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The U.S. women's national team are set to square off against Vietnam Friday night at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand in their World Cup opener. The match will be the first of three group games for the USA as they begin the journey to trying to win a fifth World Cup title. No team has ever achieved a three-peat of cups and the USWNT are in prime position to be the first to do so. They'll have to get through the group, where all games take place in New Zealand, and they include a 2019 final rematch against the Netherlands.

While the Americans come into the tournament as two-time defending champions, they are also missing key players to injuries, and in their last major event, took only bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. They'll need to show that the absence of Mallory Swanson in attack and Becky Sauerbrunn in defense this team still has enough fire power to get the job done. 

Matchday one is the first-ever meeting between USA and Vietnam. Here's how you can watch the match and what to know:

Viewing information

  • Date: Friday, July 21 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
  • Location: Eden Park -- Auckland, New Zealand
  • TV: Fox | Live stream: Fox Sports App and fuboTV (Try for free)
  • Odds: USA -75000; Draw +2800; Vietnam +5000 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

USWNT group schedule

All times Eastern

Friday, July 21
USWNT vs. Vietnam, 9 p.m. -- Eden Park, Auckland

Wednesday, July 26
USWNT vs. Netherlands, 9 p.m. -- Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington

Tuesday, Aug. 1
USWNT vs. Portugal, 3 a.m. -- Eden Park, Auckland

Predicted Starting XI

USWNT XI: Naeher; Dunn, Girma, Cook, Fox; Horan, Ertz, Sanchez; Smith, Morgan, Rodman

Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle are medically cleared and no doubt considered ideal starters for Vlatko Andonovski, so it's time to put action to his words when he said if the send-off match against Wales was a World Cup game, Ertz would've started. But don't be surprised if the coaching staff goes with a similar line-up that was used during the USWNT's send-off game. Lavelle hasn't played a competitive match since mid-April and this might be the time she finally gets minutes but it might be off the bench in order to build over the tournament. Look for Lynn Williams, Sofia Huerta, Andi Sullivan, Alyssa Thompson or Kelley O'Hara to get runs out against Vietnam as well.

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Storylines

USWNT: The favorites to win another tournament and with good reason. Yes, there are multiple players who did not crack the final roster due to injury, but no contender is without significant injuries this tournament. The depth of this squad is deep, and the new faces on the team are about to get introduced to a global audience. 

18-year-old Alyssa Thompson and 21-year-old Trinity Rodman are two young players on the roster in their first World Cup and could be a bit of an x-factor for the USWNT, while experienced players Crystal Dunn and Lindsey Horan are sure to steer the starting lineup. But a first-group match against a debutant squad might just work in the U.S. favor as they look to grow stronger in the tournament. 

Vietnam: The team is led by Mai Đức Chung, who has been in charge of the team since 1997 before stepping away in 2005 and returning in 2014. The squad has won six Southeast Asian Games gold medals and the AFF Women's Championship under his tenure. They are led in the attack by Huynh Nhu and the 31-year-old is her country's all-time record goalscorer, having netted 67 times in just 72 appearances. 

They also have experience in the midfield with their captain Tran Thi Thuy Trang and youth on the pitch with Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha who made recent headlines with her goal in a recent friendly against Germany that ended in a 2-1 loss. Their July friendlies against New Zealand and Spain also ended in 2-0 and 9-0 losses. Still, they are an organized side that can frustrate teams on the right day and will be motivated as World Cup debutants.

USWNT vs. Vietnam prediction

The USWNT will want to have a definitive game to set themselves up in a good position in the group. It's still the World Cup, and there will be jitters with most teams saving their best game for the world's No. 1, so no double-digit blowout here. Pick: USWNT 3, Vietnam 0.