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Olympics and Paralympics
Juana Summers, NPR

The U.S. Women's soccer team opened the Paris Olympics with an easy win over Zambia

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ierna Davidson (right) of the U.S. Women's National Team is challenged by Barbra Banda of Zambia during a group match between the U.S. and Zambia during the Paris Olympics at Stade de Nice on Thursday in Nice, France.
Tierna Davidson (right) of the U.S. Women's National Team is challenged by Barbra Banda of Zambia during a group match between the U.S. and Zambia during the Paris Olympics at Stade de Nice on Thursday in Nice, France.
Marc Atkins via Getty Images

The U.S. women’s national team returned to the Olympics, opening with a dominant 3-0 win against Zambia in group play in Nice.

The U.S. scored three times in the first 25 minutes of the game, putting aggressive pressure on Zambia from the opening whistle. Trinity Rodman scored the first goal at the 17th minute, and Mallory Swanson followed with rapid-fire, back-to-back goals to establish an early, commanding lead.

Zambia played the majority of the game down one player, after Pauline Zulu was given a yellow card while defending the U.S.'s Sophia Smith. After video review, the yellow card was upgraded to a red, leaving Zambia with just 10 players.

Despite strong play from Zambia’s Barbra Banda, a star on the Orlando Pride, the U.S. lead remained unthreatened. That performance may have put to rest, at least for now, concerns about scoring issues in both of the team’s pre-Olympic matches against Costa Rica and Mexico.

The U.S. women’s national team has four world championships and four Olympic gold medals. But with a new head coach in Emma Hayes, the team is looking to turn the page after dismal showings in recent major tournaments, including the earliest-ever exit at the Women's World Cup in 2023.

Mallory Swanson of the U.S. reacts after scoring the team's third goal (and her second of the match) during the USWNT's opening group game against Zambia at Nice Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Thursday.
Mallory Swanson of the U.S. reacts after scoring the team's third goal (and her second of the match) during the USWNT's opening group game against Zambia at Nice Stadium at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Thursday.
Julio Cortez | AP

There are also questions as the team looks ahead to the next match. In the first half, Sophia Smith was injured and forced to exit the game early.

Thursday's win was quite a contrast to the last Olympic opener three years ago in Tokyo when the U.S. lost to Sweden. Still, the Olympic road gets a lot tougher for the U.S. Next up is fourth-ranked Germany on Sunday in Marseille.

Copyright 2024, NPR