Carli Lloyd scored five times as the USA thrashed Paraguay 9-0 in Cleveland.
This was the US icon’s fourth last game for her country, having called time on a career that has seen her make more than 300 appearances for the national side.
The 39-year-old is second on the all-time appearances list with 313 and is now third on the goals tally chart –– moving ahead of Kristine Lilly.
This run of international fixtures has been dubbed Lloyd’s “farewell tour” and features two matches against Paraguay, followed by two against South Korea.
In truth, these games represent the perfect opportunity for Lloyd to further boost her international goal tally. The forward scored twice in the opening six minutes against Paraguay and rounded off her hat-trick before half-time. One more strike either side of the break took her to 133 goals for the US national team.
Her five goals was the joint-most scored by a single player in an international for the USA. It was also the perfect way to bounce back for Vlatko Andonovski’s side after a disappointing Olympic campaign –– stretching their unbeaten run at home to 59 games.
The win was the USA’s biggest margin of victory since beating Thailand 13-0 in the opening game of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It’s the ninth time the US has won by a margin of nine goals or more.
While it was Lloyd who stole the headlines, Andi Sullivan also netted her first two international goals in her 17th game for the national team.
Lynn Williams and new Arsenal forward Tobin Heath rounded off the scorers for the US –– who face Paraguay again on Wednesday 22nd September.
After these final three fixtures come to an end, Lloyd will conclude the domestic National Women’s Soccer League season with Gotham FC. The team currently sit eighth in the table, with five wins from their 17 games.
That will then bring to an end an illustrious career that has seen Lloyd win two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals.
The New Jersey-born star will forever be a US icon, and her name will eternally be etched in the annals of women’s football history.