2019 Women's World Cup – Are we going to really blame the USWNT players for scoring and celebrating their goals?

REIMS, France – Last team on the field four years ago in Canada, the United States was the last contender to win the 2019 Women's World Cup among confetti to celebrate their third title.

Americans looked like a team tired of waiting.

Driven by the record performance of Alex Morgan, whose five goals equaled that of Michelle Akers by an American World Cup, the Americans beat Thailand 13-0 on Tuesday. The final count set a record for the most prolific offensive performance in tournament history.

Playing in front of a sold-out crowd at the Auguste-Delaune Stadium that looked like watching a game in Portland, Oregon or New York rather than in northern France, the United States transferred the match to the Thailand the whistle of opening.

But at the end of the match, some asked, how many goals are too many goals?

The Americans had the game in hand comfortably a few minutes after the start of the second period, when Samantha Mewis opened the scoring to the Americans 4-0. The game was settled long ago when Mewis and Rose Lavelle scored two minutes apart to reach the score of 7-0 with over 30 minutes to play.

From one wave to another, the United States created more opportunities and goals until they broke the 11-0 record won by the United States. Germany at the 2007 World Cup against Argentina.

But blaming the United States ignores two obvious points. First, the Americans have not established the rules according to which the number of goals scored is part of the choice of tournament result. The goal difference matters. American women want to win their group. Unlike any other sport, Americans have every interest in raising the score.

And secondly, it is not the fault of the United States of not being able to release its seat. It is allowed to three submarines. He used three submarines.

"If it's 10-0 in a Men's World Cup, will we have the same questions?" US coach Jill Ellis asked after receiving repeated questions about the score. "I think a World Cup is a competition, a summit, a preparation for your players to be ready for the next game."

But beyond that, why does the US team have an obligation to act in the interest of creating the image of an unfair land? Why should not FIFA or the Asian Confederation be blamed for not doing more to promote women's sport in places where it is lagging behind?

Are we going to really blame the players for celebrating a goal, often at their first World Cup, instead of looking at the underlying reasons for the disparity?

It is understandable that Thai players looked stunned and embarrassed after the match, away from the happy scenes after defeating Ivory Coast in their World Cup debut four years ago. It's unfortunate for them. But that is also the competition. Both sides.

"Obviously, we have the utmost respect for everyone," said American star Megan Rapinoe. "But it's the World Cup, and that's part of it, that's part of the growth of the game and the growth of the pool."

Here are the details of the total number of women's shots (40), goal placements (13) and key figures of the American women's match:

• The 13 goals of the Americans against Thailand were the largest number of matches in the history of the World Cup, men or women.

• The United States Men's National Team has scored 12 World Cup goals over the past 6,202 days.

• Morgan is only the second player in the history of the Women's World Cup to score five goals in one game. Akers was the first in 1991.

Morgan does hers

Earlier in the week, a French journalist asked Morgan how she felt to be the most popular non-French female player in France. As beloved as the local team, she might have conquered some inhabitants Tuesday.

Morgan spoke openly about the disappointment she felt with her own performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but she nearly equaled all of the US's goal production of the tournament with her quintet of goals against the Thailand. Better yet, some of his best night moves came with the ball at his feet while trying to train his teammates. It was fully integrated into an attack operating at a point near its peak. This is not a coincidence.

"To tie Michelle Akers' record is obviously incredible," said Morgan. "But even more than that, I think we had such a great team performance.We were able to execute as many opportunities as we had and we showed how much our attack is truly diverse, and we know that every goal counts in the group stages, and that's why we had to continue. "

In addition to Morgan's five goals, Lavelle and Mewis each scored two goals, while Lindsey Horan, Carli Lloyd, Mallory Pugh and Rapinoe added simple goals.

The children are well

The United States is the oldest team in this year's World Cup, thanks to a core of veterans already in their thirties (a group that will include Morgan by the end of the World Cup at the latest) . But it's also a team that has featured six players making their World Cup debut in Tuesday's training.

None of them looked nervous. And the midfielder looked positively early.

With Julie Ertz starting in the last row in place of Becky Sauerbrunn, whole circles of Horan, Lavelle and Mewis started their first match in the World Cup. All of them helped fuel the US attack well before everyone was on the scoresheet. Horan much like former champion Lauren Holiday in the deep midfield, sending passes around the field like a quarterback, Mewis and Lavelle showed their own skills in attack.

"It gave us all a good feeling that we could contribute at this level," said Mewis. "I know that for all of us, it's been a dream for so long, and being able to contribute to the team and feel like doing something good has gone really well."

It could also reveal something that, after scoring a goal and attracting the approval of many spectators in the stands, Lavelle was not ready to gorge on praise.

"I just think I have not connected some of my passes," Lavelle said. "And I do not think I was as clean, technically, as I should be."

There is always next time. And there will be many times to come for this group of circles.

The first game that American women needed

The camera broadcasting the news thread has found a few times in the arena Hope Solo, the former American goalkeeper, who worked as an analyst for the BBC. Alone Recent critics of Ellis were the closest thing to a dark cloud on this team entering the opening game. By putting all about the coach, Solo also reinforced the idea that it was a team without a proper identity, a team without the strong personalities to win anyway . Well, it looked like a team that the United States will love to watch – and get to know over the next few weeks.

"I do not know if we really have to make a statement," said Rapinoe. "We are we – I think we're always on the back anyway, but yes, we wanted to have a good performance and have a good feeling, of course, we know that the competition will be much stronger from now on and, hopefully, once we reach the round of 16. "

The United States would always win this match, probably comfortably. But by ensuring success by playing so aggressively early – in a tournament in which many prestigious teams are struggling to win – this American team has created room for maneuver for itself.

Ertz buys time for Sauerbrunn

Sauerbrunn, a former defenseman, was selected due to a minor injury to a quad, but team officials said before the match that she was at 95% and that the decision to having her sit (she was in uniform and available) was a precaution. American women do not play until Sunday, giving her another five days to recover. Without saying the same, the message was basically that someone who played every minute of the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics could have played in a game in which the United States needed its defense .

And no, there was not much defense for Ertz or whoever else to do. Yet, by anchoring a back-row that had more than 300 team selections – but only a tiny one as defenders – Ertz played the role of veteran leader after becoming a young sensation in 2015. And by playing the role of between the instructions of the bench and the transition to an intermediate role in the midfield, allowing the Americans to play on a 3-4-3 for stretching, she stressed the versatility of this team.

American women are better with Sauerbrunn. They also have an interest in knowing that they have a good member of Parliament.

All signs still indicate clash with Sweden

He looked for a good part of the evening elsewhere as if Chile was going to copy the South American entry money, Argentina, in a surprise that would change group. But when Argentina managed to retain a draw against Japan on Monday, Chile conceded two goals late after a late weather and lost against Sweden in Group F.

This means that American women and Sweden are still on the right track for a group final that will determine who finishes first (and takes a route that could lead through Paris and a quarter-final against France). And with the goals differential accumulated on Tuesday, the United States could participate in the final knowing that a draw would be enough to dominate the group.

Sweden plays again Sunday, against Thailand in Nice. American women then play in Chile in Paris.