The U.S’s campaign to repeat as World Cup champions kicked off yesterday with a bang, as they defeated Thailand 13-0, breaking the single game record for most goals scored in a World Cup game, previously held by Germany, when they defeated Argentina 11-0 in the 2007 World Cup and Alex Morgan scored a record-tying 5 goals in the game to help propel the U.S. to a comfortable win.
The game got out of hand early, with Morgan scoring the opening goal in the 13th minute. From there, it just went downhill for Thailand, who couldn’t contain the speed, strength, and athleticism of the United States. They peppered the Thai goalkeeper over and over again, putting up 39 shots on her. Star players, such as Megan Rapinoe, Mallory Pugh, and Carli Lloyd all scored as well. Rapinoe added the 10th goal, while Mallory Pugh then scored to put the U.S. up 11-0. Lloyd scored the 13th and final goal of the game to put the dominant performance to bed.
At some point, it looked like each player of the pitch for the U.S. had an opportunity to create something, and every player gave it their all. This was a statement by the U.S. that they’re ready to defend their spot as champions.
Thailand entered the competition ranked 34th in the world, but they were quickly shown why the U.S. is ranked No. 1 and are favorites to win the entire competition.
The group-leading U.S., who improved to 6-0-2 in World Cup openers, faces off against Chile before playing Sweden in its last match before the knockout rounds begin.
Sweden, who defeated Chile 2-0 earlier Tuesday in Rennes, France, ousted the U.S. in the teams’ last meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
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