The US coach claims that his squad “deserved to score more goals”
In their victory over Vietnam, US head coach Vlatko Andonovski felt his team should have scored more goals. The USWNT won easily 3- 0
in the Group E match at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, to begin their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.
“I wouldn’t say that I expected more goals, but with the way we played and the opportunities we created I sure wanted to see more goals and I thought that we deserved to score more goals,” Andonovski said to reporters on Saturday.
In her first World Cup appearance, Sophia Smith scored the game’s first goal in the 14th minute on an assist from Alex Morgan as the USWNT sought an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup victory.
In the 44th minute, Morgan had a chance to double the UWSNT’s lead, but Tran Thi Kim Thanh, the custodian for Vietnam, saved her penalty shot. However, Smith added a second goal seven minutes into extra time to give the USA a two-goal advantage, giving her a first half hat trick. US co-captain Lindsey Horan scored an insurance goal for the American women in the 77th minute by directing a cross from Smith into the goal.
Additionally, coach Andonovski expressed his satisfaction with the US team’s youthful stars, stating they lived up to his expectations. I really believe that these players are capable of pulling off what they accomplished, he declared. Besides Sophia [Smith], I thought [Emily] Fox and Trinity [Rodman] were really good on the right side, I thought Andi [Sullivan] was crucial in the middle of the pitch in regaining possession of the ball in some crucial attacks, and I thought Naomi [Girma] in the back looked like she had three World Cups behind her because she was so at ease. Andonovski expressed anticipation for the team’s upcoming game against the Netherlands in Wellington, saying he thought the younger players would be “a little more encouraged” and “less nervous.”
How the US became the dominant force in women’s soccer
The United States women’s national team opened the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Vietnam in Group E at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. If the USWNT wins the World Cup next month, it will be the first time in history that a team, men’s or women’s, has won three World Cups in a row. But how did they grow to be so powerful?
Every dynasty has a beginning, that someone or something that sets the line of succession in action; the visionary with the lofty idea, aiming for a future others consider outlandish; the iron-willed followers bringing it to completion, leaving unassailable foundations from which others can build.
During his eight years as head coach of the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT), Anson Dorrance recognised he was a trailblazer. He claims it was evident. “You’re trying to do things that have never been done,” he says to CNN Sport.
Any understanding of how and why the United States Women’s National Team is the dominant force in women’s soccer, a four-time Women’s World Cup winner and favourite to win the next edition, which is presently taking place in Australia and New Zealand, must begin with Dorrance, the pioneer and bricklayer.