Carli Lloyd scores and Hope Solo shines in goal as U.S. soccer team beats France 1-0.
Carli Lloyd did it again, but the United States wouldn’t be feeling good about the Rio Games without Hope Solo.
The aging goalkeeper celebrated her 200th international appearance Saturday with a slew of world-class saves to lead the United States to a hanging-by-the-cliff 1-0 victory over France in Group G play.
The thirdranked French outshot the United States 14-7 in a game in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where many of the 11,782 fans jeered Solo relentlessly over her comments about the Zika virus.
Solo, 35, seemed unfazed while frustrating one of America’s toughest rivals on a day she became the first male or female goalkeeper get 200 caps in international play.
“What’s important to me is that I played the best quality of football that I can play, and that hopefully our team makes it to the final,” Solo said. If the fans “are having fun, great. I like a loud stadium. But it really doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Solo’s handiwork allowed her teammates to recover from a sluggish first half to score in the 63rd minute off Lloyd’s opportunistic shot.
Solo marked her milestone with spectacular stops against Marie Laure Delie in the 40th and 77th minutes. France had three good first-half chances, including Wendie Renard’s header that Solo tipped off the crossbar in the 16th minute.
Delie “was getting free and I knew she was going to crack a shot as soon as she saw the goal, so I just tried to close her as quickly as I could,” Solo said of the 40th-minute threat. “Some people think she went through my legs on purpose because it was the only part that was open because I had her closed down — I don’t really think so, I think she just tried to crack a shot.”
The Americans needed the effort on a day the backline appeared shaky at times with defender Julie Johnston of Santa Clara University held out as a precautionary measure because of soreness in her groin area.
In the end, it added up to the top-ranked United States’ 13th consecutive victory as the Americans hold a 17-2-1 record over France, which was without star Eugenie Le Sommer.
Lloyd’s goal came on a nice buildup as Tobin Heath found space on the left side of the area before taking a wicked shot. French keeper Sarah Bouhaddi knocked the ball into the near post while under duress, and he ball immediately returned to Lloyd, who batted a leftfooter into the net for her 11th goal of the year, her 90th international score.
But this one belonged to Solo, the sometimes controversial goalkeeper who still is one of the world’s best. Fans at the Mineirao Stadium tried to rattle her by screaming “Ahhhh, Zika” when the keeper touched the ball.
The chants were the result of Solo first saying she was reluctant to go to Brazil because of Zika concerns. Then Solo incensed Brazilians on social media when posting a photo wearing mosquito netting and holding insect repellent. She wrote “Not sharing this!!! Get your own! #zikaproof.”
The two-time FIFA keeper of the year later apologized but it hasn’t carried much weight after the United States’ first two games.
“They can love me or hate me, I’m just going to continue doing the same things,” Solo said.
The Americans, who are trying to win their fourth consecutive Olympic title, face rival Colombia in the final group game Tuesday in Manaus, Brazil.