Olympics 2024: USWNT coasts past Zambia in opener

PARIS — The U.S. women's national soccer team rolled to an Olympics-opening win over Zambia on Thursday that was equal parts cathartic and emphatic.

Cathartic because it was the USWNT's first game at a major tournament since the pain of the 2023 World Cup.

Emphatic because the score was 3-0 and the margin easily could've been wider.

The U.S. blitzed a mostly overmatched Zambian team, with 13 shots in the first 30 minutes and four legitimate chances inside the first 10.

It didn't convert those early chances, but soon enough, a goal came, and then more flowed.

And they were created by the very players who suffered most during and after last summer's World Cup. Trinity Rodman, who was devastated after a tough 2023 tournament, spun Zambian defenders in circles and scored the first.

Her celebration — chin tilted skywards, smile bearing teeth, joy unmissable — told the story of Thursday night at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice. There was pressure, obvious pressure, on the U.S. women. But before it could infringe on their 2024 Olympic debut, it relented.

Soon after Rodman opened the scoring, Mallory Swanson — who missed the World Cup with a gut-wrenching patellar tendon injury — grabbed her first goal at a major tournament since 2019.

And less than a minute after the match restarted at 2-0, it was 3-0, thanks to Swanson again.

She celebrated the first with a pump of her fist and a somewhat relieved "YES!"

She celebrated the second with her supplier, Sophia Smith — the third member of the American attacking trident, and maybe the one who struggled most with the weight of expectation last summer.

Less than 10 minutes after that, Swanson flew past Zambia's Pauline Zulu. Zulu took her down. After video review, referee Ramon Abatti Abel produced a harsh red card. Zulu broke down in tears.

The immediate thought at that very moment was that the game could get ugly. It never did. Zambia fought. The U.S. coasted to 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 differential should be plenty on their own to see the Americans through to the quarterfinals in this 12-team tournament, with two third-place teams advancing.

Their concern, instead, should be twofold.

First: Smith exited Thursday's game late in the first half with what appeared to be an ankle injury, severity unknown.

Second: The Games will only get tougher from here. Next up is Germany, which pummeled Australia 3-0 earlier Thursday.

That U.S. showdown with the Germans — Sunday in Marseille, 3 p.m. ET — should determine who tops Group B.