U.S. Opens Women’s World Cup Title Defense with Win Over Vietnam

Sophia Smith scored two goals as the two time defending champion United States opened its quest for a third straight Women’s World Cup championship with a 3-0 victory over Vietnam. The game was played in Auckland, New Zealand; that country is co hosting the World Cup with Australia.

Lindsay Horan scored the other U.S. goal, with an assist by Smith. Alex Morgan assisted on Smith’s first goal. This was the first matchup ever in international competition between these two country’s teams, and it’s the first appearance by Vietnam in the Women’s World Cup. Considering the mismatch on paper, Vietnam played well, although they could generate no scoring threats. Vietnam had zero shots of any kind, while the U.S. had 28 shots, seven on goal.

The United States and Vietnam are in Group E in the opening round, along with the Netherlands and Portugal. The U.S. next plays the Netherlands on July 26th. This will be a rematch of the 2019 Final, won by the U.S. 2-0. All the Group E games will be played in New Zealand. The top two in each group will advance to the knockout stage.