In the opening match of Group E, the U.S. women's soccer team made a strong debut to face the challenge of Vietnam. The contrast in strength between the two teams was clear, with the world number one ranked US team, four-time winners of the Women's World Cup and the winning team in the last two editions, aiming to set an unprecedented record of three consecutive World Cup titles for both men and women this time around. With all three points from Vietnam in their first match seemingly a cinch, and the fact that they've scored six goals or more three times in their last four games against Asian teams, the U.S. women are a -5 favorite to win. (Live on Now 630 Saturday morning at 9 a.m.)
The U.S. is the most successful team in the Women's World Cup, with four wins and "4-star" honor, and only needs one more to equal Brazil's "5-star" status. In the history of the men's and women's World Cup, only Italy, Brazil, Germany and the United States of America four teams can realize two consecutive championships, and two consecutive championships of the United States, as long as this year's win again, will become the men's and women's World Cup history of the first three consecutive championships of the team. The whole team is moving towards this goal, this game will be a key battle on the road to the championship.
With top stars like Alex Morgan and Yasha Townsend, the US team has never been a soft touch in the Women's World Cup arena. They had a 13-0 win against Thailand in their opening match of the last group stage. They have won their last four matches against Asian teams, scoring six or more goals in three of them. Although Vietnam just won the gold medal in women's soccer at the Southeast Asian Games, they lost to Spain in a warm-up match, netting nine goals, proving the gap between them and the world's top teams. In this match, Vietnam may adopt a learning attitude, but a big loss may not be a surprise.
Preview of the live broadcast
Friday 3:30pm Women's World Cup Spain Women v Costa Rica Women
Friday 6:30pm K-League Ulsan Hyundai vs Jeju United
