U.S. Wins 3-0 against Vietnam in the first World Cup match.Photo:Andrew Cornaga/AP Photo
Andrew Cornaga/AP Photo
The U.S. Women’s National Team achieved an early victory in the2023 Women’s World Cupafter winning their first match of the tournament against Vietnam on Saturday.
USWNTbeat Vietnam 3-0 in what was their opposing team’s debut at the Women’s World Cup, following the tournament’s kick-off in Auckland, New Zealand, this week.
Forward Sophia Smith scored the first goal for the U.S. team in the 14th minute, before increasing the US team’s lead during first-half stoppage time with a second goal. Smith, 22, was named U.S. Soccer’s Player of the Year and the National Women’s Soccer League MVP in 2022 and certainly made her presence known on the Auckland pitch this weekend.
US Soccer’s analysis of the matchnoted Vietnam’s strong defensive performance, but team captain and midfielder Lindsey Horan put a stop to any hopes the Vietnamese side may have had of a comeback when she scored a third goal in the 77th minute of the game after Smith passed back the ball following a strong tackle.
Horan’s goal brought the score up to 3-0 andearned her the accolade of fastest goal of the tournament so far, according to USSoccer.
Sophie Smith and Lindsey scored three goals for the U.S.Andrew Cornaga/AP Photo
Goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh put up an impressive defense against the U.S. team, including stopping a penalty that was awarded in the 44th minute of the match. Alex Morgan stepped up to take it, but failed to score, resulting in her second penalty miss for the U.S.
Among the 14 U.S. teammates playing were Trinity Rodman, daughter of former NBA star Denis Rodman, and youngest player, Alyssa Thompson, 18, in their World Cup debuts. Midfielder Rose Lavelle and veteranMegan Rapinoe, 38, who both previously had injuries before the tournament, came on as substitutes in the second half. Rapinoe’s appearance earned the player her 200th cap for the national team,per US Soccer.
USWNT’s victory against Vietnam comes after former head coachJill Ellis spoke to PEOPLE about the team’s winning potentialin the World Cup ahead of the tournament.
The team will next play Netherlands on July 27.Brad Smith/USSF/Getty
Brad Smith/USSF/Getty
“We’re deeper than most other countries,” Ellis, 56, told PEOPLE. “I think we could, at times, field two teams.”
Ellis, who coached the USWNT to its last two World Cup wins before stepping down in 2019, said she first grasped the team’s dynastic potential after the first of its back-to-back World Cup wins in 2015.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“It just opened my eyes to the fact that this platform we had with the women’s national team, it can be a source of lightning rod for it for inspiration for the next generation and we would get this bounce back,” Ellis says.
History is on the line with the back-to-back champs shooting for a third-straight title, something no national team — men’s or women’s — has ever done before. But the 2023 World Cup tournament is also a changing of the guard for the USWNT, especially after veteran striker Rapinoe announced this monthshe’s set to retirelater this year.
USWNT will now face the Netherlands in their next Women’s World Cup match on Thursday July 27.
source: people.com
