US veteran Kelley O’Hara spoke of the importance of introducing new players to the squad after the US victory over Vietnam.
Many young stars are in the US squad, which is bidding for its third consecutive title on the world stage.
“A lot of these players got their first World Cup game in, which is really exciting for them,” O’Hara told CNN.
O’Hara, 34, said she had some words of encouragement for the younger players before kick-off.
“‘Listen, you guys are built for this, like you’re made for this moment. Go have fun, enjoy it. You’ve been playing soccer forever and you know what to do,'” she said.
“So yeah, just kind of given them that that boost of confidence and just you know, the little just arm around the shoulder and you guys got this.”
One of those young players, forward Trinity Rodman, said the US team, “were in a really good mind space” going into the match.
Minutes after kick off, 21-year-old Rodman was taken off the field for a few minutes for treatment after she fell backwards in a challenge.
“I obviously didn’t want to start with landing straight on my back,” she said, adding that the adrenaline helped her play through the pain.
“I’m just gonna ice my back and be ready for the next game,” she said.
This post has been updated.
