AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The United States Women’s National Team 2023 World Cup opener has been lopsided. It was one-sided and definitely. It was, in a way, everything everyone was expecting when the back-to-back champions met Vietnam, an outclassed World Cup debutant.
But it was only 3-0.
It was sleepy and a bit sloppy.
It was a far cry from the bloodbath many feared it would become, because the United States never quite got out of second gear and because Vietnam was ready to fight.
It was played almost entirely in half the court, with USA almost exclusively in possession. USA goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher barely touched the ball. And the end result became a foregone conclusion when Alex Morgan played a delightful flick and Sophia Smith scored the game’s opening goal.
Smith added a scruffy second goal shortly before half-time – once an extremely lengthy VAR review concluded Morgan had not been offside in the build-up.
Lindsey Horan scored a third goal with less than 15 minutes remaining.
But Vietnam, sitting in a super low bloc, otherwise kept the United States at bay – and that, precisely, had been their goal.
The Vietnamese never really had a chance to win the game – and they knew it. They arrived swearing to fight, to play with “spirit” and pride, “to do our best”. But to earn? Vietnamese media scoffed at the thought on Friday and head coach Mai Duc Chung smiled.
“I mean, if we can win, that’s wonderful, we don’t turn that down,” he said.
But he and his players were realistic. The USWNT was a -50,000 favorite, with an implied probability of victory of 99.8%. Its world champion players earn 15 times more each for a single World Cup qualifying win than Vietnam’s only overseas-based star, Huynh Nhu, earns per month in Portugal’s second division. Their last World Cup match against a similar caliber Southeast Asian side Thailand in 2019 ended 13-0. That’s why a Vietnamese journalist asked US head coach Vlatko Andonovski on Friday: “Are you going to crush us like Thailand did four years ago?”
That seemed to be the relevant question. Mai, the Vietnam coach, basically admitted that his team’s priority is damage control.
“We will have very suitable tactics to minimize goals conceded and minimize injuries,” he said through an interpreter on Friday. “And if we can score a goal, that would be great!”
They did not achieve this goal, but largely accomplished their mission. Their outnumbered but exuberant fans greeted every interception, every clearance, every forward foray attempt with cheers. They made more noise than the American fans, because, compared to expectations, they had more reason to be enthusiastic.
In fact, with their courage and physicality, the Vietnamese players frustrated the United States, and it was the Americans who apparently survived a few injuries. Trinity Rodman fell in the first minute. The stretcher came for her and later for Morgan, although the two remained in the match.
Morgan, Smith and several other American forwards missed opportunities. Rose Lavelle, returning from a months-long injury layoff, hit the crossbar. For now, and in the days to come, these failures will be afterthoughts.
But the goal differential could eventually prove decisive in a difficult group. In this sense, the result was slightly disappointing.
And next is a tougher test on Thursday against the Netherlands in Wellington (Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET, Fox), in a game that could yield a Group E winner.