Welcome to The Sophia Smith Era of USWNT

The US Women’s National team rolled through Nigeria this afternoon 4–0 and there was so much to like with how the Starting XI moved and produced. For starters, Sophia Smith proved incredibly difficult to handle, her first goal coming off a knifing run straight through Nigeria’s backline, causing a lengthy Nigeria huddle before they restarted play.

The front 3 of Smith-Morgan-Pugh really worked well off of each other all game, there were some excellent switches and all 3 had a good idea of each others’ positioning at all times. Meanwhile, Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle were noticeably covering a good deal of ground in the midfield behind them and disrupted Nigeria’s counterattack, before it could ever start.

Horan slotted home the 2nd goal after a filthy move that saw her lose her defender with a vicious cutback and easily curl the ball into the corner of the net. Then came the goal that really crystalizes the Sophia Smith era of this squad. You really noticed Smith’s running and her ability to float in and out of space while making defenders’ life miserable. The 3rd goal comes from Smith’s run that made her an easy target for an Emily Fox cross, one touch later and the ball was past Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie.