The third match day of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is here already. With Australia beating Ireland and New Zealand recording a narrow win in the opening match of the tournament, bigger matches are surely coming up, and many teams will be looking to capitalize on strong starts to initiate a deep run in the competition. Nigeria also recorded a well-deserved draw against favorites Canada in their opening Group B match, after going a man down and conceding a penalty which Chiamaka Nnadozie saved. Vietnam will be looking to emulate their Nigerian counterparts by giving a strong performance against top favorites United States to get something from their group and the tournament as a whole.
The Vietnam national women’s team qualified for the World Cup for the first time much to the surprise of the footballing community by winning the Southeast Asian trophy and becoming the first between the men’s and women’s teams to do so. Both teams will be meeting for the first time, and Vietnam will be the 57th different country to play against the United States. Just one member of the squad, Huynh Nhu, plies their trade outside the country, highlighting their inexperience, but football can be a tale of who wants it more sometimes, as seen by Morocco’s deep debut run in the men’s World Cup last December. They are also three-time ASEAN champions and will be looking to give the United States a run for their money.
United States, on the other hand, will be looking to start strongly and get set for what is sure to be a challenging tournament. Unbeaten in fifteen consecutive matches against countries belonging to the Asian Football Confederation, the United States will be led (albeit from a reduced role) by thirty-eight-year-old iconic attacker Megan Rapinoe, who is retiring after the tournament. The US team is blessed with many stars that have won several titles and play in top divisions around the world. With such experience, it is no wonder they are the top favorites heading into the World Cup.
The United States will also be looking to win this trophy for the consecutive third time and stake their claim as the best team the tournament has had since its inception. Veterans Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan have been named captains by head coach Andonovski due to the absence of Becky Sauerbrunn, and along with Crystal Dunn, will be looking to inspire a team brimming with confidence.
The match promises to be an interesting event, as girls and other spectators of all ages and cultures will be looking to see how dreams can become real, which is the idea behind the Slay-Ballers Campaign. Follow us for more interesting previews.