Carli Lloyd has one of the best seats in the house for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. “I’m going to be doing the pre-game show, halftime, and post-game show here in Sydney,” the two-time World Cup champion tells HollywoodLife as part of her partnership with FanDuel’s launch of FanFuel Extra Kick Coffee. Carli, who hung up her kit in 2021, will share her expert opinion and sports knowledge as part of Fox Sports’ coverage, but she gave HL a preview by picking a trio of stars that fans at home should watch. “I think Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Naomi Girma – those three come to mind,” she says, “but there are a lot of other quality players, as well.”
Sophia, 22, Trinity, 21, and 23-year-old Naomi are making their FIFA Women’s World Cup debut in this year’s tournament. Defender Naomi previously played at the 2016 FIFA U-17 and 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups. Sophia, a Forward, also played in those tournaments, scoring three goals in the 2018 U-20 World Cup. Trinity was playing for the Senior National team during the U-20 tournament, but she made history during a World Cup send-off friendly against Wales, scoring two goals to become the youngest player to score a brace in team history (per Soccer Wire)
In order to catch all the action, fans are going to have to either stay up all night or get up early in the morning. While the United States’ first game takes place at 9:00 PM ET (airing on FOX), if you want to see the USWNT take on Portugal on Aug. 1, you will have to be up well past the midnight hour. This is where Carli and FanDuel come in. “The US Women’s National Team’s fans are real big supporters,” Carli tells HL from over Zoom from Australia, “and there are a lot of fans that are coming over to Australia and New Zealand to support them, but for the fans that are not making it over?”
Enter FanFuel Extra Kick Coffee, a collaboration between FanDuel and North Edge Craft Coffee. “What I loved about this campaign is that when FanDuel approached me, they wanted to launch a limited edition coffee blend with a woman-owned roastery,” Carli tells HL. “With the time zone, the US play their first two games at 9:00 PM, but then that third one is going to be at 3:00 AM, so the games are a little all over the place in the middle of the night. So the coffee’s going to help refuel fans that are 21 and over after a long night of cheering on Team USA.
“I just thought it was all around, just a great campaign to be involved in,” she adds. “There are a few ways fans can enjoy FanFuel: there will be trucks in New York, Boston, Columbus, and Kansas City, which will be really fun. Unfortunately, I won’t be around for that, but I think the fans will enjoy it.”
FanDuel is also offering a promotion for those legal enough to bet: those who bet $5 on tournament match-ups will receive $100 in Bonus Bets plus an additional $10 in bonus bets for every Team USA win.
There’s one wager that’s a surefire bet: Carli is not tempted to pull a Tom Brady and un-retire. “I think retiring once is the way to go,” she tells HL when asked about the chance of a comeback. “I went out once, and it was an amazing retirement, and there’s no coming back from that.”
With Megan Rapinoe announcing that she will call it a career after this World Cup and NWSL season, Carli shared her own take on what it feels like to know it’s time to walk off the field. “Everyone’s journey is different,” she said. “It was time for me to leave the game. For me, it was just wanting to live life and do all the things that I couldn’t do, and then, it’s just seeing what opportunities come and whatever you’re passionate about trying. I’ve found myself on the TV side, so I’ve been enjoying that.”
Fans can enjoy Carli when she appears during Fox Sports’ coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. And for those curious about how Carli takes her coffee? “I usually do a cappuccino with oat milk, or I’ll do black coffee,” she says. “I actually started off drinking it straight black. I don’t do any sugars, milk, nothing. I do black coffee when it’s good, quality coffee because I think you get the real taste out of it, for sure.”
For more information – like how to buy FanFuel online or to track the trucks during the World Cup, go to Fanduel.com/fanfuel.