It was a beautiful day in Auckland, and all the Team USA fans headed to the top of Mt. Eden, before heading to Eden Park to see the US open up their 2023 World Cup bid. Although I didn't take this picture until a few days later (from the top of the Sky City tower in Auckland), here is Mt. Eden (the green mound at the top of the picture).
The top of the park gives a lovely view of Auckland and its environs. So, before getting to the game, let's play the Auckland quiz!
1. Spot the Volcano parks
2. Can you find the stadium?
OK -- now, the game! We were seated in the corner immediately between the US first-half goal and the US bench. The stadium was packed (although not quite as packed as for the New Zealand opener, which was nice). In the opening minute, Vietnam made it quite clear that they were ready to play an aggressive, physical game -- Trinity Rodman went down and stayed down a tad longer than anyone would have liked, but eventually popped up and looked no worse for the wear.
I am pretty sure that everyone in the stands was expecting that the US was going to 'welcome' Vietnam to their first world cup as they did the team from Thailand in 2019 (13-0). However, Vietname was not going ot have any of that. They had an organized and disciplined team that quiet effectively shut down the US. When they did get the ball, they were quick (as in really quick) on the attack, but the duo of Girma and Ertz were having none of that.
The US pushed and created a couple of exciting opportunities, but the first 15 minutes were clearly frustrating the US. And then about 15 minutes in, Sophia Smith collected a nice pass in the box and deftly sent the ball past the keeper into the box. 1-0 US!
The fans were hoping that this was the beginning of the floodgates, but Vietnam had other ideas. They continued to thwart the US attack throughout the rest of the first half. The US were playing a somewhat 'workman' like game, and they really needed some creativity to breakdown the Vietnamese defense. In the 43rd minute, Rodman went down again and after VAR consultation, the ref awarded a penalty. Morgan stepped up and you could feel the crowd breathe a sigh of relief, just knowing that she was going to make it 2-0. But, like nearly all the other PKs in this first round action, the keeper stopped it!
And so the game continued into extra minutes. With time running out, Smith sends a shot into the keeper; it's not a rocket, but it someone rolls past a few players, including the keeper. The jubilation was, however, short lived, as Morgan was called offsides. But then, the VAR review happens, the ref looks at the play and the offsides is overruled -- USA 2-0! And it's now halftime.
The US comes out strong and starts peppering the Vietnamese goal, but the Vietnamese keeper will have none of that -- she is brilliant. Absolutely nothing is getting past her. Finally, at about the 60th minute, Rapinoe and Lavelle come in to replace Morgan and DeMelo (WWC debutante and effective wing midfielder). Things definitely start to look better for the US. Lavelle works her magic in the middle and the game looks a lot more interesting and the US a lot more threatening. Sure enough, about fifteen mibuntes later, it's Smith again, but this time it's with an assist to Horan to calmly sends it to the back of the net. USA 3-0!
The rest of the match sees the US with more shots and more brilliant saves from keeper Tran Thi Kim. I think we'll be hearing a lot more about her throughout this tournament.
My assessment: The play reminds me of the beginning of the 2015 WWC, where the US won games, but did not look particularly inspired doing so (compared to say, Germany, who looked fantastic against the over-matched Moroccans). Julie Ertz is a great replacement for Saurbrun in the back, but we really miss her as the holding mid. We need Lavelle healthy to create some life in our midfield. The Netherlands seemed in a similar bind in their opener against Portugal. So, both teams need a shakeup before their match in two days time! Until then, signing off from Auckland (and headed to Wellington).
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