We’ve got one match in the books for all the teams at the Women’s World Cup, and you know what that means. Tt’s time for me to assess where everybody is, so let’s start.
Should we be concerned about USA?
Not yet. Their 3-0 win over Vietnam could have easily been twice as lopsided if the forwards had shot better, but Sophia Smith is having no trouble finding the net. Also, the Golden Star Women Warriors (Những Nữ Chiến Binh Sao Vàng) did not panic when you could have forgiven them for doing so, with goalkeeper Trần Thị Kim Thanh stopping a number of shots, including Alex Morgan’s poorly taken penalty. All in all, the Vietnamese acquitted themselves far better than Thailand did four years ago. Netherlands and Portugal are going to have trouble breaking this team down.
What can we expect from USA going forward?
Coach Vlatko Andonovski seems determined to run out different lineups for each game, either to see which is his best one or to make it harder for opposing teams to scout Team USA. The risk there is that players may not be sure of their roles or get out of rhythm. For the Vietnam game, he moved Julie Ertz back into central defense, with Andi Sullivan in the holding midfield role. It’s hard to render a verdict on the defense given how much trouble the Vietnamese had getting the ball up the pitch. The forward line was Morgan flanked by Smith on the left and Trinity Rodman on the right. (Here’s where I’m obligated to mention that Rodman is the daughter of NBA great Dennis Rodman.) Rodman did draw the penalty that Morgan missed, but Smith was the only one who truly looked sharp.
How do the other contenders look?
England and the Netherlands both stuttered to 1-0 victories over Haiti and Portugal, respectively. Sweden looked particularly ropey in a 2-1 comeback win over South Africa. Still, those favorites took care of business, unlike the French. Their goalless draw with Jamaica was something to avert your eyes from if you’re a France fan. Rebecca Spencer made some good saves in Da Reggae Girlz’ net, but mostly Les Bleues missed a boatload of chances. Oh, and Norway made the host nation happy with a 1-0 loss to New Zealand, giving the Football Ferns their first-ever World Cup win in front of an ecstatic crowd. A team with Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen should not be this dull, and now Hansen is mad over being benched for Norway’s goalless draw with Switzerland. ALl
Jeez, did anybody start the tournament off well?
Of course! Germany, Japan, and Brazil all feasted off World Cup debutantes, putting up six, five, and four goals against Morocco, Zambia, and Panama respectively. Zambia held Japan to just one goal in the first half, and Panama did enjoy a few flashes of quality, but the Moroccans looked completely outclassed, and that was before the team captain endured a left-field question about gay people in her country. (Not the person to ask, unless the reporter knows something about the player’s sexuality that we don’t. Then it’s probably worse.) Here’s a measure of expectations: Spain beat Costa Rica 3-0 and everyone is talking about La Roja being a dark horse to win the tournament, while USA won by the same score and everyone is talking about what’s wrong with them.
What else?
Italy beat Argentina 1-0 in the sort of game you’d expect from those two countries: moments of great skill and flair amid enough rough stuff for a rugby match. As many yellow cards as referee Melissa Borjas handed out (six), she could have easily shown twice as many. Both teams can take encouragement from their playmakers, with Estefania Banini torching the Italians down the left side and Le Azzurre’s super-teens Chiara Beccari and Giulia Dragoni dribbling around Argentina’s defense when they weren’t being hacked down. Dragoni is only 16 and didn’t look the least bit awed by the occasion.
How many Americans are playing in this tournament for countries other than USA?
53! That’s enough for two whole other teams and some players left over. Fully 18 of the Philippines’ 23 players are from our shores, and Santa Clara’s Sarina Bolden scored the goal in their upset win over the hosts New Zealand. Almost half the Haitian team comes from America, too. Meanwhile, New Jersey resident Casey Phair became the youngest player ever to debut at the Women’s World Cup, aged 16 years and 26 days when she went in as a sub for South Korea’s bad-looking loss to Colombia.
How are the goalkeepers performing?
Besides Kim Thanh’s penalty save, Daniela Solera of Costa Rica stopped a Jenni Hermoso penalty against Spain that could have made Costa Rica’s loss even worse. Of more import, the great Christine Sinclair had a chance to score the only goal for Canada against Nigeria only to see Chiamaka Nnadozie turn away her shot. In contrast to these great plays, Yoon Young-geul of South Korea made an early bid for goalkeeping blunder of the tournament by letting Linda Caicedo’s shot slip right through her hands.
What’s up next for USA?
A rematch of 2019’s World Cup final against the Netherlands. De Oranje will be starting someone new in goal (likely Daphne van Domselaar), but otherwise look as strong as they did four years ago. For USA, Rose Lavelle may start in midfield after seeing only limited action in the opening game. We’ll see what lineup our side runs out there.
