Sophia Smith, in her World Cup debut, scored twice and dished out an assist, leading the USA to a perfect opener in the tournament (3-0) against Vietnam.
The USA took control of the game from the start and looked to find the quick goal, with Vietnam’s players bringing power and passion to the pitch, trying to limit their opponents. The pressure from Antonovski’s side paid off, with Morgan with a terrific back-heel to take out Smith and she opened the scoring in the 14th minute.
The match continued at the same pace, with the USA constantly threatening and being particularly dangerous, but also quite misguided. Until the 42nd minute when Rodman was brought down in the box and won the penalty, with Morgan taking the penalty but seeing Thane take it and keep the score as it stood.
Finally, shortly before the end of the first half, specifically in the 7th minute of stoppage time, Smith scored again with a diagonal shot to make it 2-0 and send her team to the locker room with a strong lead.
The USA entered the second 45 minutes accordingly, creating one phase after another and constantly threatening the opposing goal. Smith was the driving force, Rodman was also making finals and the Americans were playing some impressive soccer at times and sending their… message that they came to the courts of Australia and New Zealand to defend their title!
After wasting several phases, the USA finally found the back of the net for the third time with Smith providing the assist to Horan who made it 3-0 in the 77th minute. Lavelle had a goal shortly after, with the scoreline not changing until the final whistle.
Source: Sport Fm
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