PARIS — The U.S. women’s national soccer team scored a victory over Zambia in the opening game of the Olympics that was both cathartic and compelling.
Cathartic because it was the U.S. women’s national team’s first game in a major tournament since the pain of the 2023 World Cup.
Emphatic because the score was 3-0 and the margin could easily have been wider.
The United States steamrolled a largely outmatched Zambian team, with 13 shots in the first 30 minutes and four legitimate chances within the first 10 minutes.
He didn’t convert those first chances, but soon a goal came and then more followed.
And they were created by the same players who suffered the most during and after last summer’s World Cup. Trinity Rodman, who was devastated after a tough tournament in 2023, spun the Zambian defenders and scored the opening goal.
Her celebration — chin raised to the sky, toothy grin and unmistakable joy — told the story of Thursday night at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice. There was pressure, obvious pressure, on the American women. But before it could affect their Olympic debut in 2024, she relented.
Shortly after Rodman opened the scoring, Mallory Swanson, who missed the World Cup with a painful patellar tendon injury, scored her first goal in a major tournament since 2019.
And less than a minute after the match resumed at 2-0, it was 3-0, again thanks to Swanson.
He celebrated the first one with a clenched fist and a somewhat relieved “YES!”
She celebrated the second with her provider, Sophia Smith, the third member of the American attacking trident and perhaps the one who struggled most with the weight of expectations last summer.
Less than 10 minutes later, Swanson got the better of Zambia’s Pauline Zulu. Zulu brought her down. After reviewing the video, referee Ramon Abatti Abel showed her a harsh red card. Zulu burst into tears.
At that point, the first thought was that the game might get ugly, but it never did. Zambia fought back. The United States took an exceptionally comfortable victory that, perhaps, left some fans wanting more.
But the lack of second-half goals shouldn’t matter. The three points and strong goal difference should be enough for the Americans to advance to the quarterfinals in this 12-team tournament, with two third-place teams advancing.
Your concern, on the contrary, should be twofold.
First: Smith left Thursday’s game late in the first half with what appeared to be an ankle injury, the severity of which is unknown.
Second: The Games will only get more difficult from now on. The next opponent will be Germany, which beat Australia 3-0 on Thursday.
The U.S.’s matchup with the Germans (Sunday in Marseille at 3 p.m. ET) should determine who tops Group B.