Sophia Smith stars in the USWNT’s 3-0 win over Vietnam at the World Cup

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — In her first World Cup game, Sophia Smith delivered the breakout performance that everyone around the women’s soccer world was waiting for.

Smith scored goals in the 14th minute and first-half stoppage time, then assisted Lindsey Horan in the 77th to lead the U.S. to a 3-0 win over Vietnam.

The youngest U.S. lineup at a World Cup since the 2007 third-place game included some curveballs from manager Vlatko Andonovski.

Chief among them was Julie Ertz’s first start at centerback for the national team since the opening game of the 2019 World Cup, when she paired with Abby Dahlkemper — and her first time ever playing next to Naomi Girma.

Ertz’s move back meant Andi Sullivan started at the defensive midfield spot. In front of Sullivan, since Rose Lavelle’s minutes are still limited because of a knee issue, Savannah DeMelo started over Ashley Sanchez.

It was just DeMelo’s second game for the national team, after making her debut in the sendoff game earlier this month. DeMelo, 25, was the first player named to a U.S. World Cup squad without any senior national team appearances since 2003.

Trinity Rodman started on the forward line with Sophia Smith and Alex Morgan. Andonovski’s choice of Rodman wasn’t surprising, but it still was a choice over veteran Lynn Williams.

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As usual, the U.S. set out in a 4-3-3 formation, high-pressing in midfield to try to push the tempo. Vietnam was ready for them, with a defense-minded 5-4-1 lineup that hoped to recapture the magic of a recent narrow 2-1 loss to Germany.

It worked for the first 13 minutes, drawing big cheers from the many Vietnam fans in the Eden Park crowd of 41,107. But once Vietnam’s resistance was broken, it stayed broken. At halftime, the U.S. had a 17-0 advantage in shots taken, and the final margin was 28-0.

Andonovski kept his starting lineup intact until the 63rd minute, when Lavelle subbed in for DeMelo, and Megan Rapinoe subbed in for Morgan. Rapinoe went to the left wing, and Smith moved to the center — where she usually plays for the NWSL’s Portland Thorns, but doesn’t often for the U.S.

In the 76th, 18-year-old winger Alyssa Thompson got her World Cup debut, subbing in for Rodman. Eight minutes later, Andonovski flexed his depth in an even bigger way by swapping both outside backs: Kelley O’Hara for Crystal Dunn on the left and Sofia Huerta for Emily Fox on the right.

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The opening goal came out of a spell of sustained possession for the U.S., with Girma and Ertz taking their time to find ways through the opposition. In the 14th minute, Girma laid the ball off to Horan, who hit a fantastic pass that split five Vietnamese players on the way to Morgan.

With another defender on her back, Morgan flicked a backheel pass into the space behind her, and Smith dashed into the gap. Once Smith was on the ball, her left-footed strike was clean and authoritative.

It was a moment that everyone who’s watched Smith’s fast-rising star has been waiting for. After firing in 12 goals in her first 30 U.S. games, this was her first goal at a World Cup.

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This is the first World Cup where referees are announcing video review decisions to the crowd, like officials do in the NFL and other American sports. And in the 43rd minute, the U.S. team got its first taste of how it works.

Rodman went down in the box under pressure from Vietnam’s Hoàng Thị Loan, and the contact initially wasn’t called a foul. But the video review officials told referee Bouchra Karboubi to stop the game, and she went to the monitor to have a look. Karboubi saw what she was looking for, then walked back into the field of play and called the penalty kick over the stadium loudspeakers.

Morgan stepped up to the spot, and hit a surprisingly poor attempt low down the middle. Vietnam goalkeeper Trần Thị Kim Thanh easily stopped it and gave up a rebound that Morgan mis-hit wide right — and she then hit the deck after being clipped in a collision. Morgan stayed down and trainers came out immediately, but she ended up able to continue.

The review was one reason why there were eight minutes of stoppage time in the first half. As with the men’s World Cup last fall, FIFA has ordered referees to give as much stoppage time as they think the ball actually was out of play for, not just a few minutes. The second half had nine minutes of added time.

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In the seventh minute of all that stoppage time, Girma hit a cross-field pass that Trần jumped to punch away. She got there, but her punch fell to Smith at the edge of the box. Smith took a hopeful shot into the crowd, and it rolled through everyone — including through Trần’s legs.

Unfortunately, the offside flag was up because of Morgan’s positioning when she went up to contest that Girma cross. It was Morgan’s upper body, though, and you aren’t offside if your upper body is but the ball doesn’t hit it. So the video review officials got on the line again, and the goal was given.

Horan drew a yellow card in the 56th minute for landing a cleat into Nguyễn Thị Bích Thùy’s right leg. World Cup rules on yellow cards are strict: get two across any two games before the semifinal, and you’re suspended for the next one.

Horan will have to be careful for a long time to come to avoid a suspension, and the next game is a big one: a rematch of the last World Cup final against the Netherlands in Wellington (9 p.m. ET Wednesday, Fox29, Telemundo 62, Peacock).