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Reigning Champions Vanquish Vietnam
by Jeremy Ruane
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Reigning FIFA Women's World Cup holders the USA started their quest for a "three-peat" on a winning but unconvincing note at Eden Park on July 22, easily seeing off the challenge of tournament debutants Vietnam 3-0 before a 41,107-strong crowd at New Zealand's national stadium.
This was one-way traffic from the get-go, to use an American phrase, with Alex Morgan seeing her shot on the turn blocked in the third minute, Trinity Rodman having already endured an early injury scare.
Julie Ertz went close with a glancing header from an Andi Sullivan free-kick soon after, while US captain Lindsey Horan was thwarted by the legs of Vietnamese goalkeeper Kim Tran in the sixth minute as the title-holders sought an early goal to calm any nerves.
The "Golden Star Warriors" provided plenty of stubborn resistance throughout proceedings, but Team USA finally found a way through their defences in the fourteenth minute. Naomi Girma's superb lay-off to Horan resulted in a first-time through ball which Morgan met with a sublime touch, a round-the corner pass which played Sophia Smith through the inside left channel. Her angled drive fizzed between the legs of Tran - a marvellous opening goal.
Within a minute, Rodman was driving to the by-line and looking to set up Morgan for the second goal. Tran cut out the cross, then smothered a shot from Savannah Demelo after Rodman had raided down the right again in the nineteenth minute.
Sixty seconds later, Ertz sent Rodman racing down the flank again, the speedster doing brilliantly to both keep the ball in play and present Demelo with another shooting chance, her effort this time blocked by Thu Luong.
After an indifferent period of play, the USA cranked up the tempo once more, Horan then Rodman combining with Demelo to set up opportunities for Morgan, who fired a volley on the turn past the post before Tran saved at her feet in the 29th minute.
Two minutes later, Vietnam's number one was in action again, this time punching Emily Fox's angled cross off the head of Ertz. The ball dropped perfectly for Horan to hammer a volley goalwards, the ball flying past the far post.
Crystal Dunn and Morgan then teamed up for the benefit of Smith, who comes to these shores with big wraps and is widely regarded as being Morgan's heiress apparent as the next superstar of the US game. Not with shots like this one, however - an awful skied effort from twelve yards which you won't find on her highlights reel!
Ertz went desperately close with a diving header attempt on receipt of Sullivan's 34th minute corner, while after another lull in play, a lengthy review by the Video Assistant Referee deemed that Thuy Nguyen had taken out Rodman's trailing leg near the by-line.
'Twas a very harsh penalty call, and there was a sense of justice having been served when Tran saved Morgan's poorly taken spot-kick, the striker then failing to capitalise on the chance to turn home the rebound - proof that even legends have off-days. (There's hope for the rest of us!)
The Americans were determined to double their advantage before the half-time break, but Tran, buoyed by her penalty save, had her own ideas on that score, turning a Smith cross round the post after Demelo, Horan and Dunn had combined to release the striker.
Sullivan's resulting corner picked out Horan, whose wayward shot was diverted goalwards by Morgan's deft back-heel. Tran and company combined to prevent this attempt from making much headway, while the offside flag came to their rescue when Smith put the ball in the net with the last kick of the half.
VAR had its tuppence ha'penny worth to say on the
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incident, however, and it deemed that Morgan was onside when Girma played the ball towards her. Tran had punched the ball out to Smith in the immediate aftermath, and she fired home first time through the legs of the recovering goalkeeper to bring about the 2-0 halftime scoreline.
The world champions looked to build on that advantage early in the second spell. Morgan flicked on Ertz's ball forward for the benefit of Smith, who volleyed wide under pressure from the approaching figure of Tran, who was having a fine game twixt the sticks for Vietnam.
Ertz then sent a flying header narrowly wide on receipt of a Sullivan free-kick, while a lovely USA move in the 49th minute saw Dunn and Rodman combine on the right, the latter delivering a delightful cross for Horan, arriving late, to exploit. Her first-time cushioned volley flew narrowly past Tran's left-hand post - it deserved better fate.
Tran then saved from Morgan - a header, before plucking the ball off the striker's head as she looked to head home a Dunn freee-kick in the 54th minute, the cue for another brief lull in play until Tran pawed a Rodman cross off Horan's head twelve minutes later.
US substitute Megan Rapinoe was lurking in behind, and deftly lobbed the ball across for Dunn, who skipped past an opponent before applying a defender's finish from eight yards - 2-0 the score remained.
Twenty minutes from time, Horan and another substitute, Rose Lavelle, teamed up, the latter beating two opponents down the right before picking out the unmarked figure of Rapinoe, who sent her shot sailing over the bar. Her self-disgust contrasted starkly with the cheeky grin Horan was sporting - she was all of us in that moment.
Vietnamese attacks in this match were as rare as hen's teeth, the two they mounted culminating in crosses which Alyssa Naeher grabbed greedily. Thao Thai fired the first of them in the 73rd minute, while Bich Nguyen skipped past two opponents before chancing her arm deep in stoppage time.
By which time the USA had wrapped up the scoring, Ertz's ball over the top thirteen minutes from time seeing Smith surge between two defenders to the by-line before pulling the ball back. Horan was the recipient of her team-mate's industry, and did it justice with an unerring finish from twelve yards - 3-0.
The hunt for a fourth goal was led by Rapinoe, who saw her thirty yard free-kick fly past Tran's right-hand post in the 79th minute, before her audacious forty yarder flew narrowly past the far post three minutes later.
Soon afterwards, Horan and Smith combined to play in Lavelle, whose angled drive crashed down off the underside of the crossbar and back into play. And the same player went close in stoppage time, Horan's beautifully flighted cross to the far post finding Lavelle in full flight, but she couldn't guide her header on target.
The USA's chance conversion rate in this match meant they were far from being at their fluent best in their first game of the FIFA Women's World Cup Finals, but there was enough quality on show to suggest that they'll still be in the conversation at the business end of the competition in a month's time.
For Vietnam, just being here is an achievement, and in goalkeeper Tran, they've got a star in waiting - she had a great game, and fully deserves the accolades which were afforded her post-match.
USA: Naeher; Fox (Huerta, 84), Ertz, Girma, Dunn (Ohara, 84); Demelo (Lavelle, 61), Sullivan, Horan (booked, 56); Rodman (Thompson, 75), Morgan (Rapinoe, 61), Smith
Vietnam: K. Tran; Thao Tran, Luong (Chuong, 61), Le, Thu Tran, Hoang; H. Tran (Duong, 89), B. Nguyen (M. Nguyen, 61), Thai, T. Nguyen (Ngan, 46); Huynh (booked, 75 (Pham, 75))
Referee: Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)
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