Your match report from Jeff Kassouf is up. He and I collaborated on club rankings back when women’s soccer was in serious doldrums. Quite a change to see where it stands today.
If you’re staying up for the next few hours, check back here or adjacent to here for more live coverage. I’ll see you next time.
Meanwhile in Miami, Messi’s stoppage-time free kick stands up as the winner.
But back where the stakes are a bit higher, it’s a good if not great opener for the US. Andonovski may need to tinker a little bit more to find the sharpest combinations, but he’ll rest easier after seeing the newcomers play with poise and confidence.
The stats tell a story of a team that was never under any pressure. Shots: US 27, Vietnam 0. Corners: 9-0. Passes completed: 381-146. Fouls: even at 13. Give credit to Vietnam for not playing ugly. They just couldn’t get forward at all.
The good, the bad, the ugly (US-centric perspective)
Good: The youngsters, as mentioned a couple of posts ago, hit the ground running. There’s no reason to think Smith, Rodman and company will be any sort of liability moving forward.
Bad: A little lack of sharpness here and there. And while this team shouldn’t be relying on Megan Rapinoe, it has to be disconcerting to see her come in for a cycling of mishitting the ball and hanging her head sadly.
Ugly: When you’ve got someone down with a possible head injury, and the ref isn’t stopping play, put the ball out of play. (Then politely ask the ref why her attention was elsewhere. Politely.)
Full time: USA 3-0 Vietnam
This was expected to be an easy one for the US women, and while Vietnam put up a stubborn defense with a few good goalkeeping moments, it was indeed pretty easy.
The second goal was certainly controversial, as this officiating crew did not inspire confidence. (They probably won’t get a bigger assignment.) Keeper Kim Tranh also made a mess of that one. But she stopped a penalty and controlled her box well, surely keeping the score down from maybe 5-0 or 6-0.
The result might ramp up the pressure to beat the Netherlands to win the group. It’s easy to see the Dutch putting four or five past Vietnam, so the US won’t want to rely on goal difference.
90 mins +9: Oh, that is nice work from Thompson on the right, turning defenders every which way. That’ll help her get acclimated to this grand stage at such a young age.
The youngsters have all shown well here tonight. Smith, of course, has two goals and an assist. Rodman was a terror the whole time she was out there. Girma handled herself well. DeMelo had a few good moments.
90 mins +8: Peter Oh suggests we give Woman of the Match to US keeper Alyssa Naeher. Hey, she didn’t put a foot wrong.
And as I type that, Vietnam gets … its first shot of the game? Naeher collects it easily, though it looked like it had already gone out of play toward the side netting.
90 mins +7: Horan floats a beautiful ball about 40 yards to the far post for Lavelle, who’s not necessarily known for her aerial prowess but gets to the right spot here. Her header goes wide, but that was an impressive chance.
90 mins +6: Through subs and fitness (and youth), the US still has a potent press this late in the game, and Vietnam is struggling to cope with it.
90 mins +4: Vietnam is putting on a clinic in how to mark empty spaces in their own box and not mark, say, Lindsey Horan. They’re getting by with it for now, but this is shambolic now.
Corner to the US. Rapinoe takes it quickly, but too quickly for the ref’s liking. Not sure it the ball ever came to a stop.
This is the ninth corner for the US. Vietnam has none. I think it’d be sporting to kick it backwards and give them a shot, yes?
90 mins +2: Rapinoe kicks the ball out of play on an attempted give-and-go. She’s generally someone who makes the big play rather than than being consistent throughout, but still … this is just odd. Something seems seriously off with the soon-to-be retiree.
Lavelle, on the other hand, has come in and looked like herself right away.
90 mins: It’ll be nine minutes of stoppage time.
How aggressively do you chase a fourth goal here if you’re the US? I’d imagine they’ll go for it. Whatever counterattack Vietnam brought to the table two hours ago is gone now.
89 mins: O’Hara wins a tough tackle, and this time, the ref stops play to let the injured Vietnamese player get attention.
O’Hara is griping to the referee about goodness knows what. The ref is dropping the ball back to the US.
I’m expecting about 45 minutes of stoppage time. Only slightly exaggerating.
87 mins: Mary Waltz chimes in: “Kudos to the outmanned Vietnam side. They defended heroically, their goalie was outstanding, they did their country proud.” Well put.
Ben Corntassel wants to be sure I know he was criticizing our fellow Yanks rather than me with his last comment. I thought nothing of it – when you’ve survived Alex Morgan calling you an idiot on Twitter, you develop a thick skin.
85 mins: CHANCE, and let’s check goal-line technology on that one. Yep, stayed out after Lavelle’s shot hit the underside of the crossbar. That didn’t miss by much.
Lavelle, lest we forget, had a good case for Golden Ball last time around, but her flashier teammate took the prize.
84 mins: Dunn and Fox make way for O’Hara and Huerta, basically a line change of outside backs.
Raffine Raffine, speaking of US interest in investigating Fifa, reminds us all of the US role in following through on whistleblowers.
82 mins: Rapinoe … shoots from 40 yards? Tries to float it to the far post? Neither works, and she still doesn’t look happy to be there.
USA has outshot Vietnam 25-0.
Kelley O’Hara and Sofia Huerta will come in. But not yet.
81 mins: Rapinoe puts a low, driven ball to the near post for the onrushing Ertz. It’s deflected for another corner, so this’ll be more set-piece practice. There’s considerable contact both ways in the box, but the referee steps in to take no I’m kidding it just keeps going.
79 mins: Long free kick try for Rapinoe, and it’s not a bad effort. Good practice if nothing else.
And now she gets to try a corner.
GOAL! USA 3-0 Vietnam (Horan 77)
Horan has come close several times today, and she gets it right this time. Sophia Smith operates in the space where Rodman was so successful all game, and she cuts it back sharply to Horan 15 yards out, and the captain blasts it into the net.
75 mins: Alyssa Thompson is indeed in the game. That’s four players born this century, who are in the game for the US – unless you’re one of those pedants who thinks the century started in 2001.
Yellow card to Huynh Nhu for taking too long to leave the field while being substituted. Yes, it’s a by-the-book call, but it’s not as if she’s wasting time here.
74 mins: Vietnam with possession on the left! Numbers are going forward! The cross …
… is about 15 yards ahead of any Vietnamese players.
72 mins: Alyssa Thompson, age 18, is getting instructions from Vlatko Andonovski and is literally shaking with anticipation of her World Cup debut.
Apologies for neglecting Twitter thus far. I locked myself out of my main account, but I can check if I search for myself like a true narcissist.
@duresport re your taste. The 94 USMNT kit was so bad it was good, so you have taste. I'm dying to find one.
— Jordi Comas - network weaver and idea wrangler (@jordisunshine) July 22, 2023
I need to find a picture.
70 mins: Now the US has a long spell of possession. If Vietnam thought they had a chance at getting a result here, they’d surely press, but I think “2-0, and the second goal was bizarre” seems to be a satisfactory result for them.
Lavelle drives through the box, draws about 20 defenders, slots the ball to a wide-open Rapinoe who has a wide-open net. She misses badly, and she doesn’t seem happy to be here.
68 mins: Possession for Vietnam! Maybe their longest spell in the US half for the entire game. Ertz makes a vital, acrobatic interception. It’s finally cleared, but Vietnam wins it right back.
67 mins: Good ball ahead to Horan. Punched clear. Goes to Rapinoe, who neither shoots nor passes, really, but just kind of lobs the ball up for grabs. The US almost gets there but not quite.
65 mins: Ben Corntassel writes, “Think Congress would want to investigate FIFA? Put-leeze. Most Yanks aren’t even aware this game is being played.”
I’ll guess combined English/Spanish ratings for this game will be around 22m. But Congress doesn’t want a piece of Fifa. A lot of US reporters and fans, though, would freak if the situation on that second US goal was reversed.
Vietnam has not managed to do anything on the attacking front.
Updated
63 mins: Glen Richard Reed writes, “This refereeing performance is bringing back nightmares. My kids refereed and I was driving them to class so I figured why not and took the certification too. My wife thought it would be funny to sign me up for a match. What she didn’t know is it was a competitive match between two big rival club teams.I was supposed to be the linesman so no biggie. Well, the guy who was meant to referee refused because he had been in a fight with the coach of one of the teams. Angry players, angry parents, botched calls, reversed calls—in other words, it looked something like this.”
It’s a hard job. Taking it up about five years ago gave me a new appreciation for it and made me regret a lot of things I said over the years.
That said, the ref and fourth official just don’t seem to know basic mechanics of how a game operates.
SUBS AT LAST … we think. They’re taking forever. This is amateurish game management from the officials.
For Vietnam: Luong and the injured B. Nguyen out. Chuong and M. Nguyen in.
For the USA: You were wondering if Lavelle would get minutes? Here she comes. So does Rapinoe, for her 200th cap. Alex Morgan trots around, unaware that she’s being subbed. So is DeMelo.
58 mins: A Vietnamese player is down injured. Play continues, because …
Finally a foul, and we’ll have a break. And some subs. Aly Wagner on Fox believes we are seeing players with more attacking initiative for Vietnam.
Subs aren’t brought on yet for some reason. A player encroaches blatantly on Sullivan’s free kick.
56 mins: YELLOW to Horan for showing some studs while challenging for the ball at midfield, where she caught the leg of an opponent. Not really necessary.
54 mins: A brutal collision between Vietnamese defenders, then a US corner kick. They don’t throw a lot of people at this one.
Ertz, again, is on a place other than central defense, and she takes on a player on the left flank. The defender handles it while sprawled on the ground, and it’s a free kick.
Again, Vietnamese players crowd in front of the ball to prevent a quick restart. You can’t do that. The ref should be showing cards there.
52 mins: The TV feed shows us some robotic figures to demonstrate that Morgan was onside.
At the very least, it was not “clear and obvious.” Those freeze-frames don’t tell the story as well as you can tell from seeing the play and hearing the thump of the ball. It’s a false sense of precision.
If that call had been reversed the other way, the US media would do everything short of asking Congress to investigate Fifa.
50 mins: CHANCE, and that was pretty. Rodman gets deep down the flank once again and chips it to the center of the box for the onrushing Horan, whose volley is wide. That would’ve been one of the best goals I’ve seen the US score in a World Cup or the Olympics, and they’ve scored a lot.
49 mins: Free kick from the left flank, and Ertz is up challenging for it. One benefit of this game will be getting her acclimated to center back. She’s doing well at both ends, not that this is a particularly challenging game defensively.
47 mins: We’ve restarted.
Rob Hunt: “actually like hearing the ref explain the VAR decisions. To the extent they actually EXPLAIN it. The more education for the casual fan, the better. And sometimes it actually makes more sense in broken English!”
And that’s a good point – if they would actually explain things, OK. But they’re not. They’re adding nothing that couldn’t be covered by hand signals.
Messi scores from a free kick in the 94th minute. Inter Miami up 2-1 over Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, a competition I can’t really explain other than it creates more opportunities for US teams to play Mexican teams.
Back to our game here, Tuan Hoang writes: “The Vietnamese team defended pretty aggressively. They must have watched that US-Thailand match from years ago and determined not to lose badly. But I don’t see how they can threaten the US, offensively, leave alone scoring a goal, in the second half.”
They do indeed seem likely to hold the US to single digits at the very least.
A look at the record book …
4 - Sophia Smith is the fourth @USWNT player to score multiple goals in her @FIFAWWC debut, and, at 22 years, 346 days, is the youngest to do so. Introduction. pic.twitter.com/LDVCiROjPl
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) July 22, 2023
Halftime: USA 2-0 Vietnam
Not a surprising scoreline, and the US is dominating play as expected, but that gift of a goal is leaving a bad taste.
Time to hit the fridge. Happy to take comments at the half.
GOAL: USA 2-0 Vietnam (Smith 45+7)
That’s ridiculous. Morgan was in an offside position. She interfered with play.
During the half, I’ll see if any refs can justify that call.
45 mins +7: It’s in the net, somehow, but it doesn’t matter. The ball is played ahead to Morgan, who’s just a tiny bit offside. There’s a scramble, and the ball rolls past several prone players into the net.
VAR is looking. And looking. Are we sure the VAR didn’t run to the concessions to beat the crowd?
The flag was up, and it seems correctly so.
45 mins +6: Vietnam suddenly turns up the press, as if sensing they could get a shock equalizer before halftime. Or at least a shot. They don’t have one yet.
45 mins +5: Smith races down the left. She has Horan open to her right but opts to play it herself. It’s deflected … and well saved in the end.
Off the ensuing corner, Morgan tries a clever backheel shot. It nearly works. That would’ve been my favorite of all the goals she’s scored at this level.
45 mins +4: From the BigSoccer referee forum, a critique of our center ref: “I’d call her whole vibe similar to a 14 year old grassroots promoted from U8 to handle a competitive U19 game because no one else was around.”
Hey, I’ve been there.
The ball spends a bit of time near midfield for a change.
45 mins +2: We’ll play at least eight extra minutes.
Naeher has to come off her line to clear the ball. Well, maybe didn’t have to, but she takes advantage of an opportunity to stay fresh.
44 mins: PENALTY SAVE! Good for you, Kim Tranh, getting down low to pounce on an uncharacteristically weak kick from Morgan, similar to what we saw from Christine Sinclair last night. Morgan is so stunned that she fails to get to a wide-open rebound.
Morgan is down after a scramble in the box, but she seems OK.
43 mins: PENALTY. Yeah, I guess, maybe.
Can I say I’m not a fan of having the ref announce calls to the stadium? I know they’re trying to make it all hip and cool like cricket’s replays, but it just puts the ref in the unfortunate position of showing off her limited English.
41 mins: This is a long check. After an interminable wait, the referee is summoned to look for herself.
Fox analyst Joe Machnik says the question is whether the defender made contact with the ball first and then the foot. The defender didn’t wipe out Rodman by any means.
I think the tiebreaker here is that it’s the USA; therefore, a penalty will be awarded.
39 mins: Dunn intercepts at midfield, and we’re back the other way. Rodman once again works her magic on the flank, getting into the box, and … she falls. Was that a foul? Well, unlike some of the other calls we’ve seen here, there was at least some contact. VAR is checking.
37 mins: Ertz returns after being checked out on the sideline.
Vietnam gets within 30 yards of the US goal for the first time. They then press Girma, a solid but inexperienced center back, and force goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to touch the ball for what I believe is the first time. It’s not much of an attack, but it’s something.
35 mins: Off the free kick, Ertz tries an awkward header, and the ball actually bounces back up into her own head. She stays down. The ref doesn’t blow the whistle. The US doesn’t play the ball out to tend to their player. Concussion-safety advocate Taylor Twellman is surely screaming at his TV somewhere.
34 mins: Smith tries the Maradona-esque 360 and wins a corner kick.
Meanwhile in Miami, Messi and Busquets have entered the game. Might be able to catch the last 15 minutes of that game when this one’s at halftime.
32 mins: Neil Dee writes to inform me that the player who flicked the ball to Smith on the goal was Alex Morgan, in which case I retract what I said about Morgan having a quiet game thus far.
31 mins: Vietnam tries to press Dunn, but a player falls, and we go back the other way. Long ball ahead to Ertz, who’s making a dangerous foray forward. It’s only partially cleared, and Horan is able to shoot. Wide.
Updated
29 mins: And another change for Morgan … scratch that, she’s offside.
Back to keepaway we go. Ertz then goes long for Horan – well spotted between the two veteran teammates, but Horan can’t get a good shot out of it.
28 mins: CHANCE for Alex Morgan, timing a run very well but not settling a pass from DeMelo as well as she would’ve liked. She still gets off a shot, but it rolls wide of the far post.
26 mins: It’s an extended spell of keepaway. To say the US can afford to be patient is an understatement.
23 mins: Halfway through the half, and it’s what you’d expect. Vietnam can’t get the ball into the US third. They’ve completed 28 passes to the USA’s 92, according to Fifa’s stats. The US women have been slightly disjointed, understandable given all the injury-prompted changes to the lineup this year, but they’ve got one and forced a good save as well.
22 mins: Free kick US, and the ref wants it retaken so she can stop and have a word with a Vietnamese player or two.
Mary Waltz: “I noticed you are particularly aware of the international football disease of diving, flopping. In the NBA when it became a pandemic of flopping, see Vlade Divac, the league began reviewing flops post game and started fining egregious offenders on a rising scale. Didn’t eliminate the disease but it did cut it down.”
Vlade made some funny commercials. Maybe I’ll dig one up at halftime.
More possession for the US, and Alex Morgan, who has been quiet so far, has a touch.
20 mins: Trinity Rodman is dominating on the right attacking flank. Another good cross from her lands at the feet of DeMelo, but the national-team newbie can’t get enough on it.
Huynh Nhu has apparently realized that this ref buys minimal-contact fouls if you hit the ground, and she draws a free kick. As a very, very low-level ref myself, I don’t like to criticize, but this is a very, very low bar fo a “foul.”
And guess who just played in another dangerous ball?
18 mins: Hello to Peter Oh: “What is the design of the USA shirt called? Half-hearted Jackson Pollock? Fountain pen accident?”
I know I shouldn’t like that shirt, but I do. Of course, I liked the denim stars of the 1994 men’s shirt, so I have no taste.
17 mins: So, after conceding a goal, will we see Vietnam press more? We will not.
Horan tries to draw another foul. To quote Luther Mahoney, “Who … are … you … fooling?”
GOAL! USA 1-0 Vietnam (Smith 15)
Maybe don’t play so deep, because the midfield just carved them up.
It’s a brilliant flick by an unidentified US midfielder because Fox (the network, not the defender) couldn’t see who it was, and the action happens too fast in the replay.
Then it’s a simple but well-taken finish by the young Sophia Smith.
Updated
14 mins: Aly Wagner points out that Vietnam is playing deep. Like, really deep.
11 mins: The referee awards a corner to the US but correctly changes the call. The ball obviously came off Horan.
Vietnam plays forward but only as far as Ertz, who has demonstrated time and time again, in the center of the backline or the midfield, that she is not someone who lets play get past her easily.
10 mins: Crystal Dunn has the ball in space, which is surely not something Vietnam wants to see. She’s a left back who has played nearly everywhere on the field and is a nifty attacker.
Long possession for the US leads to a wayward cross from Fox.
8 mins: A couple of nice moments for Vietnam in midfield, showing some possession skills. Hoang works along the sideline and gets dumped to the grass for her efforts.
DeMelo tries to draw a call, but she’s not as adept at selling minimal contact as Horan was a few minutes ago.
7 mins: CHANCE for Horan, and it’s well saved by Tran. The ball was in Rodman’s vicinity and popped free for the onrushing US midfielder.
And … never mind, none of that officially happened. Offside call? Seems unlikely. Foul?
5 mins: Nor does Vietnam’s set-piece taking inspire confidence. Emily Fox gets the ball with her arm, but the free kick at midfield lands in a thicket of US players.
4 mins: Horan expertly dives and gets a call for another free kick chance. Andi Sullivan takes it well, playing it to Ertz to flick on. Was someone supposed to run on to it? In any case – Vietnam’s set-piece defense doesn’t inspire confidence.
2 mins: They bring out the stretcher for Rodman, who declines it. Unless she hit her head, she’s going to be back in.
Free kick that the US tries to take quickly, and Vietnam gets in the way. You’re really not supposed to do that, they tells us refs.
Ball played forward to Horan, but several flicks of the ball result in no shot, and she was probably offside anyway.
Updated
Kickoff
The referee is Bouchra Karboubi, who toys with everyone by letting a few seconds elapse after the PA-system countdown.
And just a few seconds in, Trinity Rodman is down in pain after falling backwards while challenging with Tran.
Anthem time, and for those who scrutinize every player to death, note that Lindsey Horan (the captain) was the only one visibly singing along. I’m more worried about Alyssa Naeher, who looked like she was in some distress.
Vietnamese players and fans cheerily sing along with their anthem.
This is rather somber entrance music, isn’t it? I feel like a Marvel character is dying.
Meanwhile in Miami, Messi is sedentary.
First half. Still on the bench.
David Anstaett checks in from slightly closer to New Zealand than I am: “Ready to watch in Maui, Hawaii. Do we know Rose’s timetable? Is she expected to get some minutes today? Making a first appearance since April against the Netherlands seems like jumping into the deep end.”
That’s a good point, and I’m sure she’ll get a few minutes if at all possible.
Good evening to Mary Waltz: “Beau, greetings from California. It’s a great night for Football. The US will win but their will not be a 13-0, nor a 20-nil outcome tonight. Spain had 45 shots on goal but only scored 3 goals, I envision a few more goals but a similar match. Instead of watching the Horrid Fox pre game nationalistic agit prop(I love our team but gawd Fox over does the USA vs the world crap) I am watching Messi’s new vacation team play Cruz Azul until the USA match starts.”
I’ll say the US nets six.
One Vietnam goal wouldn’t completely shock me, given the lack of time the US defenders have played together. If the USWNT was opening against, say, the Netherlands, that could be a problem. But they’ll likely be settled by the time the games truly matter.
Kurt Perleberg asks: “If the USWNT can win group E can they defeat Italy Sweden Spain & Australia/Brazil/England to win their third consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup?”
Yes. They can. But they might not.
Most oddsmakers have them around +225 or +250, which is more than 2-1 against. Those are the best odds for any team in the tournament. The problem is that there are so many teams that could win it.
Vietnam lineup
GK: Thi Kim Tranh Tran
D: Thi Thu Thuong Luong, Thi The Tran, Thi Loan Hoang, Thi Diem My Le, Thi Thu Thao Tran
M: Thi Tuyet Dung Nguyen, Thi Hai Linh Tran, Thi Thao Thai, Thi Bich Thuy Nguyen
F: Huynh Nhu
US lineup
Stunner in midfield – Savannah DeMelo, a surprise inclusion on the roster given her grand total of zero appearances for the team, starts.
Julie Ertz, who fought her way back into shape to make this roster, is listed at defense.
GK: Alyssa Naeher
D: Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox
M: Andi Sullivan, Lindsey Horan, Savannah DeMelo
F: Trinity Rodman, Alex Morgan, Sophia Smith
Rose Lavelle is working her way back into fitness. Megan Rapinoe is slated for a supersub role, in case you were wondering.
Carli Lloyd, commenting on Fox, expressed some envy over the suits the US women wore to the game.
Personally, I keep expecting the players to tell me that the nearest emergency exit might be behind me.
Preamble
Last night, I opened by saying we were looking at a potential upset. Nigeria had the firepower and the experience to compete with Canada. That turned out to be the case, which I mention because I don’t always get my predictions right.
Tonight?
We’re not looking at a potential upset here. Anything less than a five-goal win would be a shocker. The biggest suspense in this game might be whether the US manages to show some restraint in its celebrations this time around, unlike the game against Thailand last time around.
That’s not me indulging in a rare bit of American arrogance. Eventually, we’ll have a 32-team Women’s World Cup with more parity than we have now. We’re not there yet.
Can we point to anything that gives Vietnam a chance at making a game of it? Yes. Let’s point to Minh Chien Tu’s team guide:
“Vietnam will play on the counterattack. The strength of this side is that they possess a pair of fast wingers in Tuyet Dung and Thanh Nha, and an agile striker who is also a good finisher, Huynh Nhu.”
And the US has fullbacks who aren’t that young any more.
So … maybe?
Updated
We interrupt here with breaking news …
Fox’s on-site crew brought out a furry native animal, intending to have it pick a winner of the World Cup by hopping toward either “USA” or “The World.”
It did neither.
It stayed where it was.
And pooped.
On that note – how’s everyone doing this fine summer/winter day/night?
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Jeff Kassouf’s lookahead to the USWNT’s opening match against Vietnam.
