Paris 2024 Olympics: Four key takeaways from USA women's football victory over Zambia
The United States Women's Soccer Team (USWNT) opened their Paris 2024 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Zambia on Thursday 25 July.
Trinity Rodman opened the scoring in the 17th minute with an excellent piece of skill before a brace from Mallory Swanson helped seal the three points for Emma Hayes's side.
As far as making a statement goes, the USA could not have done anything more against the Zambians, who are participating at just their second Olympic Games.
With Germany and Australia still to come in the group stages, the Americans will have plenty of different questions to answer as the tournament progresses.
For now, however, there are plenty of positives to take from their eighth Olympic opener.
Following that comfortable victory, here are four things we learned from the USA's curtain raiser:
Trinity Rodman is unplayable
Rodman demonstrated just why she is one of the most exciting young players in the world.
The 22-year-old has the ability to change a game in the blink of an eye, which is exactly what she did on Thursday evening.
With her side struggling to break down the deep block deployed by the Zambians, Rodman's clever piece of skill to flick a threaded pass through her legs — completely taking out the defenders on either side of her — allowed her to poke the ball beyond the onrushing Ngambo Musole.
That opening goal seemed to be the catalyst for Team USA's rampant first half display, with the Washington Spirit forward proving pivotal to everything good they did going forward.
Crystal Dunn v Zambia at Paris 2024.
USWNT at Paris 2024: Experience is key
Hayes's starting XI showed that, at least for their opening game, experience was crucial at the back. When you consider the American defence were up against the likes of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, it makes sense.
The most notable decision, however, was to have Crystal Dunn at right-back over Jenna Nighswonger. The latter is one of the newer names to the squad, with no experience in a major tournament just yet.
On the contray, Dunn has been a mainstay since debuting for the senior side in 2013. The versatile 32-year-old had been called up as an attacker, but Hayes opted to call on her at the back for the first game of the tournament.
This is perhaps indicative of the approach Hayes intends to adapt in her first major competition as the USWNT boss, calling on her most experienced squad members to lead by example.
USWNT midfielder Sam Coffey.
Sam Coffey's movement
The midfield is one of the most pivotal positions on the pitch, providing the bridge between defence and attack. While Lindsey Horan anchors the top end that links the forward line, Sam Coffey is tasked with protecting the backline.
It is no secret that the USWNT has been crying out for a mobile defensive midfielder since Julie Ertz's injury-plagued final few years with the national team, and it looks as though their answer has been found in the form of Coffey.
The 25-year-old has boundless energy in the middle of the park, constantly finding her way into space and not shying away from the ball, making her an indispensable profile.
That being said, partnered with Horan, who enjoys getting forward, has the ability to leave the USA vulnerable to a counterattack, which Zambia was able to do on a handful of occasions in the first 45.
Hayes's side looked far more comfortable in the second half, with Korbin Albert coming on and playing a deeper role alongside Coffey.
USWNT defender Tierna Davidson v Zambia's Barbra Banda.
Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles
Much of the talk from Thursday's win is likely to be around the enthralling attacking display from the Americans, who were ruthless up top once they had broken the deadlock.
But it is the defence who are worthy of the plaudits, specifically the centre-back pairing of Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson.
Tasked with keeping Banda and Kundananji quiet, the duo executed their job to near perfection, with the former resorting to shots from distance that failed to test the goalkeeper.
Girma was particularly impressive building from the back and bringing composure, especially when sporting the captain's armband after Horan was withdrawn.
Defenders called on from the bench, like Casey Krueger, also played key roles in keeping the clean sheet which will no doubt be encouraging for their manager to see.
If the USA are to go on and win a fifth Olympic gold, what they do at the back will be the most important thing in their campaign, and these two are off to a very strong start.