The players struggled to pinpoint exactly what went wrong in Japan. But both Lloyd and Rapinoe, who started Monday’s game on the bench, suggested they struggled with Andonovski’s “rotations” — that is, the way the coaching staff managed their personnel — and other players, notably striker Alex Morgan, did little to disguise their disagreement with the coach’s tactics at times.
“I feel like we haven’t had our joy a little bit, hasn’t flowed for us, hasn’t been easy,” Rapinoe said. “We have tried to find it. It is not for a lack of effort. It didn’t click for us. I don’t know if it was roster rotations.”
As the Canadian players celebrated their victory, the Americans lingered on the field, trying and failing to find the words to alleviate the pain of the moment for one another.
“No one knows what to say, and everyone just wishes they could turn into dust,” Rapinoe said. “But that’s not how it works. We have another game. We still have another medal to compete for. It’s obviously not the type of medal we wanted.”
Long after her teammates had departed the field, Lloyd walked over to the end line and began sprinting. To the first line and back. Then the second line and back. And then next.