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After an extended break following a series of early July matchups, the US now has five matches left on the books, with the year-ending Italy matches rounding out three already-announced October friendlies.

The USWNT kicks off next month's lineup with two matches against Euro 2025 participant No. 23 Portugal, followed by a third friendly against No. 33 New Zealand.

As Hayes's year of roster evaluation comes to a close, expect stakes to rise as the 2027 World Cup comes into sharper view.

How to purchase tickets to the final 2025 USWNT friendlies

Though a myriad of presale opportunities are available throughout this week, tickets to both the November 28th match in Orlando and the December 1st friendly in Fort Lauderdale will go on sale to the general public on Friday.

Tickets will drop at 10 AM ET online.

The red-hot No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will hit the court in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs again on Tuesday night, facing off against the No. 7 Seattle Storm in Game 2 of the postseason's first round with an eye on scoring their 18th consecutive victory — and a trip to this year's semifinals.

"You guys celebrate this more than we do," MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson said, brushing off the team's recent dominance. "The streak stopped in the regular season."

"It's the first to nine wins [for the championship], so that's how we want to approach it," Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon echoed, voicing a renewed focus on retaking the WNBA crown.

Following the league's new home-away-home first-round format, Seattle has the chance to extend their season on their home court on Tuesday night, as the Storm arrives back in market with few answers after suffering a 102-77 Game 1 loss.

"Our fans deserve for us to play well," said Seattle forward Nneka Ogwumike. "We have to figure out how to do it, no matter what. That's going to be the test on Tuesday."

How to watch the Las Vegas Aces vs. Seattle Storm

No. 7 Seattle will try stay alive against No. 2 Las Vegas at 9:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage of Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs airing on ESPN.

With their backs against the wall, the No. 6 Indiana Fever will face down both the No. 3 Atlanta Dream and potential elimination from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs when they host their first home postseason game in nearly a decade on Tuesday night.

"I think you give yourself an edge as the home team. When they punched us, they punched us hard," Indiana guard Kelsey Mitchell said after Sunday's 80-68 loss in Atlanta. "So we have to do the same thing."

"I would like to think that being back at home can kind of give us a sense of comfort, so hopefully we could use it for what it's worth and not take it for granted," she continued.

Mitchell will likely be the key to the Fever's survival, after an onslaught of season-ending injuries forced the three-time WNBA All-Star to step up as a scoring leader — with Mitchell dropping a postseason career-high 27 points in Sunday's Game 1.

"It's a lot of little things," said Indiana head coach Stephanie White following the weekend result. "I like where we are, I'm proud of our group for continuing to fight, and we're going to be better on Tuesday."

How to watch Atlanta vs. Indiana in the 2025 WNBA Playoffs

No. 6 Indiana will tip off against No. 3 Atlanta in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage airing on ESPN.

WNBA legend Elena Delle Donne is returning to the court, with USA Basketball announcing on Monday that the two-time league MVP will join the 3×3 Women's National Team as its first-ever managing director.

The 36-year-old officially retired in April 2025 after struggling with injuries, capping a career that spanned winning gold at the 2016 Olympics and the 2018 FIBA World Cup with Team USA as well as two WNBA championships.

"Elena has been a member of the USA Basketball family for almost 15 years," USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said in Monday's press release. "Her wealth of knowledge of the sport of basketball and our organization will be an asset as we continue our journey."

As part of her duties, Delle Donne will be responsible for selecting the USA Basketball 3x3 team's coaching staff and players prior to the 2028 LA Olympics, the FIBA 3x3 World Cup, and other major international competitions.

"USA Basketball was an important part of my on-court career for a decade and a half. To have the opportunity to continue my journey with the organization, and to help shape and grow the 3x3 program, is something that I take very seriously," Delle Donne said. "I'm excited to get started."

Delle Donne's new position is the 3x3 version of fellow WNBA icon Sue Bird's role, as the newly minted Hall of Famer became the managing director of the USA Basketball women's 5x5 arm in May.

"To now think that I'm going to be on the other side of the phone letting someone know that their dream has come true and they've made the team is going to be such a fulfilling, full circle moment for me," Delle Donne said.