Alan Hinton, Prost Amerika’s video columnist, didn’t hold back in the latest iteration of Hinton Unleashed. In this week’s video, the 72-year-old English international lauded Carli Lloyd for her hat trick in the 5-2 win over Japan to lead the U.S. women to their third Women’s World Cup.
Hinton took aim at a Fox soccer pundit Kelly Smith for her lack of faith in the English women when they faced Germany for third place. He also thought England’s physicality against Japan in the semis played a role in their lackluster effort against the U.S.
The former English First Division player shared his opinions on Major League Soccer and their latest actions regarding core players and new allocation funds. Hinton went on to comment on Argentina’s loss to Chile in Copa America and the start of the Gold Cup competition.
Women’s World Cup
“She’s (Carli Lloyd) the complete player…a la Beckham, she scores from the halfway line.”
According to Hinton, Carli Lloyd’s three goals in 16 minutes proved she was a world-class soccer player, and praised veteran Abby Wambach for her professionalism despite a diminished role during the tournament.
“Kelly Smith (Fox soccer analyst) had the audacity to choose Germany to beat England. I’d like to bump into her and just say: ‘What are you doing? You’re an English lady.’
The English women’s performance drew high admiration from Hinton for their effort in the devastating loss to Japan and the subsequent victory over Germany. He could not understand how Smith failed to support the English side.
The former winger felt England gave Japan a tough and physical matchup, which hurt them in the finals against the USWNT.
Major League Soccer
“I’d like to get rid of the salary cap. I can see that happening in the next four-to-five years.”
MLS made announcements about the “core players” and a new allocation funding scheme. This drew the ire of Hinton, who feels the entire process was confusing and convoluted. He agreed with ESPN soccer analyst Taylor Twellman that MLS needed more transparency in the future.
Copa America
“It wasn’t Messi’s fault Chile beat Argentina.”
Chile defeated Argentina on its own turf to win the 2015 Copa America. Lionel Messi once again failed to win a trophy as an Argentinian international. Hinton didn’t blame the Barcelona forward and noted his dedication in the competition.
Gold Cup
On Dempsey’s thoughts: “You’ve taken the captaincy’s off me, and I’m going to show you.”
Hinton reviewed Clint Dempsey’s reaction to losing the captain armband to Michael Bradley. He saw the change as a motivating factor for the Seattle Sounders FC forward. Dempsey scored twice in the 2-1 win over Honduras.
As for the Gold Cup, he identified Honduras, Costa Rica and, possibly, Mexico as potential barriers to the USMNT winning the 2015 Gold Cup.
