In the first round of the group stage of the Olympic Women's Soccer Tournament, the U.S. Women's Soccer Team and the Zambian Women's Soccer Team attracted a lot of attention. The U.S. women's soccer team, traditionally the dominant force in women's soccer, was in the spotlight before the match, while the Zambian women won respect for their resilience and team spirit.
At the beginning of the match, the U.S. women's soccer team showed their technical and tactical superiority, and through precise passes and tacit cooperation, they kept on attacking the goal of the Zambian women's soccer team. In the 15th minute, the U.S. team's attack paid off. After a breakthrough on the right, Lindsay Holland sent a precise cross to find Trinity Rodman who was parrying in the middle of the road, and the latter easily pushed the ball into the goal, giving the U.S. Women's Soccer Team a 1-0 lead.
The U.S. women's soccer team didn't slow down their attack after the goal, as they continued to keep up the high intensity pressing and quick transition between offense and defense. In the 30th minute, Lindsay Holland was once again a key player as she sent a long pass near midfield that accurately found Mallory Swanson in front. Swanson deftly got away from her defender in the box and fired a cool shot to extend the lead to 2-0.
In the second half, the U.S. women's soccer team continued to dominate the field. In the 65th minute, Sophia Smith found Mallory Swanson again on a breakaway down the left side of the field, in the face of a dense Zambian defense, and she opted for a precise, direct shot. Swanson lived up to her name as she finished off her second goal with an almost identical shot from almost the same spot to make it 3-0.
However, some discordant notes occurred during the course of the match. Zambian women's soccer player Paulina Zulu was shown a red card by the referee for a serious foul. This penalty undoubtedly dealt a blow to the morale of the Zambian women's soccer team, but they still showed a tenacious fighting spirit in the remaining time, and although they were unable to rewrite the score, their performance won the applause and respect of the audience.
In the end, the U.S. women's soccer team opened the group stage of this Olympic women's soccer tournament with a 3-0 victory over the Zambian women's soccer team.
