The USA, ranked No. 1 in the world and favorites to hoist the FIFA trophy, begin their 2023 Women's World Cup journey with a Group E match against Vietnam.
With matches against European opponents Portugal and Netherlands on the horizon, the USWNT get their tournament started against 32nd-ranked Vietnam, who are making their Women's World Cup debut.
Having won the previous two Women's World Cup competitions, the U.S. are seeking to become the first team ever to triumph in three straight World Cup tournaments, on either the men's or women's side. Expectations are mountainous, but there will be stiff competition along the way.
Vietnam, meanwhile, secured their first-ever Women's World Cup appearance thanks to their first-place finish atop the three-team playoff table in Asian qualification. They secured victories over Thailand and Chinese Taipei, qualifying directly for the competition.
MORE: The full 2023 Women's World Cup match schedule with kick times & updated results
USA vs Vietnam live stream, TV channel
| TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | Fox, Telemundo, Universo | Fubo, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes site/app, Universo NOW, Fox Sports site/app |
| UK | BBC One | BBC iPlayer, BBC website |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | TSN1, TSN4, TSN5, RDS | TSN+, TSN site/app, RDS site/app |
| India | DD Sports | Fancode |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 1 NZ | Sky Sport NOW, Sky Go |
| Singapore | — | StarHub TV+ |
| Hong Kong | Now TV | Viu |
What time does USA vs Vietnam kick off?
This Group E match from the Women's World Cup at Eden Park kicks off on locally in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday, July 22 at 1:00 p.m.
Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA / Canada | Fri, July 21 | 9 p.m. ET |
| UK | Sat, July 22 | 2 a.m BST |
| Australia | Sat, July 22 | 11 a.m. AEST |
| India | Sat, July 22 | 6:30 a.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Sat, July 22 | 9 a.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Sat, July 22 | 9 a.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Sat, July 22 | 9 a.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Sat, July 22 | 1 p.m. NZST |
MORE: Sale dates, prices, and how to purchase tickets for 2023 Women's World Cup
USA vs Vietnam lineups, team news
The biggest question mark ahead of the tournament is the fitness of No. 10 Rose Lavelle who made the roster despite a knee injury. USA head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after their warm-up friendly against Wales that Lavelle was in the "build-up stage" of her fitness, and it's unlikely she'll be risked from the start here, with Ashley Sanchez in her place. We could see Lavelle off the bench as she builds up her full match fitness for the tournament.
Otherwise, a full-strength starting lineup is expected for the U.S. Injuries to captain Becky Sauerbrunn, Mallory Swanson, and Cat Macario have left that important trio out of the World Cup altogether.
Andonovski has been open about trying to get backup goalkeeper Casey Murphy minutes at every opportunity, and if she's going to see the field at all in this tournament it will be in this game, but conventional wisdom says he will ride his starter Alyssa Naeher through the entirety of the competition for continuity purposes.
MORE: A full breakdown of the USWNT roster for the 2023 Women's World Cup
USA projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Naeher (GK) — Fox, Girma, Cook, Dunn — Horan, Ertz, Sanchez — Rodman, Morgan, Smith.
Vietnam have brought a vastly experienced side with them to the Women's World Cup, as the roster boasts six players with at least 60 international caps and two with over 100, but none of them have ever been to a Women's World Cup, with the country in its first-ever appearance.
There is just one player attached to a club outside of Vietnam, as captain and leading goal scorer Huynh Nhu plays for Portuguese top flight club Lank Vilaverdense. 21-year-old Nguyen Thi Than Nha is thought to be the next star for the country, already with 28 caps at her young age thanks in part to excellent pace.
They also boast 119-cap veteran midfielder Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung, who completed the impressive feat of scoring not once, but twice directly from a corner in the same match vs Malaysia back in 2015, one with each foot.
Vietnam projected starting lineup (5-4-1): Kim Thanh (GK) — Thu Thao, Thu Thuong, Diem My, Tran Thi Thu, Hoang Thi Loan — Bich Thuy, Huynh Nhu, Tuyet Dung, Thanh Nha — Hai Yen
USA vs Vietnam betting odds
The United States is an utterly overwhelming favorite in this match, with a gargantuan 5.5 goal handicap. This likely stems from memory of the 13-0 thumping they gave the Thailand in the opening round of the 2019 Women's World Cup group stage.
In truth, Vietnam are not targeting a knockout stage, instead entering the tournament with more realistic goals. They will hope to earn a point off Portugal or Netherlands, which would be a resounding success, and even keeping games close will be a positive sign for the country.
MORE: Mallory Swanson opens up to The Sporting News about injury that left her out of World Cup
| USA win | Draw | Vietnam win | Both teams to score Y / N | Over / Under 6.5 goals | USA -5.5 | VTN +5.5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM (USA) | -35000 | +3500 | +6600 | — | — | — | — |
| Sports Interaction (Canada) | -10000 | +1100 | +2300 | +340 / -769 | +106 / -147 | -141 | +106 |
| SkyBet (UK) | 1/500 | 80/1 | 250/1 | — | 1/1, 8/11 | — | — |
| Unibet (Australia) | 1.01 | 21.00 | 41.00 | — | 2.10 / 1.67 | — | — |
| Dafabet (India) | 1.0001 | 13.00 | 25.00 | — | 2.00 / 1.72 | — | — |
