Lindsey Horan has been one of the United States national team‘s pillars in the last few years, as well as being one of Portland Thorns’ most reliable and valuable players in the last four NWSL seasons, with plenty of goals and assists in her career so far.
Most of her goals were scored for her national team, the Portland Thorns, and with a lesser degree for Paris Saint-Germain Féminines, as she had a four-year experience at the French capital during which she scored 46 goals and was an important squad player.
Her experience in Europe at an early age helped her become a more mature player as she had the opportunity to play against teams like Lyon in Division 1 Féminine and UEFA Women’s Champions League, even though she didn’t face teams like Barcelona Femení, Bayern Munich Frauen or Chelsea Women at that time.
In this Lindsey Horan scout report, we will explore the main traits of Lindsey Horan’s style of play while focusing on her attacking contribution with the Portland Thorns and the USWNT.
Moreover, ahead of the Olympic games participation, it would be beneficial to study how Horan is a fundamental and very impactful player for her national team’s tactics from different perspectives.
Lindsey Horan Roles And Positions
Horan is naturally a central midfielder who combines between attacking and defensive roles since she has the physicality needed for defensive duels and the skills for helping in playmaking and being efficient in the build-up.
However, what distinguishes the 27-year-old from other midfielders is her excellent attacking abilities and finishing skills, which enable her to add value to any team she plays for.
Lindsey Horan Heat Map
As you can see in this heat map, Lindsey Horan covers almost the whole pitch as she is a dynamic player who retreats to defend when necessary and moves a lot without the ball upfront.
Moreover, she advances a lot to the final third, and we also find her quite often inside the box, either waiting for a pass or penetrating with the ball by herself.
And both in the USWNT and Portland Thorns, she is used as a left midfielder, yet she is given the liberty to advance more than the other midfielders, given her attacking efficiency.
Lindsey Horan Playmaking
Horan’s playmaking skills are excellent, and this has been consistently proven by the 27-year-old midfielder, whether in international matches or the NWSL.
Her passes are often accurate, but they also create a lot of danger, as we are not talking about just simple passes.
Horan often gives passes that allow her teammates to shoot by drawing defenders with her dribbling and penetrations, before serving an unmarked teammate.
This pattern has usually been fruitful for Lindsey Horan and the teams she played for, as it created a significant number of goals.
As you can see below, the American here intended to attract her marker to dribble past her and allow her teammate to be unmarked inside the box before passing to her and creating a goalscoring chance.
In addition, it is quite remarkable that Horan often leans to the wings to find more space to dribble and create opportunities by running down the wing, even though this is not her natural position.
Nevertheless, she is also very good at that, and she does not find problems crossing and giving assists from either wing, as she has made several assists from the right wing in her career as well.
Horan provided numerous assists from this side of the pitch as well, and it is clear that she never passes without thoroughly considering the potential outcome of her pass and whether her teammate would have the time and space to handle it effectively.
This might sound very natural, but it is, at the same time, extremely important at this level, since not all players think about their actions thoroughly before executing them, especially when it comes to passing.
Yet, the ones who think and observe the situations meticulously before passing are the players who are efficient in this regard and in terms of chance creation rates.
Overall, Lindsey Horan’s passing accuracy is 80.8%, a rate that could be improved, but it also does not give her enough credit for the excellent key passes she provides consistently.
These passes constitute a large part of Horan’s attacking value, efficiency and impact at the teams she played at.
Lindsey Horan Goalscoring
Another fundamental aspect of Horan’s attacking impact can be found in her goalscoring abilities and contribution.
In fact, the 27-year-old has always been involved in her teams’ attacking actions, whether by passing or shooting.
However, the ability to remain clinical in front of the goal allowed her to be an even more effective player compared to other good midfielders.
The American midfielder shoots a lot on target whenever she gets the opportunity to do so, as she knows how and where to direct her shots to confuse goalkeepers by using the adequate amount of power as well.
And perhaps the most recent Lindsey Horan goal highlights exactly these shooting abilities, as she was able to shoot the ball before it hit the ground, while coordinating her body perfectly to give the ball the necessary amount of power to surprise the goalkeeper and not give her enough time to react.
Moreover, what made this goal even more beautiful is Horan’s movement behind the defensive line as if she were a striker, while Christen Press was the one who gave the assist.
In addition to being able to act like a striker to surprise defenders with her penetrations in attack, Horan is also a skilled set-piece taker who knows how to exploit free kicks near the box.
This is not only helpful for the Portland Thorns in terms of exploiting set pieces, but it also benefits the USWNT, as Horan can be the best set-piece taker in the upcoming Olympics, alongside Christen Press and Tobin Heath.
Therefore, we could see her scoring one or two free kicks soon if she executes them like she did in this game against OL Reign.
Once again, mixing between the characteristics of a number 10 player and those of a striker make of Horan a really special player.
By being typically clinical in offensive aerial duels, especially during set pieces, she provided yet another compelling reason to prove that she is one of the best American midfielders at the moment.
In fact, having a clear sense of the goal and coordinating her body quickly in response to the ball movement, even when she was a bit disturbed, allowed the 27-year-old to score numerous goals with headers and volleys.
You can see in this example how she quickly decided to execute a diving header to score a beautiful goal from long distance, which showcases Lindsey Horan’s creativity and adaptability, even in the way she scores goals.
Another key element in regard to goalscoring is Horan’s ability to score with her left foot with almost the same accuracy as her strong foot.
In the following goal we see how she was able to deal extremely well with the defenders surrounding her by dribbling and shooting between two defenders as soon as she saw the goal angle.
In reality, the American international advances a lot more when she plays with the USWNT, as she is given more freedom to move inside the box, which is why we see her more often inside the box with her national team.
Moreover, the chemistry with Press, Heath, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd allows her to get more key passes and exploit them very well.
Conclusion
Lindsey Horan will certainly play a huge role with the USWNT in the upcoming Olympics
The 27-year-old will also be crucial for the Portland Thorns as soon as she returns to the team.
She is one of the most exceptional midfield players at the moment, as she excels in both playmaking and goal-scoring with nearly the same high efficiency.
