The United States opened its 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup campaign Friday (on FOX and the FOX Sports app) against first-timer Vietnam with a commanding 3-0 victory in the highly anticipated Group E match at Eden Park in New Zealand.
The USWNT, which is eyeing an unprecedented three-peat this year, is now 21-3-1 all-time in the group stage at the World Cup with Friday's win. Though it wasn't as glamorous as expected, the USWNT got it done. Budding star Sophia Smith netted two goals and an assist to pace the U.S. attack, and midfielder Lindsey Horan capped the evening with a second-half strike that put the game out of reach in the 77th minute.
But a gritty Vietnamese team made the Americans work for it. The youngest U.S. starting lineup for a World Cup match since 1995 struggled to find a rhythm against the physicality and low-block defending of Vietnam, whose goalkeeper, Trần Thị Kim Thanh, was one of the best players on the pitch.
The final tally of 28 shots for the Americans to zero for the Vietnamese offered a better indication of how this game unfolded: with a barrage of attempts and possession from the favorites and nary a threat from Vietnam. Manager Vlatko Andonovski's side controlled 65.9% of possession in a game that was far more secure than the final score indicated.
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