Why is Lindsey Horan a USWNT captain? Because she makes her teammates’ roles easier
Lindsey Horan is one of the two new captains of the United States women’s national team, alongside teammate Alex Morgan, taking over after Becky Sauerbrunn was forced to miss the World Cup through injury .
While Morgan was a more expected choice due to her stature and experience, this technically constitutes a promotion for Horan. Though her coach and teammates don’t see it as a massive or remotely unexpected one. She has worn the armband regularly over the past two years, and Sauerbrunn referred to Horan as her co-captain during an episode of the podcast “Snacks,” hosted by USWNT teammates Lynn Williams and Sam Mewis.
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“The responsibilities for Lindsey are not going to be added this summer, they were added two years ago when we went to Australia [for the Olympics],” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said at the team’s media day in Los Angeles. “Ever since, she has grown into the role of leader and done a tremendous job,”
Horan’s growth as a leader has paralleled her transition into a role on the pitch that’s a lot less about individual highlights and more about what she can do to enable others to make standout plays.
She has slowly transitioned into a progressively deeper role with each passing year of her career after starting out as a striker, scoring 20 goals over 25 appearances in her first season as a professional at Paris Saint-Germain. As she was moved into midfield, Horan’s runs into the box and finishing remained her best qualities at first, especially after moving to NWSL with the Portland Thorns. She scored 13 goals during her 2018 NWSL MVP campaign while playing an attack-minded midfield role.
.@LindseyHoran and @alexmorgan13 named #USWNT Captains ahead of the 2023 @FIFAWWC ©️
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