The United States team lived up to favoritism and beat Vietnam by 3-0 on the night of this Friday (21), at the Eden Park stadium, in Auckland, New Zealand, for the Women’s World Cup.
The goals were scored by Sophia Smith (twice) and Lindsey Horan. Alex Morgan even had a penalty saved by the goalkeeper of Vietnam, who was one of the great characters of the match.
Despite the defeat, Vietnam, which debuted in the competition, had a decent game and still had strong support from the fans present in Auckland.
With the result, the four-time world champions (and current champions) temporarily assume the leadership of Group E, while Vietnam goes to the bottom. There will still be a match between Portugal and the Netherlands, the other teams in the bracket.
The next game for the USA will take place on Wednesday (26), at 22:00 (Brasília time), against the Netherlands. The Vietnamese face Portugal on Thursday (27), at 4:30 am.
How was the game
Attack against defense and well-defined strategies. Vietnam came in to defend against the offensive force of the USA, but the North American chances arose naturally, until Sophia Smith opened the scoring in the 14th minute of the first half and took a weight off the back of the team.
Goalkeeper Kim Thahn made history, saved Morgan’s penalty, but then missed. The archer had been consecrating herself in the match, especially after the great defense, but a few minutes later she conceded the second goal of the USA in two failures in a row. However, the missed penalty was worth the day for the Vietnamese, who were thrilled with the move.
Vietnam players celebrate Tran Thi Kim Thanh’s save from Alex Morgan’s penalty from the USA at the Women’s Cup Image: Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Total American dominance in the confrontation. Vietnam barely made it past midfield and ended the game with just one shot on target for the USA.
Rapinoe played in her 200th game for the USA. The American striker came on in the second half and achieved a notable milestone in the colors of the national team.
Goals and key shots
USA opens the scoring after persistence. After creating a lot of game volume, the goal finally came out, with midfielder Sophia Smith. She received a beautiful pass from Alex Morgan and, in front of the goal, finished in the exit of the Vietnamese goalkeeper.
Almost Morgan, in two good chances. The number 13 received in depth and tried to finish crossed. The ball went past the crossbar. In the next move, the attacker received after infiltrating the area, tried to feint Kim Thahn and kicked, but the goalkeeper recovered and managed to defend.
Penalty for the USA. Rodman, who stood out a lot in the match on the right side, was brought down in the area at the end of the first stage.
Morgan missed the penalty. It seemed not to be the day for the American star, who had the penalty saved by Kim Thahn, in the 43rd minute. The attacker still tried to take advantage of the rebound, but the kick was blocked by the opposing defense.
USA makes the second with the help of VAR. Kim Thahn made a bad pass and the ball fell to Smith, who finished first and took advantage of a positioning error by the Vietnamese goalkeeper. The referee even annulled the goal for offside, but the move was reviewed and validated by VAR.
It would be a lightning strike. Smith had the chance to score a hat-trick with 10 seconds of the second half, but, almost in the small area, the midfielder mishandled the ball and kicked it out.
Now it was: after many attempts, Horan scored. Smith cleaned up the marking and the goalkeeper to leave the number 10 free in the penalty area, with the job just to shore up the back of the goal.
On the dash. Lavelle sent a very dangerous kick, the ball hit the crossbar and dripped almost on the goal line. The technology was even triggered to see if the ball entered.
Vietnam tried. Practically in the last minute of the game, the Asians took the first shot on goal, but the finalization was weak and stopped in the hands of Naeher.
DATASHEET
United States 3-0 Vietnam
Competition: Women’s World Cup Group E 1st round
Local: Eden Park Stadium in Auckland – New Zealand
Public: 41,107 people
Date and time: July 21, 2023, at 10:00 pm (Brasília time)
Referee: Bouchera Karboubi (MAR)
Yellow cards: Horan [Estados Unidos]
Goals: Sophia Smith (at 13 and 52 minutes of the first half) and Horan (at 31 minutes of the second half)
USA: Naeher; Fox (Orchard), Girma, Ertz and Dunn (O’Hara); Horan and DeMelo (Lavelle); Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman (Thompson); Alex Morgan (Rapinoe). Technician: Vlako Andonovski.
VIETNAM: Kim Thahn; Thu Thao, Thu Thuong (Thi Kieu), Thi Thu, Diem My, Thi Loan; Hai Linh (Thi Van), Thi Thao, Bich Thuy (My Anh) e Tuyet Dung; Huynh Nhu (Yen Pham). Tecnico: Mai Duc Chung.
2023-07-22 03:07:39
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