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The United States Women’s National Team begins its quest for a record third-consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup victory on Friday night (US time).
The US, led by both old names and new, is joined in Group E with fellow powerhouse the Netherlands, as well as World Cup newcomers Portugal and Vietnam.
The latter two are beneficiaries of FIFA’s decision to expand the women’s World Cup from 24 teams to 32. The move was made as the women’s game continues to grow across the globe.
But it also makes a vast gap between the “haves” and “have nots” of the women’s soccer world.
The United States enters the tournament as the No. 1-ranked team in the world. It boasts a record four World Cup victories (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019) and is the betting favorite to take home a fifth.
Vietnam, meanwhile, is ranked No. 32 in the world.
While that number may not seem all that bad on its face, it must be taken within the context of the women’s game, where fewer countries are investing in their teams.
Vietnam enters the World Cup having lost five straight game. It lost its last tune-up game against sixth-ranked Spain by a 9-0 score line.
So, just how big of a mismatch is this game?
Well, the fine folks at Fox Sports pulled some unbelievable numbers to put it into context.
The USWNT defeated Thailand by a score of 13-0 to start the 2019 World Cup. It was the most goals by a team in the tournament’s history.
The spread for the game is listed at anywhere from -5.5 to -6.5 in favor of the US depending on where you look.
The entire Vietnam team plays professionally in the Vietnamese league.
The USWNT is 11-4-0 all-time in the World Cup against Asian teams, though that does include a 2011 World Cup Final loss to Japan in penalty kicks.
Ultimately, Vietnam faces a massive hill to climb. And anything less than a five or six goal loss would be extremely respectable. Though the US will surely be looking to build up their goal differential early, much like in 2019.