By Amelia Hirtle
A month after their Concacaf W Championship final win, the US Women’s National team returned to action in a friendly against Nigeria.
Nigeria is fresh off a disappointing finish in the AFCON tournament; however, they were able to qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. With limited practice time leading up to the match for Nigeria, both teams took the field in Kansas City.
The home squad got off to a hot start by opening the scoring in the 14th minute. The Nigerian team were looking to settle the ball and set up their attack when one of their players flicked the ball backwards, towards their goal. Sophia Smith pounced on the ball and took a few touches in the box before rifling a shot past the Nigerian keeper. While the play was the cause of a mistake by the opposing team, it showed the quick reaction of the U.S. and their ability to capitalize on the mistakes of their opponents.
The second goal of the afternoon also began with the mistake from the visitors. The U.S. had sent a cross in and Nigeria had been unable to clear it from inside their box. With a scramble to gain control of the ball, Smith ended up with it at her feet and passed it to Lindsey Horan. With a smooth cutback move toward the goal, Horan sent her defender stumbling backwards and placed the ball perfectly in the net to give the home team a 2-0 score line.
Shortly after the second half, Smith scored again with an assist from Emily Fox. The final goal for the USWNT came as Mallory Pugh was fouled in the box and awarded the penalty. Alex Morgan converted for a final score of 4-0.
The home team played well in front of a crowd of 14,000 in Kansas City. It was a full team performance with the forward line manipulating the wide spaces given to them by the defense. Now, both teams will travel to the nation’s capital and train there prior to their final friendly on Tuesday, September 6th.