Featured Columnist IVJuly 13, 2024
Howard Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF
The United States Women’s National Soccer Team enjoyed a successful Olympic tune-up Saturday, beating rival Mexico 1-0 in a friendly at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
Team USA dominated the proceedings, registering 17 attempted shots and six shots on goal, compared to just three and one, respectively, for Mexico.
Despite carrying the play, the Americans could not break through during the first half nor early in the second half, but Sophia Smith finally put the United States on top in the 64th minute with a laser off a pass from Mallory Swanson:
U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team @USWNT
International Goal No. 2️⃣0️⃣
Sophia Smith is the 11th player in #USWNT history to reach 20 goals before turning 24 years old!#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/XdV2ljCy5v
While Smith had several other chances during the match that she was unable to convert, she received plenty of praise on social media for being the USWNT’s lone goal scorer in the win:
dairy-free christ biscuit™️ 🌐 @RailBourbon
Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson are a problem 🔥🔥#USWNT
Into The Channel Podcast @ITC_Pod
Sophia Smith and Mal Swanson on most of their combinations today. pic.twitter.com/V4HLPwGj4G
FotMob @FotMob
The way Sophia Smith moves the ball to take on the shot is pretty much perfect. 🔥 https://t.co/pLggHNcSR1
Katherine Minarik @MinarikLaw
Sophia Smith is SO GOOD. https://t.co/Z8aBbjTYgF
David Medina @DavidMedina_
Sophia Smith the goat! With a banger goal as usual🔥😎👏 #USWNT https://t.co/NIdbkDN6Am
In addition to being the 11th USWNT player to reach 20 goals before the age of 24, Smith also joined an exclusive group of players to accomplish that feat before their 50th appearance for the USWNT, per OptaJack:
OptaJack⚽️ @OptaJack
20 – Sophia Smith (20th goal in 49th appearance) is the 10th #USWNT player to score 20 goals before her 50th cap and the first since Crystal Dunn in 2017 (also 49th cap). Natural. pic.twitter.com/wUXKhrxkbY
With Smith, Swanson and Trinity Rodman leading the way, the USWNT was on the attack and had several dangerous chances throughout.
While the Americans will likely need to finish better than they did Saturday in order to go on a deep run at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and win a gold medal, their speed and talent were on full display against Mexico.
It has been a while since Team USA last won a major international tournament. They won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup before getting knocked out in the Round of 16 in 2023, and they haven’t won Olympic gold since 2012, which was their third in a row at that point.
The United States has also dropped to fifth in the FIFA rankings behind Spain, France, England and Germany, but there is little doubt that the USWNT is deep and talented enough to win gold if everything clicks.
The Americans will have one more opportunity to fine tune things on Tuesday when they face Costa Rica in a friendly at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
Following that, Team USA will travel to France and begin Olympic play on July 25 against Zambia, followed by clashes with Germany on July 28 and Australia on July 31.
