CNN
—
The US Women’s National Team (USWNT) kicked off their Women’s World Cup campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win over Vietnam.
A brace from US soccer’s newest superstar Sophia Smith and a late goal from Lindsey Horan was enough to give the defending champions a dream start to the start of a historic World Cup campaign.
The USWNT is chasing a third consecutive World Cup and could not have asked for a better start, dominating proceedings from the start before Smith opened the scoring just 14 minutes into her World Cup debut.
Horan found Alex Morgan with a pass in Vietnam’s midfield before Morgan’s clever flick put Smith in, and the 22-year-old’s free-footed finish found the back of the net with ease.
Andrew Cornaga/AP
Sophia Smith was the standout player in the USWNT’s victory.
In the midst of the US’s early dominance, there was a brief highlight for the underdog.
After a VAR review, the USWNT was awarded a penalty following a foul on Trinity Rodman. Morgan stepped up, but the Vietnamese goalkeeper Trần Thị Kim Thanh made a brilliant save to deny the striker, sparking jubilant celebrations from the Vietnamese side.
In the first-half stoppage time, Smith scored again to double the USWNT’s advantage. The Portland Thorns forward squeezed the ball into the net – albeit with a worse effort than his opener.
With chances coming and going for the USWNT, it took a lot of work from Smith to extend the lead. The standout performer held the ball over the top of the Vietnamese defense before squaring the pass to Horan who just flicked the ball into the open net.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
Lindsey Horan made it 3-0 after an assist by Smith.
“It’s very exciting. Every minute of that game was fun, and the crowd was amazing, and I think it’s a great place to start this tournament, but I know we’ve got a long way to go,” Smith told reporters postgame.
“Let’s celebrate it for a second but put our focus on the next game,” the player of the match concluded.
For head coach Vlatko Andonovski, the USWNT played better than the score line suggested.
“I wouldn’t say I expected more goals but the way we played and the opportunities we created certainly I would like to see more goals and I think we deserve to score more goals,” he said.
