The United States scored 13 points against Thailand, but the celebrations did not take place | Hope Solo | Soccer

Swould the United States have gained a foothold against Thailand? Absolutely not. When you respect your opponent, you do not sit down suddenly and try not to score. It's the World Cup and all you can do is play with heart, pbadion and intensity. Make this shows respect for the opposition.

The 13-0 win against Thailand on Tuesday was a complete performance of the Americans. Each player seemed in shape. Each player seemed to have technical skills. They played as a team. They were good on the set pieces. They seemed to enjoy themselves. I loved seeing Rose Lavelle, Tobin Heath and Kelley O'Hara allied so well. Alex Morgan showed what an excellent player she could be.

It was difficult for me to watch some celebrations of American goals – which were the subject of criticism – given the score. You want the game to be celebrated and the players to have fun, but at the same time, I thought some of the celebrations were a bit excessive. A few seemed planned and I know that some players spend a lot of time thinking about celebrations for fans. It is not always necessary. We have not won the World Cup yet. My favorite holidays capture the brutality of the moment and are filled with spontaneous emotions. When that happens, you see how exciting the sport is and how proud the players are.

That said, one of the most elegant things I've seen is Carli Lloyd going directly to Sukanya Chor Charoenying, Thailand's goalkeeper, after the match. Carli took her in his arms and supported her as they left the field. Thirteen goals on a goalkeeper must be incredibly difficult. As a goalkeeper, I do not know how you deal with so many goals. I had five goals in front of me and it was a hard blow. I never wanted to feel this again and it took me a long time to get it back. It is something that I have never forgotten.

I would like to give some tips on how to handle it, but you must really suffer. The fight helps us grow in life and football is similar. You must feel the pain and find a way to overcome it. Unfortunately, you have to cross it yourself. The goalkeeper is alone. I hate to say that, but no matter what you are told and no matter who is trying to comfort you. Goalkeepers must take care of them ourselves. That takes time. It's difficult and painful and we have to face it.

I felt bad for the Thai team in general, especially when I saw depressed players and gave up. This is not good. At the end of the match, they had nothing left and it was hard to see. The difference between the United States and Thailand – which qualified for the Asian Cup semifinals last year – is complex and looks like that of the chicken and the # 39; egg. Are you opening the World Cup to develop the game? Or do you develop the game and then open the World Cup? I think you first have to invest in women's sport before you get to the World Cup, but unfortunately that's not what many federations in the world have done or are doing.

So what did we learn about gambling in the United States? We already knew we could score goals and we had different ways to score. We already knew how much these individual players are competent. We learned that young players handled the nerves very well and that they could be fun to watch. The young players have certainly gotten wet and have some experience of the World Cup. This will help them to enter the next game against Chile.

But we still do not know if the United States has a strong defense when tested. What we need to know is if some of these great players – who have played really well against Thailand – can do it against the best teams. This American side is the best offensive team in the world, individually. I want to see all players perform as they did against Thailand when it really matters and it really matters.