You might have heard: the USWNT is trying to become the first team ever (men's or women's) to win three straight World Cups, no pressure or anything. Tonight, they opened their 2023 World Cup journey with a routine 3-0 victory over Vietnam in Auckland, New Zealand. American forward Sophia Smith had an incredible World Cup debut as she scored the first two goals for the USWNT then assisted on the final strike by midfielder and co-captain Lindsey Horan. The U.S. was far from perfect as they missed a penalty kick not to mention that they owned 66% possession for the game but only had three goals to show from it. Still, nobody got hurt and eight players made their World Cup debuts for the USWNT so the bottom line is that they will move on to bigger and better things soon enough.
In reality, this was a mismatch of epic proportions as evidenced by the final stats: the US outshot Vietnam 28-0 but only seven of those were on goal so you can see specifically where they will have to improve starting on Wednesday (9, Fox) when they face the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2019 Women's World Cup final. American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher gets credit for one of the most fraudulent shutouts in sports history. The winner of that is basically guaranteed to win Group E since the other team in it is Portugal who is playing in their first World Cup therefore you cannot expect them to upset the U.S. or the Netherlands (most likely). Vietnam and Portugal figure to be at the bottom of the group barring some crazy results.
Smith did not wait too long to open her World Cup account as she made it 1-0 in the 14th minute. It was a beautiful goal as Horan looped a pass to forward and fellow co-captain Alex Morgan who flicked it into the box where Smith outran her defender and unleashed a well struck low shot with her left foot. Vietnam did their best to waste time (not a bad tactic in soccer when you are that overwhelmed) in the first half and it seemed to pay off until forward Trinity Rodman (yes, she is Dennis' daughter) earned a penalty kick in the 44th minute. Morgan stepped up to take it (I think that whomever earns a penalty kick should almost always take it) but her shot was stopped by Vietnamese goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh. Luckily for the USWNT-like we saw in the 2022 men's World Cup-there was ample stoppage time. Smith scored her second goal seven minutes (!!) into stoppage time before the halftime whistle. Thanh punched the ball but it fell to Smith and while her shot was not a great one by any means, there were enough bodies to screen Thanh who had the ball go through her legs once again.
Teams have five substitutes to use in this World Cup and USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski made ample use of them in the second half. This morning, we were told that star midfielder Rose Lavelle and star forward Megan Rapinoe would both be on minute restrictions at least for this evening and that is exactly what happened as they both entered in the 63rd minute. Also notably, 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson-the No. 1 pick in the last NWSL Draft-made her first World Cup appearance in the 75th minute. Fittingly since they were the two best players in the match, Smith and Horan combined for the last goal. Smith took the ball away from a Vietnam defender along the end line and then she played it back to Horan who slammed it home from the top of the box. It was another awesome highlight provided by the two Colorado natives. Lavelle had a great chance to make it 4-0 a few moments later but her right-footed shot hit the crossbar and did not cross the goal line.
It will be interesting to see how the Netherlands fares against Portugal tomorrow morning (3:30 am ET, FS1) but as I said, expect a relatively easy Dutch victory. The U.S. will obviously get an extra day of rest ahead of their next showdown which should help them as well not that the Vietnam match was too taxing. It is doubtful that Smith will have this type of output against the Netherlands but I also believe that Morgan and Rodman should both play better as that super talented trio gets more used to each other on the field in a competitive environment. Outside of Horan, the American midfield looks like a possible weak spot (if they even have one) while the defense led by veterans Crystal Dunn and Julie Ertz should be solid. This is the biggest field ever (32 teams) for a Women's World Cup-eight more than in 2019-and there is more parity than ever but make no mistake, the USWNT is still the team to beat until that is proven otherwise.
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