USWNT kick-started their pursuit of a FIFA Women’s World Cup three-peat in style. The defending champions shot in three goals against Vietnam. On the other hand, Vietnam failed to score a single goal against USWNT. From the team’s standpoint, it was a decent start. But the team’s superstar Alex Morgan did not have the best of days. The two-time World Cup winner missed a penalty in the 44th minute and upset many fans. However, Morgan seems to be savoring the team’s success and lauding her teammates.

While veteran Alex Morgan missed a penalty, fellow USWNT forward and World Cup debutant Sophia Smith rose to the occasion. Smith netted two goals that sealed Vietnam’s fate. Following the game-winning show, the 22-year-old winger earned her stripes from Alex Morgan.

Alex Morgan gives a shout-out to Sophia Smith for her game-winning show

Sophia Smith donned the USWNT’s colors on a World Cup stage for the first time. To play one’s first game on such great a stage is no walk in the park. However, Smith held her calm and unleashed a storm! She scored the defending champions’ first goal of the 2023 World Cup in the 14th minute of the game. Smith received a remarkable assist from Alex Morgan in the form of a back heel flip, which she quickly netted to open USWNT’s scoring.

The American team got so close to netting another one in the 44th minute when Alex Morgan got a chance to kick from the spot. Morgan failed to deliver. That doesn’t, however, mean that the Vietnamese defensive end got some breathing space. By the end of the first half’s added time, Sophia Smith slammed in her second goal. Though ruled offside initially, the VAR review came out in Smith’s favor. Alex Morgan loved her teammate’s spectacular show and rewarded Smith with praise. Morgan took to Twitter and tweeted her picture with Smith. “She’s THAT girl. Great team win,” Morgan captioned her tweet.

While Alex Morgan is happy about her team’s win, not many fans share the same enthusiasm. Morgan’s penalty miss itself came as a huge upset.

Soccer fandom has its concerns about USWNT’s display

Sophia Smith’s iconic World Cup aside, quite a lot of soccer enthusiasts are unhappy with the way USWNT’s opener has panned out. From a statistical perspective, the USWNT dominated the game throughout. They had the ball for most of the game. They shot 28 times, out of which seven were on target. Vietnam, on the other hand, failed to shoot even once. Nonetheless, the defending champions only found the goal three times. In addition to this underwhelming show, star player Alex Morgan failed to deliver from the spot.

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USWNT came up with this performance against Vietnam, which is 32nd in FIFA’s rankings. This means things won’t be so easy for USWNT in the upcoming fixtures. In their next match, Morgan and Co. will face off against the Netherlands – a much stronger and better-ranked side. Anyhow, this was just the beginning, and Sophia Smith has indeed surprised the soccer world. Quite a lot of fans will surely be waiting for Alex Morgan to answer her critics in the coming match.

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