Women’s World Cup: USA beats Vietnam 3-0, but cannot take advantage of many more chances
For more than an hour, the United States sailed high and spun wide. It skied them over the bar and curled them next to each post. Occasionally, the Vietnam goalkeeper hit one away.
However, three of the shots went into Vietnam’s net, and in the World Cup that’s all that matters. Sophia Smith, a 22-year-old striker playing in her first World Cup match, got the first two and secured the third for Lindsey Horan, an experienced midfielder who was entrusted with the captain’s armband just weeks ago.
But there could have been more, and the Americans knew that as well as anyone. Alex Morgan failed to convert a penalty kick in the first half. Rose Lavelle hit the crossbar late in the second half. Horan admitted that she “may have scored three or four more”.
“A World Cup is not always perfect or beautiful,” said Smith wisely, even though this is her first. “But I think we can certainly hide a few more chances.”
Those odds – the United States had 27 shots general – were perhaps the best proof of what could have happened in a day that will be remembered more for the goals that were almost scored than the goals that were scored.
Sharpness, efficiency, ruthlessness: these are discussions for tomorrow. On a chilly afternoon in Auckland, the main takeaway for the United States was that it had opened this World Cup just like the last: with a victory.
“Obviously we came here to win the game,” said US coach Vlatko Andonovski, “and we did.”
Like the United States, Vietnam was sure it could have ended much worse. At a pregame press conference in Eden Park on the eve of the match, a reporter from Vietnam took the microphone, introduced himself, and asked about a particular match from the 2019 World Cup.
“What do you expect from the Vietnam team tomorrow?” he asked Andonovski. “Are you going to crush us like four years ago against Thailand?”
It was, in fairness, a fair question. Every football fan, every player, every coach knows what happened in a similar spot between shark and whitefish: The United States hiked to a 13-0 victory against an overmatched Thailand team in a game that turned from respect to awe to backlash in 90 stunningly uncompetitive minutes. The fear was that the United States would face a replay against Vietnam, a team participating in its first World Cup.
Andonovski did not fall for the bait before the game. He spoke gracefully of respect, admitting, “They will fight and give us as hard a time as possible.” Vietnam coach Mai Duc Chung promised a fight, saying his team had come to fight, “not just to jog.”
But while Andonovski couldn’t say it, another 13-0 result would have been fine for him. In a group stage where goal difference can be of great importance, the more goals, the better.
So as chance after chance was lost, he decided to focus on the positives: a rebuilt defense anchored by Julie Ertz, reinstalled at centre-back; strong debut performances from Smith, Trinity Rodman, Andi Sullivan and Savannah DeMelo; late minutes for Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe who confirmed their injuries may be behind them. The chances, Andonovski suggested, gave him confidence that the goals would eventually come.
“I wouldn’t say I expected more goals,” he said. “But with the way we played and the chances we created, I definitely wanted to see more goals. And I thought we deserved to score more goals.”
Maybe those goals are coming. Perhaps they will arrive in matches against the Netherlands and Portugal, the Americans’ next two opponents in Group E. Perhaps Smith, who already looks like a contender to be the tournament’s breakaway star, will be even sharper next time.
And maybe the United States will look back on a victory that could have been bigger and be happy that it was just big enough for one day.