Ex-footballer Carli Lloyd has admitted that her USA women’s team was once beaten 5-2 by an under-15 boys side in a practice match. The story, until now unconfirmed, was reported in April 2017 but has gone down as a myth in the intervening years. A fan asked Lloyd on X/Twitter: “[Is it] true you lost to a bunch of 15 year old boys?” Lloyd could easily have dodged the question, but admitted that it did, indeed, happen against an FC Dallas youth team. She said: “Yes it’s true. I know…thousands of people have already brought that up.” “They were good. We actually lost to a youth Bayern Munich team in my career as well but then we went on to win Olympics and World Cups. So…..” In a separate message, she added: “They should beat us. Bigger, stronger, faster! Boys always gave us a run for our money! It was great prep.” The team was managed by Jillian Ellis at the time, and they were preparing for a run of international friendlies ahead of the World Cup the following year. They had already lost 1-0 to England and 3-0 to France, so the friendly against Dallas under-15s might have caused some concern among players. Nonetheless the USA squad were clearly gracious in defeat, as they posed for pictures with the Dallas players. Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe were seen posing with the teenagers as they celebrated their incredible win. Two years later, the pair helped the US team to win the World Cup in France, so it clearly didn’t affect them too much. That was a better performance than in 2023, when the most successful women’s football team ever slumped to a defeat in the last 16, with Spain and England going on to compete in the final. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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England forward Beth Mead says she is still hopeful of being fit for the World Cup and is “ahead of schedule” in her recovery from an ACL injury. Mead ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament playing for Arsenal in November and Lionesses manager Sarina Wiegman said last month that it would be a “miracle” if she makes her squad for Australia and New Zealand. But Mead has returned to light training with Arsenal ahead of the July tournament and said she is determined to give herself every chance of making the 23-player squad when it is announced next month. "The injury’s okay,” Mead told Sky Sports News as she picked up her MBE for her role in England’s Euro 2022 win last summer. “I’m a good five months in and back on the pitch and kicking a ball again, feeling good, ahead of schedule. That’s all I can do that’s in my control right now. "I wouldn’t say I’m confident [of going to the World Cup] because it’s out of my control, but I’m working hard to get as close to it as possible. But at the end of the day, it’s probably going to be Sarina’s decision." England captain Leah Williamson will miss the World Cup due to an ACL injury while Fran Kirby is also out of the tournament with a knee problem that requires surgery. England manager Wiegman said ahead of the Finalissima in April that she did not expect Mead to be ready for the World Cup unless a “miracle happens”. “I had a conversation with her, she’s doing well, she’s in her rehab, she’s doing good, but the World Cup is actually too early,” Wiegman said. “So what we said is she’s not in our plans now, just really take the time to get back well. “If a miracle happens and she goes so fast, then we will reconsider it - but at this moment I don’t expect that.” Read More England’s World Cup squad: Who’s on the plane, and who’s got work to do? England suffer further World Cup blow as Fran Kirby ruled out of tournament Leah Williamson’s ACL injury has to be a final wake-up call for football

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David Moyes insists West Ham will not resort to the use of dark arts following Fiorentina’s admission they will employ tactical fouls in next Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final. The Serie A club’s boss Vincenzo Italiano has outlined his strategy for the showpiece in Prague, stating it will be necessary to combat the Hammers’ most potent threat. “We will try to not give them dangerous balls and to work on tactical fouls, preventative tackles, to avoid counter-attacks. These are the counter-measures to play against this kind of attitude,” Italiano said. But Moyes promises that West Ham, who are aiming to win their first trophy since defeating Arsenal in the 1980 FA Cup final, will stick to the rules. “It will be down to the referees to sort that out and not for us to have a huge opinion on it,” he said. “We’ll try to play a fair game and from my point of view that’s always the best way to try and do it.” West Ham have completed the Premier League season without receiving a single red card while also incurring the lowest number of yellows in the competition with 43. “I didn’t know that stat and it’s obviously a good stat. You always want to be well disciplined in finals and in any games. Hopefully that’s the way it remains,” Moyes said. “You also hope that the referees are looking at that and saying, ‘they’re a well disciplined side going about their job correctly’. Hopefully they’re doing their homework as well.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live