Things couldn’t have begun on a better note for the USWNT in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024. Emma Hayes and Co. secured an easy 3-0 triumph over Group B rivals Zambia to secure their first three points. The victory comes down to be quite monumental for the American ladies as many in the team including the new coach, Mallory Swanson, and Lindsey Horan, created not one but five records.

All three goals came within the first half with Zambia failing to make a difference in the latter 45 minutes. Notably, a remarkable opener from Trinity Rodman and a brace from Mallory Swanson were enough for the 4X World Champions to seal the win. Their group rivals Germany, too, emerged victorious over Australia with a similar scoreline, with the only difference being that the first goal came in the opening 45 minutes, with later adding two in the latter half. For now, let’s circle back to the records that USWNT made today in their opening group stage game.

5 records created by USWNT with a win over Zambia

Emma Hayes

“I don’t like games that are too easy,” said Emma Hayes, ahead of the Olympics. Today’s victory certainly proves that the Chelsea boss indeed has a winner’s mentality. Emma Hayes became the first coach to win her debut major international tournament clash while being in charge of the USWNT by a margin of three or more goals.

One shall not just praise her mindset, but also the fact that she successfully managed her first significant international fixture. Rest, she may thank goalscorers Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson for the scoreline.

Lindsey Horan

Next on the list is skipper Lindsey Horan, who gave a real captain’s performance in the opening group stage match. The Lyon superstar delivered two crucial assists to set up the first two goals from Rodman and Swanson, which made her the first player in the history of USWNT to register two assists in the opening 30 minutes of a major tournament game. After this feat, Horan was replaced by Emily Sonnett just five minutes after the hour mark.

Mallory Swanson

Mallory Swanson’s double that she scored in the 24th and 25th minutes was completed within 66 seconds. This makes her the only player in USWNT history to score the fastest brace. Furthermore, the Portland Thorns forward also surpassed the previous record set by Carli Lloyd, who scored two goals in 2 minutes and 19 seconds during the USWNT’s 5-2 victory over Japan in the 2015 World Cup under coach Jill Ellis.

Naomi Girma

The San Diego Waves star was also pinpoint when it came to passing and gave a real co-skipper performance. As per the numbers recorded at full-time, Girma completed 96.3 percent of her passes against Zambia (79/82). This is the highest percentage achieved by any player in the history of a Women’s Olympics match since at least 2012, which was a minimum of 75 pass attempts.

Breaking the age barrier!

Out of the 11 players in the starting lineup, seven of today’s USWNT starters were 26 years old or younger. This is the highest number of such starters in a major tournament match for the team since they had seven against Sweden in the 2007 World Cup group stage.

Looking at these records achieved by the revered names of the USWNT, it’s certain that a new era has begun in their history. Let’s see if similar is the case in the upcoming fixtures of the tournament.