USA vs Vietnam
USA will open their title defence against Vietnam on the first matchday of the 2023 Women’s World Cup at Eden Park in New Zealand.
Winners of two consecutive Women’s World Cups, the Stars and Stripes are once again favoured to hoist the trophy this year. There has never been a team in the history of the Women’s World Cup to win three straight editions, and they plan to become the first one to do so.
A game against Vietnam should help them get going, as the Golden Star Women Warriors are expected to finish at the bottom of a stacked Group E that also includes Portugal and Netherlands.
With the SBOTOP Women’s World Cup 2023 odds stacked against Vietnam, can the Golden Star Women Warriors put up a fight against the mighty Stars and Stripes on Friday?
Talking Points
Rapinoe’s last dance with USA
Megan Rapinoe will look to make her final Women’s World Cup count, and she’ll play a much different role for USA than in years past.
She has led USA’s frontline alongside Alex Morgan, particularly in the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cups. But now that she’s 38 years old, the offence will no longer flow primarily through her.
The team still needs Rapinoe because she’s the team’s heart and soul. It is likely that head coach Vlatko Andonovski will manage her load throughout this tournament, bringing her off the bench in spurts.
More than anything, the 2023 Women’s World Cup will be a transitional period for the Stars and Stripes. With Rapinoe and Morgan getting older, they will look to pass the baton to their younger stars.
One of them is Sophia Smith, who will turn 23 next month. The Portland Thorns forward already has 12 goals in 30 appearances, and she’s fresh from a NWSL MVP campaign last year.
Trinity Rodman is another youngster to watch out for in the Women’s World Cup 2023 highlights reel, and she’s two years younger than Sophia Smith.
Rodman burst onto the MLS scene in 2021, winning the NWSL Rookie of the Year, the US Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, and being a member of the NWSL Best XI after leading the Washington Spirit to the NWSL championship.
Other than their vaunted frontline, USA are stacked too in the middle and at the back, with the likes of Kelley O’Hara, Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, and Lindsey Horan leading the way.
Vietnam are tough to scout
Vietnam are the presumed cellar dwellers in Group E because of their talent deficit compared to their groupmates.
Looking at their squad, their most established star is their captain, Huynh Nhu, as she currently plies her trade in Liga Portugal 2, playing for Lank FC Vilaverdense.
Huynh Nhu is currently at the top of Vietnam’s all-time scoring list with 67 goals. Since 2011, she has represented the Vietnamese national team, becoming the fourth-most-capped player with 103 appearances.
Fellow veteran Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung is the team’s most capped player with 119 appearances, and she also has 51 goals.
Another recognisable star for the Golden Star Women Warriors is Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha. The 21-year-old forward scored the lone goal in their friendly against Germany, as well as against Myanmar, to win gold in the SEA Games last May.
History
Friday marks the first time that USA and Vietnam meet in the Women’s World Cup, let alone in a football match. It also marks Vietnam’s debut here in this tournament.
After finishing third in Group C of last year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup, the Golden Star Women Warriors eventually qualified by beating Thailand and Chinese Taipei in a three-team playoff round.
Meanwhile, the Stars and Stripes have qualified for every Women’s World Cup since its inception in 1991, and they have the most trophies in this competition with four (1991, 1999, 2015, and 2019), including back-to-back in the last two editions.
The only other nation that have won back-to-back are Germany, in 2003 and 2007.
USA are in much better recent form compared to Vietnam, as they haven’t lost a game across all competitions this year.
The Stars and Stripes won their sixth SheBelieves Cup in the run-up to the Women’s World Cup, and they then defeated Wales and the Republic of Ireland twice in their subsequent three friendly matches.
Vietnam, on the other hand, haven’t won a single game since winning their 8th SEA Games title, with three consecutive defeats against Germany, New Zealand, and Spain – where they lost by a whopping 9-0 scoreline.
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