Jill Ellis named her 20-player U.S. women's national team roster for Olympic qualifying on Tuesday. Being the reigning FIFA Women's Player of the Year, Carli Lloyd was an obvious choice.
She just doesn't need to play much from Feb. 10-21. Give the girl a rest.
Carli Lloyd Won't Be The Face Of USWNT In 2016
Add to that, give other players a chance to see competitive minutes ahead of a summer trip to Rio.
Just 24 days after lifting the 2015 Women's World Cup, Lloyd was on the pitch for the Houston Dash, scoring a match-winner against Kansas City in the 87th minute.
Carli Lloyd Knows Her Place Next To Cristiano Ronaldo
Hi @SportsCenter. Thought you might like this. #SCTop10 #DashOn pic.twitter.com/BqlqZKOrdg
— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) July 30, 2015
Since then, she's partaken in meaningless friendly after meaningless friendly. Just last Sunday, Lloyd netted a first-half hat-trick en route to a 5-0 victory over Ireland. This much action wouldn't be a cause for concern if we were talking about a 27-year-old in her prime. Lest we forget, Lloyd is 33 and her professional career dates back 17 years. There's no need to subject her to another short, round-robin tournament.
Especially one the USWNT can sleepwalk through.
All respect to Costa Rica, Mexico and Puerto Rico -- who will play alongside the United States in Group A -- but they'll be fortunate to walk away with enough self-respect to continue playing the sport. Both Costa Rica and Mexico crossed paths with the USWNT in 2014 for World Cup Qualifying.
They were outscored 9-0.
As much Ellis will be tempted to play her best player in the USWNT's first competitive games since the World Cup, there's just no need to. The time to get the next generation battle-tested is now.
There's no telling who you'll need to come up big in five-months time.
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