Alyssa Naeher says she blacked out during World Cup penalty shot vs. England
The USWNT goalkeeper described her perspective during the intense World Cup semifinal game vs. England.
In the 84th minute of the World Cup semifinal game between the U.S. Women’s National Team and England, American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher kept her team in the lead with a stunning penalty kick save.
Even if England’s Steph Houghton managed to sneak the ball past Naeher to tie the game at 2-2, it’s, of course, still possible the USWNT would have won, advanced to the World Cup Final and eventually still defended its title. But Naeher’s save certainly made the victory over England a little bit easier for her team.
But as Naeher tried to explain that incredible moment from her perspective while on Good Morning America on Tuesday — along with the rest of the team — she said she actually blacked out a little.
Naeher said:
“There wasn’t really much going through my mind, to be honest. I kind of blacked out for a second. I just felt calm. Everyone seemed calm, everyone felt calm. And I think that was just — I feed off of this team’s energy and incredible teammates and just there was never a doubt in my mind that it was not going to go in. And that’s what I felt and was able to come up with it.”
Ice in her veins.
Naeher’s description of what happened during that penalty kick in the semifinal game was just one of the many highlights from the team’s appearance on the morning talk show.
The star of the World Cup and undisputed best player in the tournament, Megan Rapinoe had a brilliant answer as to why the word “dynasty” describes this team perfectly:
Rapinoe also reiterated the argument for equal pay for the women’s team and what the next steps should be:
Rose Lavelle talked about why she doesn’t like to call the World Cup title a dream:
Crystal Dunn talked about what it was like to not make the team four years ago and how she came back: “It starts with just investing in yourself. I think that’s what I decided to do four years ago, was not hang my head but just, you know, invest in myself, believe in myself, surround myself with people who wanted it for me.”
How could you not love this old-school photo of Rapinoe, her twin sister, Rachel, and her childhood friend?
And, of course, Team USA really missed iced lattes the last several weeks.