The United States women’s national team opened its pursuit for a record fifth Women’s World Cup title with a 3-0 win over Vietnam on Friday.
Sophia Smith notched two goals in the first half to become the second-youngest USWNT player to score multiple goals in a game, then Lindsay Horan chipped in one more goal in the second half to all but end it. The U.S. dominated in time of possession and shots on goal, but some physical defense by Vietnam kept the score much closer than it should have been.
The Americans were overwhelming favorites against Vietnam, which is ranked as the No. 32 team in the world by FIFA. The match was basically a tune-up for the USWNT, which will face stiffer competition in its other group matches against the Netherlands, ranked ninth, and Portugal, ranked 21st. That was reflected with the starting lineup decisions, with Julie Ertz getting a surprise start at center back, where the U.S. is still trying to figure out its options.
The U.S. is a mortal lock to get out of group play, so the real drama will instead be the decisions made with a roster that was hit hard by injuries in the months leading up to the World Cup.
USWNT is talented, and injured
Few, if any, teams have the depth of the U.S., but even that team is going to feel the losses of Mallory Swanson, Catarina Macario and Becky Sauerbrunn, with Sam Mewis and Christen Press also still out with serious injuries.
Swanson had been the USWNT’s leading goal scorer, but tore her patellar tendon in a friendly against Ireland in April. Macario looked like a potential successor to Alex Morgan as striker, but is still recovering from ACL surgery. Sauerbrunn is the team’s captain and an important defensive presence, but is out with a foot injury.
To replace those three players, the USWNT is going to get younger. Swanson’s absence will open up a winger spot opposite Smith that could be filled by the 21-year-old Trinity Rodman or 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson, with veteran Lynn Williams also a factor. With Sauerbrunn out, the U.S. will likely feature the 23-year-old Naomi Girma and 26-year-old Alana Cook at center back, though it’s also trying out Julie Ertz there Friday..
The U.S. will still have its veterans — Morgan isn’t going anywhere barring injury this tournament — but we could very well see the first major playing time for some of the team’s stars of the future. With the match against Vietnam likely to get out of hand, the U.S. figures to have some garbage time to experiment.
