Smith on double as USA begin quest to make history

Sophia Smith scored twice and had an assist as the USA eased past tournament debutantes Vietnam 3-0 on Saturday to open their quest for history at the Women's World Cup.

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Just 14 minutes into her World Cup debut in Auckland, New Zealand, Smith made it 1-0.

She got her brace in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time and Lindsey Horan made it 3-0 in the 77th in the Group E match.

The USA are seeking to become the first team, men's or women's, to win three consecutive World Cups. They face the Netherlands on Thursday in Wellington. The Dutch were beaten by the Americans in the 2019 World Cup final.

The USA's starting lineup had five players who were part of the 2019 squad and six players making their World Cup debuts.

Despite the score, it was a frustrating match for the Americans who had a 28 attempts on goal, and missed a penalty..

Vietnam, ranked 32nd in the world, are one of eight countries playing in their first Women's World Cup.

The USA were initially frustrated until Smith and Alex Morgan combined for the first goal. Morgan drew several Vietnamese before she flicked the ball ahead to Smith onthe left side. Smith took it from there with a left-foot shot to the nearpost.

In the 44th minute, Morgan's penalty kick was saved by Thanh after Hoang ThiLoan fouled Trinity Rodman. The play was initially ruled no penalty but was overturned by VAR.

Thanh made the stop with her right foot.

Smith bailed out Morgan just before half-time for the 2-0 advantage, blasting a shot home from 15 yards. Morgan was ruled offside, but video review again deemed otherwise.

Horan extended the lead with a shot from the center of the box with Smithproviding the setup.

Megan Rapinoe entered in the 63rd minute to become the 14th