World Cup NOW: Favorite moments, players from the USWNT’s win vs. Vietnam

The United States opened its 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign Friday with a 3-0 Group E victory over first-timer Vietnam at Eden Park in New Zealand.

The U.S. — which has won the tournament four times, including the last two — is eyeing an unprecedented three-peat this year, and improved its record to 21-3-1 all-time in the group stage with Friday’s win.

What’s more, the USWNT remains unbeaten in the World Cup when scoring first, now 39-4-0 all-time.

The “World Cup NOW” crew — Jimmy Conrad, Leslie Osborne and Melissa Ortiz — was joined by Stu Holden and 2015 World Cup champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist Heather O’Reilly. Together, they discussed their favorite takeaways from Friday’s tilt.

Conrad: “One of my favorite things was the entry passes from Lindsey Horan in particular. She would receive a ball from one of the outside backs — Crystal Dunn or Emily Fox — [and] it would be a square ball into her, and she would immediately play forward into either Sophia Smith‘s feet or — as we saw in the first goal — Alex Morgan‘s feet. That is so hard to defend, and I want to see more of that.”

Osborne: “I have to say Sophia Smith. I mean, she was incredible from the start. We hyped her up, we talked about how good she is, and not only was she a goalscorer, she was all over the pitch tonight. I think that this team is going to need her to continue on and build on this. I’m just so happy to see her score, but also just how confident she is out there and how easy she is to play with.”

Ortiz: “Emily Fox, she’s one of the fastest players on this team, and I think today what she showed was [just] that. I love how when she would receive the ball, she would look at either Lindsey Horan and have that option there, or have an option out wide, or go at a defender with speed. … So many ways of her versatility that she’s able to give to this game, and I think what she did was just open up the field and show what she can bring from her outside back position.”

Holden: “I’m gonna go with the subs getting some minutes. … I liked seeing Rose Lavelle back out there. … For somebody that hasn’t played since April to get on the field — she had a couple of chances, she hits a crossbar and had a header late — I think it’s a good sign for her to get through a healthy couple of minutes.”

O’Reilly: “The tried and true end-line dribble at speed — it works like a charm! … They have the speed and the ambition.”