The American women retired Carly Lloyd after beating South Korea 6-0 on Tuesday night.
Lloyd didn’t score in her final, but it didn’t matter as the night was for her. Before the match, fans chanted Lloyd’s name, with a sign that read: “Another World Cup, please?”
Lloyd is retiring after a career that included a pair of two World Cup titles and an Olympic gold medal. She scored three goals in the opening 16 minutes of the US victory over Japan in the 2015 Women’s World Cup final.
Lloyd’s final match was her 316th against the national team, the second international of any player. She scored 134 goals for the United States, with 61 assists, the third goal in team history.
Lloyd was out in the 65th minute and cried as he stood in front of a crowd of 18,115 on Allianz Field. She took off her cleats and took off her jersey, opened another jersey with her wedding name on it, Hollins, adorned on the back.
Lloyd, 39, had hinted at the end of her career ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The United States won the bronze medal this summer, with Lloyd scoring two goals in a 4-3 win over Australia. She announced her plans to retire soon after.
She became the first American athlete to score in four different Olympics, and her 10 goals in the tournament are the most for an American athlete.
After the team’s 0-0 draw against South Korea last week in Kansas City, Kansas, Lloyd handed over her number 10 jersey to Lindsay Horan, who will wear the number from 2022 onwards.
Lloyd joined the national team for the first time in 2005 and reached the high point of her career with her hat-trick in the World Cup final. Her third goal against Japan was a flick from midfield.
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Lloyd scored 1-0 in overtime over Brazil for the gold medal. Four years later, she scored both goals in the gold-medal match against Japan at Wembley Stadium, becoming the only player to score a winning goal in a row in the Olympic final.
A resident of New Jersey, Lloyd has also played professionally for 12 years, playing in the now-defunct Women’s Professional Soccer League and the National Women’s Soccer League. She will complete her pro season with NWSL’s Gotham FC, which has two games left in the regular season.
Against South Korea on Tuesday, Horan put the United States in the lead with a goal in the ninth minute, beating a rival player. This was the 24th goal of her career.
His own goal just before half-time gave the Americans a 2-0 lead.
Lloyd’s replacement Alex Morgan scored in the 69th minute to take a 3-0 lead. Megan Rapino scored in the 85th and Rose Lavel in the 89th. Lynn Williams scored in stoppage time. The United States extended their unbeaten streak to 62 at home.
