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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Jeff Kassouf in Auckland

An exploratory opening win shows the USA women are still a work in progress

Julie Ertz Rose Lavelle United States Savannah DeMelo Brad Smith Vlatko Andonovski World Cup Sophia Smith Megan Rapinoe Vietnam
USA star Julie Ertz, top, made a major impact against Vietnam as a center-back, a position she hasn’t played regularly in six years.
USA star Julie Ertz, top, made a major impact against Vietnam as a center-back, a position she hasn’t played regularly in six years. Photograph: Brad Smith/USSF/Getty Images

Sophia Smith admitted that she was nervous – and she is never nervous. Savannah DeMelo? She had some nerves, too, after finding out less than 24 hours earlier that her first international start would take place in the United States’ opening match of the 2023 World Cup.

“I mean, it’s a World Cup,” Smith said of the nerves. “I feel like that just shows how much it means.”

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