Team USA poses for a photo during the FIFA Women's World Cup Round 16 match between USA and Columbia at Commonwealth Stadium on June 22, 2015 in Edmonton, Alberta.
Even though you’ve probably been following U.S. women’s soccer team at the FIFA Women’s World Cup for a month, there is a lot you might not know about Team USA. Sure, you’re probably aware that they are going for a title that has eluded them since 1999, but do you know which player has the best singing voice? Or gives the best advice? We talked with midfielder Carli Lloyd and asked her to share six things you might not know about her U.S. teammates.
Best Singing Voice: Megan Rapinoe
Lloyd admitted that she hasn’t heard a lot of the women on the team singing out loud, but the same can’t be said for Megan Rapinoe. The midfielder — who she called “a good singer” — may have taken some lessons from her girlfriend, Sub Pop recording artist Sera Cahoone. “She plays the guitar too. I remember hearing her sing and play the guitar once and she was really good.”
Most Superstitious: Abby Wambach
After playing in three World Cups, two Olympic Games (which resulted in two gold medals), and being named FIFA Player of the Year, Wambach will do almost anything to achieve a victory that has eluded her national team career for the past 16 years — a World Cup win. Which is why Lloyd called her 35-year-old teammate “the most superstitious! She has the same routine: she goes in the same bathroom stall. She puts her cleats on the same way every time, her socks. She has it down to a T.”
Gives The Best Advice: Christie Rampone
Lloyd said the long-time captain of the national team, who is playing in her fifth World Cup this year, has sort of become the mom of the team “over the years.” With two daughters of her own it’s understandable why the 40-year-old Rampone gets called America’s #1 Soccer Mom. And why Lloyd said she is the one you go to if you’re looking for advice.
Most Likely To Join The FBI: Carli Lloyd
“I’ve always really enjoyed watching ‘Law & Order’-type shows,” Lloyd confessed. “‘Dateline,’ ‘20/20’ — I love watching things like that on TV and trying to figure out the details.” It’s become a passion (after soccer, of course) to “see how our FBI and CIA works.” Solving crimes, she said, “still interests me, to this day.”
Funniest: Megan Rapinoe
Even though “people always laugh at my dry sense of humor — I think it’s a Jersey thing to say it like it is and be very blunt,” said the Delran, New Jersey, native. Megan Rapinoe — who has more than one YouTube video dedicated to her funniest moments on and off the field — is the one she thinks gets their teammates laughing the most.
Least Likely To Control The Music In The Locker Room: Sydney Leroux
Apparently 25-year-old Leroux — whose musical taste Lloyd described as “different” — used to pick the music in the locker room before games. But now she said team forward/midfielder “Lauren Holiday has actually taken over a little bit.” The reason? Her musical choices include a bit “more variety and songs that everyone knows.” When asked what artist gets played the most, Lloyd answered, “Beyoncé definitely gets thrown in there a lot.”
