LOS ANGELES : Women's World Cup debutant Sophia Smith has no problem getting hyped up for a game - just do not expect her to recognize the music her Millennial team mates are playing in the locker room.
"They'll talk about the technology they had, like the CD," said Smith, who has never used a CD player and was once subject to good-natured ribbing for failing to identify the music of '90s rapper Tupac. Building chemistry on a World Cup squad is no easy feat, as players who once regarded one another as club foes must bond as team mates in a span of a few weeks, forming a cohesive unit.
Thompson and 21-year-old forward Trinity Rodman count retired great Carli Lloyd's goal from half-field the 2015 World Cup final as a pivotal memory from their childhood."I'm still cool and hip. You know, I try to tell my teammates that," said 30-year-old veteran defender Crystal Dunn, who plans to take her son, Marcel, on the road when she competes at the tournament.