REIMS, FRANCE (June 11, 2019) – The U.S. Women’s National Team kicked off its 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in record-breaking fashion by defeating Thailand 13-0 in front of a pro-American crowd of 18,591 fans at Stade Auguste-Delaune.
It was the largest margin of victory in the history of the Women’s World Cup, which is being staged for the eighth time. Seven different players scored for the USA — tying Germany for most in a World Cup match – and forward Alex Morgan’s five goals tied her with former American great Michelle Akers for most goals in a single World Cup match.
In addition to Morgan’s exploits, midfielders Rose Lavelle and Samantha Mewis notched two-goal games as the USA set another record as the first nation with three multi-goal performances in one match. The goals were the first in World Cup action for Lavelle and Mewis. Midfielder Lindsey Horan and forward Mallory Pugh also scored in their World Cup debuts, with Pugh’s coming as a second half substitute. Veterans Megan Rapinoe, who donned the captain’s armband, and Carli Lloyd added to their established World Cup goal accounts with single strikes as well.
In the day’s other Group F match, Chile fell to Sweden 2-0 on two late goals in a hard-fought match that nearly saw the South Americans eek out a draw in Rennes. The USA (1-0-0; 3 points) tops the group, followed by Sweden (1-0-0; 3 points), Chile (0-1-0; 0 points) and Thailand (0-1-0; 0 points).
The U.S. led 3-0 at halftime after goals by Morgan in the 12th minute, Lavelle in the 20th and Mewis in the 32nd. By that point the match was well in hand, but things escalated after the break with the USA scoring a World Cup-record 10 goals in the second half.
From the 50th to the 56th minute, the USA scored four goals in the fastest amount of time in tournament history as Mewis bagged both her strikes (50th and 54th) on either side Morgan’s second (53rd), and Lavelle doubled her tally as well in the 56th.
Up 7-0, midway through the second half, the USA remained relentless as head coach Jill Ellis introduced attackers Christen Press and Lloyd shortly after the record flurry. Then Pugh was also brought on for the final 20 minutes.
With fresh legs, Press assisted on Morgan’s third in the 74th minute, while Pugh added the assist on Rapinoe’s fourth career World Cup goal in the 79th. Pugh then tallied her first World Cup goal (assisted by Morgan) in the 84th minute after Morgan had reached four goals in the 81st. Morgan finished off her record-tying goal haul in the 87th minute before turning provider a final time on Lloyd’s capper that cemented the record score line in added time.
Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Alex Morgan (Kelley O’Hara), 12th minute: After Morgan had an earlier goal called back for offside, she made no mistake with her second opportunity. Rapinoe drove down the left and crossed into the box. The ball rolled to O’Hara at the top of the area on the right side and she carried it toward the end line before chipping a cross to the back post for Morgan to nod home from inside the six-yard box. USA 1, THA 0
USA – Rose Lavelle (Alex Morgan), 20th minute: O’Hara initiated the second goal with a long ball from half field for Morgan, who brought it down and played it into the path of Lavelle. She beat a defender before uncorking a low drive from 24 yards out that skipped under the goalkeeper and stuck into the left corner of the net for her first World Cup goal. USA 2, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Lindsey Horan (Samantha Mewis), 32nd minute: Just past the half hour mark, the U.S. won a free kick that Tobin Heath drove low into the center of the penalty area. The ball ricocheted off Samantha Mewis near the left post and bounced kindly to Horan who belted a shot into the roof of the net for her first World Cup goal. USA 3, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Samantha Mewis (Megan Rapinoe), 50th minute: After the break, a spell of U.S. possession led to Megan Rapinoe picking out Mewis just inside the Thailand area. She turned toward goal and put a shot on frame that was deflected by a defender, wrong-footing the goalkeeper on its way into the left side of the net. USA 4, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Alex Morgan, 53rd minute: A long free kick into the right side of the Thailand box was flicked on by Horan with her head. The ball looped across the goal mouth to the back post where an unmarked Morgan volleyed it into the center of the net from close range with the outside of her right boot. USA 5, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Samantha Mewis (Rose Lavelle), 54th minute: Crystal Dunn beat a defender one-on-one to the left end line and cut a low across to the top of the penalty area where Lavelle had a free shot that was blocked. The deflection spun directly to Mewis at the right post and she redirected it into the goal from six yards out for her second of the game. USA 6, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Rose Lavelle (Samantha Mewis), 56th minute: Dunn again initiated the USA attack, sending an entry pass into the left side of the box for Mewis, who had time to glance over her shoulder at Lavelle’s trailing run before picking out her midfield partner alone in the middle of the box. Lavelle drove a low left-footed shot into the center of the goal. USA 7, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Alex Morgan (Christen Press), 74th minute: Mewis advanced the ball out of midfield to Press near the top right corner of the Thailand box. Press took a touch and let the crisscrossing runs of Lloyd and Morgan unfold before picking out Morgan near the penalty arc. Morgan took her defender to the left before pulling the ball back with her right foot to open up space for a snap shot across goal into the far-left side netting. USA 8, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Megan Rapinoe (Mallory Pugh), 79th minute: The U.S. got out on the break, and Press picked out Pugh streaking down the right sideline. Pugh played in an early cross on the ground that was just out of reach for Morgan but rolled perfectly for the unmarked Rapinoe who was crashing the goal. From the penalty spot, Rapinoe hit a low, first-time drive into the center of the net. USA 9, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Alex Morgan (Megan Rapinoe), 81st minute: Dunn played the ball wide left to Rapinoe who stumbled as she began to drive at her defender. She regained her balanced and stormed into the penalty area, drawing the Thailand defense before sliding a pass to an unmarked Morgan near the top of the box. Morgan needed only a quick settling touch to tee up a well-placed shot into the left side of the goal from 16 yards out. USA 10, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Mallory Pugh (Christen Press), 84th minute: A looping ball forward was headed on by Press to Morgan, who spun with the ball and spotted the run of Pugh toward the penalty mark. Morgan weighted a perfect pass for Pugh to collect, dribble around the ‘keeper and slot home her first World Cup goal. USA 11, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Alex Morgan, 87th minute: Dunn once again initiated the attacking sequence, chipping a pass to Morgan outside the left side of the area. A challenge from a defender sent the ball over her head, but she tracked its flight and got a touch at full stretch to the ball before another defender could clear. Morgan then unleashed a fierce drive into the upper left side of the net for her record-tying fifth strike of the contest. USA 12, THA 0 (WATCH)
USA – Carli Lloyd (Alex Morgan), 92nd minute: Lloyd made the final goal look easy, taking a Morgan pass in stride as she entered the heart of the penalty box. With defenders closing in, she froze the goalkeeper before sliding the ball into the right side of the goal to put the cap stone on a record performance by the USWNT. USA 13, THA 0 (WATCH) FINAL
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- The USA’s 13-0 win was the largest ever margin of victory for any team in a World Cup match. The USA’s previous largest margin was a 7-0 defeat of Chinese Taipei at the inaugural 1991 event.
- The USA’s 13-0 win was the largest margin of victory among the opening matches of group play. The second largest was host nation France’s 4-0 win vs. Korea Republic in the tournament’s opening game.
- The multi-goal performances by Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle and Samantha Mewis mark the first time a nation has had three different players score multiple goals in a WWC match.
- The USA tied the Women’s World Cup record of seven different scorers in a game.
- Mallory Pugh was the thirty-second different player to score for the USA at the Women’s World Cup, making the U.S. the second nation to have that many different scorers in the competition’s history after Germany (34).
- There were just six minutes between the USA’s fourth and seventh goals (50’, 53’, 54’, 56’), the fastest four goals that have ever been scored in a single Women’s World Cup match in the competition’s history.
- Alex Morgan’s five goals upped her international total to 106. She now has eight in World Cup play, tying her with Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Carli Lloyd in third place on the USA’s top World Cup scorers list. Lloyd’s goal late in the game bumped her up to eight World Cup goals as well. Only Abby Wambach (14) and Michelle Akers (12) have more World Cup goals for the USA.
- Lloyd’s goal gave her scores in five consecutive World Cup matches dating back to 2015, which is also a record (tied with Germany’s Brigit Prinz).
- Morgan joins Lloyd, Carin Jennings (1991) and Michelle Akers (1991) as the only Americans to record a hat trick in the Women’s World Cup. Like Morgan today, Akers went on to score five against Chinese Taipei and set the initial record in China at the first Women’s World Cup.
- Morgan and Akers are the only two players from any nation to score five goals in a WWC game.
- Morgan and Akers are the only two players in WWC history with more than three goals in a single World Cup match.
- Morgan is the first player in Women’s World Cup history with five goals and three assists in the same match. She is the fourth player in WWC history with three-plus goals and at least one assist.
- Morgan’s three assists are the most by any player in a WWC match since 2007.
- Kelley O’Hara’s assist on Morgan’s opening goal was her first of 2019 and 16th of her U.S. career.
- Lavelle’s two goals were her first at a World Cup. She now has nine in her WNT career.
- Lavelle is the third-youngest American ever to score a brace in a WWC match at 24 years, 28 days old. The two younger players are Cat Whitehill (21 years, 233 days vs. DPK Korea on Sept. 28, 2003) and Kristine Lilly (23 years, 328 days vs. Japan on June 13, 1995).
- Lindsey Horan’s goal was her first in World Cup play and ninth of her international career.
- Mewis’ two goals were her first in a World Cup and she now has 14 in her WNT career. She also had two assists.
- Rapinoe’s goal was her fourth goal at a World Cup and the 45th of her U.S. career.
- Rapinoe, at 33 years, 341 days old, is now the third-oldest American goal scorer in WWC history, behind Abby Wambach (35 years, 15 days) and Kristine Lilly (36 years, 62 days).
- Rapinoe wore the captain’s armband for the USA for the first time in a World Cup match in today’s game.
- Mallory Pugh’s goal was her first in World Cup play and the 17th of her career.
- At 21 years, 43 days, Pugh is now the third-youngest goal scorer in a WWC match in USWNT history.
- The USA had seven players make their World Cup debuts: goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, defenders Abby Dahlkemper and Crystal Dunn, midfielders Horan, Lavelle and Mewis, and forward Mallory Pugh.
– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –
Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Thailand
Date: June 11, 2019
Competition: 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup; Group F
Venue: Stade Auguste-Delaune; Reims, France
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET (9 p.m. local)
Attendance: 18,591
Weather: 58 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 3 10 13
THA 0 0 0
USA – Alex Morgan (Kelley O’Hara) 12th minute
USA – Rose Lavelle (Alex Morgan) 20
USA – Lindsey Horan (Samantha Mewis) 32
USA – Samantha Mewis (Megan Rapinoe) 50
USA – Alex Morgan 53
USA – Samantha Mewis (Rose Lavelle) 54
USA – Rose Lavelle (Samantha Mewis) 56
USA – Alex Morgan (Christen Press) 74
USA – Megan Rapinoe (Mallory Pugh) 79
USA – Alex Morgan (Megan Rapinoe) 81
USA – Mallory Pugh (Alex Morgan) 85
USA – Alex Morgan 87
USA – Carli Lloyd (Alex Morgan) 90+2
Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 8-Julie Ertz (2-Mallory Pugh, 69), 19-Crystal Dunn; 9-Lindsey Horan, 3-Samantha Mewis, 16-Rose Lavelle (10-Carli Lloyd, 57); 17-Tobin Heath (23-Christen Press, 57), 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Megan Rapinoe (capt.)
Substitutes not used: 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Morgan Brian, 11-Ali Krieger, 12-Tierna Davidson; 14-Emily Sonnett, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 20-Allie Long, 21-Adrianna Franch, 22-Jessica McDonald,
Head Coach: Jill Ellis
THA: 18-Sukanya Chor Charoenying; 9-Warunee Phetwiset (13-Orathai Srimanee, 71), 3-Natthakarn Chinwong, 2-Kanjanaporn Saenkhun, 10-Sunisa Srangthaisong; 21-Kanjana Sung-Ngoen, 20-Wilaiporn Boothduang (6-Pikul Khueanpet, 35), 5-Ainon Phancha, 12-Rattikan Thongsombut (17-Taneekarn Dangda, 65); 7-Silawan Intamee; 8-Miranda Nild
Substitutes not used: 1-Waraporn Boonsing, 22-Tiffany Sornpao, 4-Duangnapa Sritala, 11-Sudarat Chuchuen, 23-Phonphirun Philawan, 15-Orapin Waenngoen, 16-Khwanrudi Saengchan, 14-Saowalak Pengngam, 19-Pitsamai Sornsai
Head Coach: Nuengrutai Srathongvian
Stats Summary: USA / THA
Shots: 40 / 2
Shots on goal: 20 / 2
Saves: 2 / 7
Corner Kicks: 10 / 0
Fouls: 5 / 5
Offside: 3 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
THA – Taneekarn Dangda (caution) 72nd minute
Officials:
Referee: Laura Fortunato (ARG)
Assistant Referee 1: Mariana De Almeida (ARG)
Assistant Referee 2: Mary Blanco (COL)
Fourth Official: Claudia Umpierrez (URU)
Budweiser Woman of the Match:Â Alex Morgan
Ref: US Soccer/ FIFA
