Lindsey Horan’s greatest strength has always been focusing on what she can control.

Whether it was the up to four-a-day training sessions with boys teams she did on her own accord growing up in Golden, or workouts with the Colorado Rapids 2 team leading up to her second World Cup, specifically to train on natural grass, Horan has always been exacting in her methods.

Now, the dedication to the craft has paid off with the pinnacle of her playing career: Captain of the United States Women’s National Team at the World Cup. It’s been a long road to get here for Horan, with the latest chapter about to begin as the U.S. looks for its third straight World Cup title starting at 1 p.m. Saturday (7 p.m. Friday in Denver on KDVR-31) against Vietnam at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.

“I want to make sure I’m that player for that team and I’m a role model and can be a go-to (player) whenever it’s needed,” Horan told The Post in an interview in April.

The 29-year-old midfielder will become the second Coloradan to lead a U.S. Women’s National Team onto the pitch as World Cup captain, following in the footsteps of April Heinrichs in 1991.

Horan first wore the armband in October 2021, when she made the 100th appearance of her national team career. But her desire to step up as a leader took root during the 2019 World Cup — her first. In that tournament, she played in six games, starting four, but didn’t play in the clinching 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the final.

It was an experience that, while valuable, also motivated Horan to work even harder so that she’d be considered indispensable four years later.

“For me that was a really hard point because obviously, I did everything for the team and I played my role,” Horan said of not appearing in the final.

“…. I said to myself I never want this to happen again; I don’t want to be in that position.”

“All those things and more”

If there’s someone who can relate to what Horan is experiencing in the build-up to captaining the U.S. at a World Cup, it’s Heinrichs.

The Littleton native led the first U.S. World Cup squad in China at the inaugural tournament in 1991 — one the Americans won with a 2-1 victory over Norway. The USWNT has won three more since, including each of the last two, while going through multiple generations of soccer talent.

Heinrichs described the captains who’ve come after her as having two traits to lead the team at a tournament like a World Cup: “Being high-quality human beings, and a consistency for (big) performances at the highest levels.”

“You have an opportunity to lead one of the greatest women’s sporting teams in the world, you want more of that (success),” Heinrichs said. “What it does is that it keeps you ambitious and it also keeps you honest. Our senior women you lead by example, you lead by the front and you lead by all of your actions. You have no control of whether people follow. But you want to stay true to those core values.”

Heinrichs saw Horan on her rise up the U.S. Soccer ladder. After her playing career she coached the U.S. U-18s in 2011 when Horan was first making a name for herself as an elite prospect. Needless to say, she left an impression.

“What I saw in Lindsey 12 years ago was an uber-committed player to the game,” said Heinrichs, who is now a technical advisor for FIFA and spoke to The Post from New Zealand. “… When you see a kid from Colorado who has a professionalism and a commitment of that standard, the only thing left is: Do they have enough talent and do they have a work ethic, the grit and perseverance. Plus, is she coachable?

“She’s all of those things and more.”

“One more”

Long before this tournament, Horan saw what was coming: Even more players as hungry as she was to make it to the top.

Feeling she had to be ready to match the influx of up-and-coming talent in the U.S., Horan started ramping up for the next World Cup just a year after winning her first.

“Lindsey always wants to do one more,” said Horan’s personal trainer, Billy LaGreca, who played with Horan with the Colorado Rush in 2012 and was the head of strength and conditioning for the club. “Whether it’s one more rep, one more set, lap around the track. Whatever we’re doing I have to gauge ahead of time if I have four sets written down, we’re probably going to do five. That’s just her mindset.”

At 18, Horan made the unprecedented decision to skip college and play overseas at Paris Saint-Germain — becoming the first American woman to do so. While it was difficult, she broke down the door.

In the years since, teenagers in the NWSL have since proven they can hang with the elite, after Olivia Moultrie successfully sued the league to curb a rule prohibiting players from joining the NWSL until they were 18. It helped pave the way for Horan’s 18-year-old U.S. teammate, Alyssa Thompson.

After returning to the States and playing six seasons with the Thorns, Horan decided to head overseas once more, transferring to Olympique Lyonnais in France. She joined on loan 18 months ago and never looked back, playing a key role for one of the most prestigious clubs in women’s soccer and winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League in 2022.

“For her, the ability to train every day with the best players in the world matters,” said Rapids 2 head coach Erik Bushey, who was Horan’s coach at Colorado Rush. “She is more concerned with the daily environment than I think a lot of players are.”

Horan says it has translated into her national team play.

“Every time I go into the national team now I’m very confident,” she said. “I’m playing with some of the best players (at Lyon) in the world, internationally and then I get to train with them every single day. I have a challenge every single day.”

“Really powerful”

For all the work Horan has put into getting her body, mind and spirit right ahead of the World Cup, Heinrichs said that no amount of preparation can prepare a player for the first walk-out as captain.

While Horan is technically a co-captain with Alex Morgan, U.S. Soccer confirmed that when both players are on the field, it will be the Golden native wearing the armband.

Heinrichs has one message, from one captain to another: “Embrace the experience.”

Just because she’ll be wearing the armband doesn’t mean there needs to be added pressure, she said. Heinrichs believes there will also be a lot of joy in the month ahead.

“I think you become hardened by pressure, you become better under the pressure by the time you put the captain’s armband on. But it is an immense sense of pride to walk out for the U.S. Women’s National Team, and only one person is wearing the captain’s armband,” Heinrichs said.

“If you can imagine, you’re just injecting even more of a sense of pride. It’s really powerful. It’s emotional as well. I know Lindsey is an emotional person. She’ll walk out on the edge of tears in her eyes but also she’s a professional. She’ll channel those emotions in the right way and will use it to her advantage.”

U.S. World Cup captains

1991: April Heinrichs

1995 and ’99: Carla Overbeck

2003: Julie Foudy

2007: Kristine Lilly

2011 and ’15: Christie Rampone

2019: Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan

2023: Lindsey Horan and Morgan

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