Sophia Smith scores 2 in Ladies’s World Cup
AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Sophia Smith’s World Cup debut was one to recollect.
The USWNT’s rising star scored two objectives within the first half and the Individuals opened their quest to turn into the primary workforce, males’s or girls’s, to win three consecutive World Cup titles with a 3-0 win over Vietnam on Friday in entrance of an introduced crowd of 41,107 at Eden Park. Smith added an help on Lindsey Horan’s aim late within the second half.
The USWNT subsequent performs the Netherlands on Wednesday in a match that can go a great distance towards deciding the winner of Group E. That’s no small factor, given the group winner is more likely to keep away from England, Germany, France or Canada till the ultimate.
That the USWNT beat Vietnam was hardly a shock. They’re four-time World Cup champions and have been ranked No. 1 for all however 10 months over the past 15 years. Vietnam, ranked thirty second, is enjoying in its first-ever World Cup, and its coach likened the USWNT to a “mountain” on Thursday.
However it is a younger and inexperienced U.S. squad. That is the primary main worldwide match for 12 of the 23 gamers, and 6 of the USWNT’s starters have been making their World Cup debuts – together with Savannah DeMelo, who received her first cap simply 13 days in the past.
WORLD CUP CENTRAL: 2023 Women’s World Cup Live Scores, Schedules, Standings, Bracket and More
As a lot as a win, this was a chance to get the kids expertise and confidence for the remainder of the match.
And, certainly, the USWNT dominated the sport, each to the attention and on the stat sheet. They simply may have had a half-dozen objectives within the first half – Alex Morgan missed a penalty kick and Vietnam keeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh made three different saves – and had already had two good probabilities earlier than Smith received the Individuals on the board within the 14th minute.
Horan, sporting the captain’s armband for the primary time at a World Cup, floated a pleasant move that Morgan moved ahead with a backheel flick. It fell to Smith simply contained in the field, and she or he put it beneath the goalkeeper’s legs and into the web for her first World Cup aim.
Smith’s second aim got here in stoppage time. Naomi Girma lobbed a brief nook into the field that Tran punched again into site visitors. Smith jumped on it and her shot had simply sufficient energy to get into the web. Initially dominated offside, it was confirmed as a aim after a assessment by video-assistant referee.
Horan added to the USWNT cushion within the 77th minute. Julie Ertz had lofted a move from deep in USWNT territory that Smith introduced down and performed again to Horan within the center. Horan took a contact, freezing the keeper, after which left fly from about 15 yards out.
Highlights from USWNT 3-0 win over Vietnam
First-time World Cup participant Sophia Smith stole the present within the USWNT’s opening recreation, scoring two objectives earlier than halftime.
Smith received in on the motion within the second half, too, notching an help to fellow Colorado native Lindsey Horan for Horan’s rating within the 77th minute.
Lindsey Horan scores, USWNT goes up 3-0
For Lindsey Horan, the third time was a allure.
Within the 77th minute, Julie Ertz lofted a move that Sophia Smith picked up and performed again towards the middle to Lindsey Horan, who had already taken, and missed, two photographs. Horan settled herself and let fly from about 15 yards. It’s her third World Cup aim all time. The rating gave the U.S. a 3-0 lead over Vietnam.
Alyssa Thompson, Sofia Huerta make World Cup debuts for USWNT
Loads of USWNT gamers received time within the Individuals’ first World Cup recreation in opposition to Vietnam.
Alyssa Thompson, {the teenager} who was the No. 1 draft choose within the 2023 NWSL draft, subbed on within the seventy fifth minute for the USWNT. She was the seventh participant to make her World Cup debut Friday.
Thompson, who’s simply 18 and missed her highschool commencement ceremony to coach for the World Cup, made her first USWNT look Oct. 7, 2022. She has but to attain a aim for the Individuals, although her velocity makes her an prompt menace.
Within the 84th minute, Kelley O’Hara got here in for Crystal Dunn, and Sofia Huerta subbed in for Emily Fox. It is usually Huerta’s debut.
Sophia Smith offers USWNT 2-0 lead at half
Sophia Smith’s tear continues, as she gave the USWNT a 2-0 lead within the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time.
After a protracted ball from defender Naomi Girma resulted in a scrum in entrance of the aim, the ball received recirculated to Smith, whose off-balance shot settled into the far nook of the web.
It was initially known as offside, and replays appeared to indicate Alex Morgan simply barely in entrance of the Vietnamese defender. However VAR dominated the USWNT was onside, giving Smith a brace earlier than the half.
For the half, the USWNT had 16 photographs on aim, whereas Vietnam had 0.
Megan Rapinoe subs in for two hundredth cap with USWNT
Tremendous subs Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle entered the sport for the USWNT within the 63rd minute, changing Alex Morgan and Savannah DeMelo, respectively.
It’s Rapinoe’s two hundredth look for the USWNT. She stated earlier than the workforce left for New Zealand that this World Cup will be her last, and she is going to retire on the finish of this season. Her legacy will endure on and off the field.
Rose Lavelle again on monitor after damage
Lavelle being on the sector was a welcome sight for a lot of USWNT followers. The 28-year-old midfield, who scored three objectives and gained the Bronze Ball on the 2019 World Cup, has not performed for membership (OL Reign) or nation since injuring her knee in a pleasant in opposition to Eire April 8. Some have been anxious she is likely to be left off the U.S. roster all collectively.
Lavelle’s play was key within the 2019 World Cup, as her aim within the 69th minute sealed the USWNT’s win over the Netherlands within the ultimate.
Yellow card for USWNT’s Lindsey Horan
USWNT captain Lindsey Horan was issued a yellow card within the 56th minute, just about the one factor that’s gone unsuitable for the Individuals of their opening World Cup recreation in opposition to Vietnam.
The U.S. leads 2-0 behind two objectives from next-generation celebrity Sophia Smith, because the Individuals search their third consecutive World Cup title and fifth general.
Julie Ertz is again 10 months after having child
When Julie Ertz took the soccer area with boys on the Phoenix Rising U-19 Academy Workforce — none of whom knew they’d be sharing the pitch that day with a two-time World Cup winner — Paul Taylor simply smiled to himself.
“A number of of the boys acknowledged her and so they have been saying, ‘What’s happening right here?’” Taylor, who’s recognized and coached Ertz since her highschool days, advised USA TODAY Sports activities. “Properly, inside a couple of minutes they knew what was happening as a result of it was, ‘Gimme the ball. Go there. Do it this manner. Let’s go once more!’
“For these few months, she was one of many guys and she or he earned their respect instantly.”
On the floor, it might need appeared like an odd match. Ertz — 31 and only a few months faraway from giving start to her first baby, a son named Madden — versus a roster stuffed with speedy, robust MLS hopefuls who solely know the right way to play a technique: quick and arduous.
However, Ertz match proper in. And coaching with the academy workforce to get again into aggressive kind was extra pleasant than she may have imagined.
Read Lindsay Schnell’s full story here.
Who’s No. 11 USWNT?
When 14-year-old Sophia Smith advised her household she was giving up basketball to pay attention absolutely on soccer, her dad, who performed faculty hoops at Wyoming, took the information arduous.
“Man, Soph, you may actually be one thing in basketball,” Kenny Smith advised his youngest daughter.
Sophia’s matter-of-fact response: “I’m going to be particular in soccer.”
Discuss prescient.
Now 22, Smith is about to make her World Cup debut this summer with the U.S. girls’s nationwide workforce and present worldwide audiences what a rising home fan base has recognized for some time: She’s about to take over.
“Her skill to show and go 1-on-1 is subsequent stage,” stated USWNT teammate Naomi Girma, who performs for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave and was Smith’s teammate at Stanford. “To a defender, she’s annoying.”
Read Lindsay Schnell’s full piece here.
Alex Morgan misses penalty kick
The penalty kick conundrum continues on the World Cup, as USWNT ahead Alex Morgan missed a PK within the forty fourth minute that might have given the U.S. a 2-0 lead. The PK was awarded after Trinity Rodman was tripped within the field by a Vietnam participant. It was an uncommon miss for Morgan, among the best scorers within the historical past of U.S. soccer.
Morgan missed the penalty and an open look off the rebound then collided with a Vietnam participant on the second shot and was momentarily sidelined.
Sophia Smith scores, offers USWNT early 1-0 lead
It solely took Sophia Smith 14 minutes to depart her mark on the 2023 World Cup.
Within the 14th minute of the USWNT’s opener in opposition to Vietnam, Lindsey Horan handed to Alex Morgan who handed to Smith, whose left-footed strike gave the Individuals a 1-0 lead. The Vietnam aim keeper had no likelihood to avoid wasting Smith’s shot.
Smith, who’s making her World Cup debut, is expected to be one of the USWNT’s next superstars, a future she predicted when she was simply 14.
USWNT subs, together with Megan Rapinoe, already warming up
The USWNT subs, together with ahead Megan Rapinoe, midfielder Rose Lavelle and goalkeeper Casey Murphy are already warming up, about half-hour into the Individuals’ opening recreation.
U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski had stated he would in all probability get the No. 2 keeper some enjoying time within the group stage so the workforce did not have one other debacle like they did on the Tokyo Olympics, the place starter Alyssa Naeher received harm and backup A.D. Franch needed to go in chilly.
Trinity Rodman harm lower than one minute into World Cup opener
Lower than a minute into their World Cup opener, the U.S. girls’s nationwide workforce, already hampered by accidents, is having points.
Ahead Trinity Rodman landed arduous, and awkwardly, on her again simply 30 seconds into the sport when she was taken out by a Vietnam participant. In apparent ache, Rodman stood up and walked off the sector on her personal energy proper after a stretcher got here out on to the sector. She stood on the sideline for a minute to catch her breath earlier than going again in.
USWNT beginning lineup vs. Vietnam : Rodman at ahead, Ertz at centerback
The starting lineup for the USWNT’s first World Cup recreation, in opposition to Vietnam, is out.
The most important notes: Midfielders Julie Ertz and Savannah DeMelo are in, whereas midfielder Rose Lavelle will begin on the bench. Trinity Rodman, who came off the bench to score two goals within the Individuals’ 2-0 win over Wales within the USWNT’s send-off recreation, can even begin, alongside fellow forwards Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith. Megan Rapinoe, the hero of the 2019 World Cup, can be accessible off the bench.
Right here’s the USWNT’s full lineup:
Alyssa NaeherCrystal DunnJulie ErtzNaomi Girma Emily Fox Lindsey Horan (C)Savannah DeMeloAndi SullivanTrinity RodmanSophia SmithAlex Morgan
When does the USWNT play?
The Individuals play their first Group stage recreation Friday at 9 p.m. ET. They face Vietnam.
Find out how to watch USWNT in World Cup
Searching for what channel to observe the 2023 World Cup on? Fox will broadcast the match within the U.S. on each its fundamental channel and FS1. It’s additionally accessible to stream on FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports activities app. Spanish-language protection can be on Telemundo.
See the TV itemizing for each recreation and add them to your calendar of choice here!
Is Megan Rapinoe enjoying within the 2023 Ladies’s World Cup?
Sure, the unquestioned star of the 2019 World Cup, Rapinoe is again for the 2023 World Cup. It will be her last.
President Biden cheering on USWNT
Preside Joe Biden can be watching Friday evening, and doubtless cheering further loud for Rapinoe. Final July, Biden awarded Rapinoe the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
USWNT schedule World Cup
The Americans are scheduled to play three group video games.
- Friday, July 21: USWNT vs. Vietnam, 9 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, July 26: USWNT vs. Netherlands, 9 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, Aug. 1: USWNT vs. Portugal, 3 a.m. ET
The place is the 2023 World Cup being performed?
For the primary time in girls’s World Cup historical past, the match can be hosted by two international locations, Australia and New Zealand. (The 2022 males’s World Cup was hosted by Japan and South Korea and in 2026, it will be hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada.)
Many individuals affiliate Australia and New Zealand with browsing, sandy seashores and gorgeous swimming spots, all taking place in sunny climate. But it surely’s winter within the southern hemisphere, which implies temperatures will be anything but scorching.
What is going to the climate be like on the 2023 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia?
Here’s a look at the typical weather in Australia and New Zealand in July and August. Thirty minutes earlier than kickoff Friday, the temperature was 57 levels and partially cloudy.
What time is it in New Zealand?
Auckland is 16 hours forward of the East Coast of the US.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff in New Zealand to observe USWNT
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, higher referred to as the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is in New Zealand to cheer on the USWNT, in accordance with his spouse.
Emhoff visited observe earlier this week and earlier than making the trek all the way in which to Auckland, he FaceTimed with USWNT captains Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan, asking in regards to the vast age vary of this 12 months’s roster. He assured Morgan and Horan they’d be capable of hear him cheering in the course of the Individuals’ first recreation.
Penalty kicks dominate early World Cup video games
Penalty kicks have dominated the primary 5 video games of the World Cup … kind of.
Every of the video games performed up to now in Australia and New Zealand have featured a penalty kick, although just one workforce has managed to capitalized. Australia defender Steph Catley scored within the 51st minute in opposition to Eire Thursday, giving the Matildas a 1-0 win to open group play. It was an particularly huge win for the host nation contemplating it is going to be with out star ahead Sam Kerr for at the least a pair video games as a consequence of a calf damage.
However in all probability essentially the most noteworthy penalty kick got here courtesy of Canada’s Christine Sinclair, who on Friday was attempting to turn into the firs participant in historical past to attain in six totally different World Cups. Within the forty ninth minute of Canada’s opening recreation in opposition to Nigeria, Sinclair, who has scored extra worldwide objectives than any participant, man or girl, had her likelihood to etch her identify within the report books — however she missed, due partly to an excellent save by Nigeria keeper Chiamaka Nnadozie.
The game ended in a 0-0 draw, a stunning consequence for Canada, which gained gold on the Tokyo Olympics.
What are the World Cup betting odds?
Understanding the totally different World Cup betting odds and wager sorts is paramount to studying how to bet on sports normally. Not solely can bettors predict the winner of the occasion — BetRivers lists the Individuals as +250 favorites — however there’s additionally loads of motion round which participant will take dwelling awards such because the Golden Boot, which fits to the World Cup’s high goal-scorer.
Along with procuring round for the perfect odds, the kind of wagering you intend on doing will possible decide which online sportsbook is best for you. For instance, sports betting apps reminiscent of FanDuel let you wager on the result of every particular person recreation, whereas DraftKings presents a big selection of prop bets all through the match — reminiscent of what number of whole objectives can be scored within the recreation between the US and Vietnam.
What number of World Cups have USA girls gained?
The USWNT has gained 4 World Cups general and are going for his or her third straight.
Who’s gained the opposite girls’s World Cup titles?
The 2023 World Cup marks simply the ninth time the occasion has taken place. (The boys’s World Cup, in the meantime, has been played since 1930.) The U.S. is looking for to turn into the primary workforce, males’s or girls’s, to win three consecutive titles. Germany, which gained in 2003 and 2007, had a chance to do that in 2011 but couldn’t pull it off. The U.S. has gained extra girls’s World Cup titles than another nation. Right here’s a listing of each girls’s World Cup winner.
- 1991: United States
- 1995: Norway
- 1999: United States
- 2003: Germany
- 2007: Germany
- 2011: Japan
- 2015: United States
- 2019: United States
What number of teams are within the 2023 FIFA World Cup?
There are eight teams, 4 groups per group, with the highest two seeds from every group advancing to the knockout spherical. The teams are as follows:
- Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland
- Group B: Australia, Canada, Nigeria, Rep. of Eire
- Group C: Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, Zambia
- Group D: China, Denmark, England, Haiti
- Group E: Netherlands, Portugal, United States, Vietnam
- Group F: Brazil, France, Jamaica, Panama
- Group G: Argentina, Italy, South Africa, Sweden
- Group H: Colombia, Germany, Morocco, South Korea
How does the World Cup match format work?
The World Cup begins with Group play and finishes with knockout rounds. There are eight teams, 4 groups per group, with the highest two seeds from every group advancing to the knockout spherical. In Group play, every workforce performs three video games. There are 4 rounds within the knockouts: spherical of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and the ultimate.
World Cup bracket
Here’s how the 2023 World Cup bracket is set up.
What number of girls’s groups qualify for the World Cup?
There are 32 groups within the World Cup.
Who’s favored to win Ladies’s World Cup 2023?
The Americans are the overwhelming favourite to win the World Cup, which might be their third consecutive title. Nearly each sportsbook is in settlement that the US is almost certainly to emerge victorious. For reference, a $100 wager on the USWNT to win all of it at +225 odds would yield $225 in winnings, plus the unique $100 wager.
Here’s a full record of odds for every workforce to win the World Cup, in accordance with Caesars Sportsbook:
- United States +225
- England +375
- Germany +650
- Spain +700
- France +800
- Australia +1200
- Sweden +1400
- Netherlands +1800
- Canada +2500
- Brazil +2500
- Japan +3000
- Norway +6500
- Denmark +8000
- South Korea +10000
- Portugal +10000
- Italy +15000
- New Zealand +15000
- China +15000
- Haiti +15000
- Colombia +15000
- Eire +20000
- Zambia +25000
- Switzerland +25000
- Argentina +30000
- South Africa +50000
- Costa Rica +50000
- Jamaica +50000
- Nigeria +75000
- Morocco +75000
- Vietnam +100000
- Panama +100000
- Philippines +100000
Find out how to wager on the World Cup
With a big selection of authorized on-line sportsbooks and sports activities betting apps working within the majority of U.S. states, there isn’t any scarcity of choices for wagering on the World Cup.
USA TODAY readers can declare exclusive promos with quite a lot of operators that provide World Cup betting — together with BetMGM, which is providing a $1,000 first-bet deal for our readers. Should you join by this link, BetMGM gives you first-bet insurance coverage of as much as $1,000 in case your first wager of at the least $10 would not click on. The funds could be offered again to you as bonus bets with a 1x rollover requirement and no minimal odds restrictions. You possibly can click on any of the sportsbook hyperlinks we have offered on this story to say distinctive presents and promos for World Cup betting.
Who’s on the USWNT World Cup roster?
The 2023 World Cup roster is one in every of, if not the, most diverse in U.S. girls’s soccer historical past. This 12 months marks a passing of the torch, as a new generation of soccer talent makes its World Cup debut and tries to proceed the Individuals’ win streak. Of the 23-player roster, 14 can be enjoying in their first World Cup. You possibly can be taught extra about each player from the U.S., in addition to among the standout worldwide stars.
- Goalkeepers: Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Crimson Stars); Casey Murphy (North Carolina Braveness); Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit).
- Defenders: Alana Prepare dinner (OL Reign); Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns); Emily Fox (North Carolina Braveness); Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave); Sofia Huerta (OL Reign); Kelley O’Hara (NJ/NY Gotham); Emily Sonnett (OL Reign).
- Midfielders: Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville); Julie Ertz (Angel Metropolis); Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon); Rose Lavelle (OL Reign); Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham); Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit); Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit).
- Forwards: Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave); Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign); Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit); Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns); Alyssa Thompson (Angel Metropolis); Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham).
Ladies’s World Cup predictions
Perusing skilled predictions is a key a part of making ready your World Cup betting slip as a way to get an understanding of how groups match up with each other and their probabilities at making deep runs within the match.
Listed here are our skilled predictions from the workforce at USA TODAY:
- Winner: United States.
- Closing: United States 2, Germany 1.
- Golden Ball: Sophia Smith, United States.
- Golden Boot: Alexandra Popp, Germany.
- Greatest shock: Crystal Dunn makes an look within the U.S. midfield.
- Winner: United States.
- Closing: United States 3, Germany 2.
- Golden Ball: Sophia Smith, United States.
- Golden Boot: Sophia Smith, United States.
- Greatest shock: Megan Rapinoe comes off the bench late within the semifinals to attain the game-winning aim.
- Winner: United States.
- Closing: United States 3, England 1.
- Golden Ball: Alex Morgan, United States.
- Golden Boot: Rachel Daly, England.
- Greatest shock: Powered by its star participant, Sam Kerr, and the emotional exhilaration of enjoying in entrance of the house crowd for each recreation, it would not be a shock in any respect to see Australia advance so far as the semifinal.