The most successful side in FIFA Women’s World Cup history will open their 2023 campaign against a debuting nation. The United States of America are four-time winners of the tournament, having lifted the trophy in 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019 – Vlatko Andonovski’s side will undoubtedly look to win their third consecutive title this summer.
Many would expect the United States to cruise to victory in this fixture, and while these two sides have never faced each other in a women’s football match before, there’s plenty of history between the two nations – because we’re talking about Vietnam. The United States were involved in conflict within the Asian country for eighteen years.
On the pitch, these two sides couldn’t have more different stories. The USA are the force to be reckoned with in women’s football – not only have are they the most successful side historically, but they’ve won all eight of their games since the turn of the year. A five-week period in autumn last year showed some fragilities within the side though, as they fell to three consecutive defeats against England, Spain and Germany.
Vietnam’s arrival on the international stage comes at an interesting time for women’s football within the nation. Mai Đức Chung’s side have won six of their ten fixtures in 2023 – but three of those four defeats came in their final preparations for the World Cup, as they lost against Germany and New Zealand before being mauled by Spain.
Team news
The United States’ squad has been hampered by a variety of serious injuries, with Christen Press, Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson all absent. Notably, Becky Sauerbrunn is also missing from Vlatko Andonovski’s side – she’s been the captain in recent years.
Vietnam have no injury concerns ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Predicted lineups
United States: Naeher; Dunn, Cook, Girma, Fox; Horan, Sanchez, Sullivan; Thompson, Morgan, Smith
Vietnam: T.K.T Tran; T.L Hoang, T.T Tran, T.D.M Le; T.T.T Luong, T.T.T Tran; T.B.T. Nguyen, T.T.N Nguyen, T.V.S Ngan; H.Y Pham, N. Huynh
Where can I watch?
UK Viewers
Kickoff at Auckland’s Eden Park is scheduled for 2am UK time on Saturday, 22 July 2023. The coverage will begin at 01:45 on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. If you’re unable to watch the match, fear not – we’ll have a detailed match report published within minutes of the final whistle.
US Viewers
For viewers within the United States, the match will be broadcast live on FOX Sports and Telemundo – in English and Spanish respectively. The match will kickoff at 3pm HT / 5pm AKT / 6pm PT / 7pm MT / 8pm CT / 9pm ET on Friday, 21 July 2023. Again, if you’re unable to watch the match, we’ll have a detailed match report published within minutes of the final whistle.
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