US wins, but lacks swagger of old

So, the FIFA Women's World Cup is well underway, and the defending champion, the USA Women's National Team, kicked off its title defense with a 3-0 win over Vietnam on Saturday morning.

Despite the win, though, I imagine there will be an overall sense of deflation in the US camp.

If the Americans were hoping to set down a marker in a tough Group E, which also hosts Portugal and the Netherlands, that result was as wide of it as most of the team's attempts on goal.

Not to take anything away from what will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable three points in a World Cup group match, but the US was a shadow of its former, unassailable self, and will likely illicit criticism and doubt from certain quarters. Mine included.

I tuned in, fully expecting to see a comprehensive dismantling of a much weaker side (who can forget the 13-0 thrashing the US handed out to Thailand in its opening match of the 2019 World Cup finals in France), but what I actually saw was a disjointed, profligate side, frustrated by a well-organized defensive effort from the underdog Vietnamese.

As I watched US striker Alex Morgan squander her one attempt on target — a penalty — with a weak strike that was well-read by Vietnam keeper Thi Kim Tran, it was like the Beijing rain abated due to the shock wave of disbelieving gasps emanating all the way from San Diego.

This was not the strutting, confident USWNT of old. The swagger is no longer as pronounced as before.

Sophia Smith was far and away the Americans' standout player, snagging the first two goals, and assisting Lindsey Horan for the team's third.

She looked dangerous every time she had the ball, particularly in the first half, with sniping runs down the left and tagging onto the end of some lovely through-balls from Julie Ertz. Perplexingly, the veteran was used as a centerback, meaning all the qualities that make her such a potent, roaming midfielder were somewhat muted. Given the lack of pressure from Vietnam, however, she was still able to deliver some scything balls through to Smith, Morgan and Trinity Rodman.

Noting the absence of any real bite in the Vietnam attack, the player with the easiest day at the office had to be US stopper Alyssa Naeher, who had nothing to do until the 93rd minute — and even that was just to collect a wayward cross that was already going behind.

With 28 shots on goal, and seven on target for the US, compared with zero from Vietnam, it was probably one of the easiest shifts Naeher has ever had to endure between the sticks.

The Americans found their flow as the game wore on, and, in the second half, put the tiring Vietnamese under siege for sustained periods.

With the addition of Megan Rapinoe to the attack on 63 minutes, there was a bit more edge, but even she didn't look as sharp as in her teacup-celebration heyday. Rose Lavelle made a far greater impact off the bench, rattling the crossbar so hard it's probably still vibrating, and generally creating havoc for the Vietnam defense.

Oh, and what a defense it was.

The Asian side set up with every intention of nullifying the US attack by simply throwing numbers behind the ball. All pre-match platitudes of fearless self-belief aside, I reckon if you'd have offered Vietnam manager Mai Duc Chung a 3-0 scoreline against the tournament favorite at the start of the game, he would have bitten your hand off.

In reality, it's hard to see Vietnam progressing from the group, and to imagine that the US won't is unthinkable, but a much tougher test awaits the latter in Wellington on Wednesday.

The Netherlands has won four of its last six games, including 4-1 and 5-0 victories over Poland and Belgium respectively in its last two matches. Portugal, its other Group E rival, is no slouch either. It's arguably the "Group of Death", with three genuine contenders battling it out for those two coveted spots in the knockout stage.

However, that wasn't the end of the day's action, with China's curtain-raiser against Denmark taking place on Saturday evening.

The Danes came into the competition on the back of a 0-2 loss to Spain, but with victories over Japan, Sweden and Norway this year. China, on the other hand, lost to Spain 3-0 in April, but had gone three games unbeaten in the run up to the World Cup, dispatching Russia twice and registering a 2-2 draw away to Colombia.

It made for a tasty fixture, where, despite the Danes leveraging their physical advantage, until the final minutes, China had enjoyed more shots on target. In an arm-wrestle of a match that served up end-to-end action, China was unfortunate to concede a 90th-minute winner from a corner, an area where the aerially dominant Scandinavians had looked dangerous throughout.

The loss makes the job of qualifying for the next round tougher for China, with games against Haiti and England still to come.

And I'm particularly looking forward to the latter.

While my animosity toward the England men's team doesn't extend quite as vehemently to that of the women, I know who I will be rooting for when the Lionesses are faced with a field of Steel Roses.