Abby Wambach Has Admitted Working With Hope Solo Was "Difficult"

The U.S. women's soccer team has made headlines for years, not only for its players' phenomenal skills, but also for its members' continued fight for fair wages.

Unfortunately, many of the team's members have been caught up in various controversies over the years, and the teammates haven't always gotten along.

Hope Solo and Abby Wambach are both known as some of the most formidable former members of the U.S women's soccer team, but despite making up two key players on the field, the pair had a longstanding feud and seemed to rarely get along. But their ongoing fights aren't simply explained -- let's break down what we can of their continued disagreements.

Throughout their years playing together, both Abby and Hope have been integral members of the U.S. women's soccer team, but that doesn't necessarily mean they've gotten along. The pair didn't always see eye to eye on the field, disagreeing often, but it's clear the women shared a mutual respect for the other's athletic talent.

Hope was ousted from the U.S. women's soccer team in 2016 following her controversial comments about the Swedish team, which defeated the U.S. in the quarterfinals for the Rio Olympics. She called the Sweden team "a bunch of cowards" following their defensive plays. Not long after this game, she was suspended from the team for six months before ultimately being terminated. From there, her relationship with her U.S. soccer teammates continued to crumble.

During an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Abby made it clear she had "big problems" with Hope's comments on the Swedish team.

"You never call another team cowards after you’ve just been beaten," she said, per Fox Sports. "The rules in the game are the rules in the game and you don’t want to be a sore loser -- not when you’re the best team in the world. To me, that looks weak."

Though Abby swerved a question about whether or not she liked having Hope as a teammate, she followed up her chastising comments with respect for the goalkeeper.

"I think that I respected her ability on the field," Abby continued. "Hope and I clashed a lot... We found a way to manage and work with each other because, throughout the time that I played, there was no better goalkeeper. And that’s something Hope will always have, in my mind."

"But was she difficult to work with at times? Hell yeah," Abby conceded. "Was I? Probably. Because we’re these big personalities."

Abby ultimately turned down an opportunity to be interviewed for Hope's part in the Untold docuseries on Netflix, detailing Hope's subsequent legal battle after she was let go from the soccer team over claims it was about her stance on fair wages for the women's team.