U.S. women don't resemble World Cup contenders vs. Australia
WINNIPEG -- It is not impossible to win a World Cup after failing to win your first game, but history smirks at rather than smiles upon those who attempt it.
For an hour at Winnipeg Stadium on Monday, as the United States plodded without success and remained rooted at 1-1 with Australia, it looked as if it might have to stare down the record books and prove precedent a fool.
Some future champions of Women's World Cups have looked spectacular in their opener; some have been patchy, others downright unconvincing. But they all have one thing in common: They have all won.
This is the seventh World Cup that has been staged since soccer gave female players the long overdue right to participate in a global championship of their own, and on each occasion the team that went on to lift the trophy found a way to collect three points to kick off its campaign.
In the men's game, the record is similar. Over the past 32 years, only Spain in 2010 has managed to overcome an early setback, when it lost to Switzerland then reeled off six consecutive victories.
The final in Vancouver on July 5 is a long way off, and the U.S. is far removed from playing at the kind of level needed to get there. Before Christen Press secured the go-ahead goal on 61 minutes and Megan Rapinoe put Australia away with a solo run soon after, it was the Matildas, as the Aussie women's team is charmingly known, who looked more comfortable.
Yet none of that matters now. For teams like the U.S., among the handful with genuine aspirations of lifting the trophy, the group stage is a process to be endured and survived and to lay the foundation for the serious business of the knockout rounds.
In that sense, it was job done, by a 3-1 final.
However, there are questions that will linger and must be addressed before the next, critical game against Sweden on Friday.
The forward line did not look especially dynamic here, and Abby Wambach's strength was well contained by Australia. Wambach, at 35, is perhaps the greatest player in the history of the women's game, but her impact might be enhanced by a substitute role – allowing her to size up against tiring defenders, rather than being employed for a full 90 minutes.
The viability of that option will likely hinge on the health of Alex Morgan, who was brought on as a late sub here but may not have enough match fitness to be risked from the outset against Sweden.
And while the central defensive partnership of Becky Sauerbrunn and Julie Johnston ultimately got the job done, head coach Jill Ellis will surely look closely at how Australia's Lisa De Vanna was able to get so much space in the penalty area for her equalizing goal in the first half.
Questions however, can be addressed with more clarity of mind with three points safely stashed in the win column, especially with Sweden and Nigeria, the other teams in Group D, on one apiece after their thrilling 3-3 draw earlier in the day.
The U.S. is on its way, not without a stumble or two, but with confidence rising and a historical burden averted.