Sophia Smith: USA has lot more to give after opening WWC win - ESPN

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — U.S. women's national team forward Sophia Smith said that her team's 3-0 win over Vietnam was «a good starting point» but that the Americans have «a lot more to give» especially in terms of finishing off chances.

Smith — one of six U.S. players to make their World Cup debut on Saturday — was the hero, scoring twice in the first half and then assisting on Lindsey Horan's clincher with 13 minutes of normal time remaining.

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But the U.S. was made to work hard for their victory against a disciplined and organized Vietnam side, perhaps harder than expected given that the Americans blew away Thailand 13-0 four years ago in the opener to the 2019 World Cup, and that the Vietnamese suffered a 9-0 friendly defeat to Spain last week.

Yet both Smith and manager Vlatko Andonovski pronounced themselves satisfied that the first win of the tournament is now behind them.

«I feel good. I think it was a good starting point for our team in this tournament,» Smith said. «I also know that we have a lot more that we can give, a lot more to do, little things to work on.

»So I think it's a good place to start. And personally, it was good to just get a World Cup game under my belt, kind of see how it felt, know what to expect. But yeah, I think it honestly just makes me more excited for the next game."

Andonovski noted that this was the first time that these 11 players had been on the field in a competitive match together, and given the chances the team created — the U.S had an 18-0 advantage in that category — he was pleased with the performance.

«To see some of the connections and some of the combinations that they were