USWNT secures 3-1 win over Iceland as 19-year-old Alyssa Thompson scores first goal

AUSTIN, TEXAS – With an Olympic gold medal in hand and the Emma Hayes era off to a glittering start, the long road toward the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup began on Thursday for the U.S. Women’s National Team, which opened the October window with a dramatic 3-1 win over Iceland on October 24 in the Champions Match at Q2 Stadium.

Celebrating a record fifth Olympic title before 18,580 fans in Austin, Texas, the Americans took the lead on a first-half goal by the only non-Olympian in the starting lineup: teenage forward Alyssa Thompson. They then won the match with a breathtaking, 85th-minute strike from substitute Jaedyn Shaw. Sophia Smith added an insurance tally with a goal equally as brilliant and Yazmeen Ryan and Hal Hershfelt made their USWNT debuts on a festive and warm evening in Austin.

It was the USWNT’s first game since besting Brazil, 1-0, in the Olympic final two-and-a-half months ago in Paris and the first of two games against Iceland, as well as the first of three matches during this international window.

Absolute LASER from the teenager ☄️

🇺🇸 USA 1-0 ISL 🇮🇸#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/7Mv7QKdEUk

— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 25, 2024

In her 11th match on the U.S. bench, Hayes selected a starting lineup that featured 10 Olympians, including six who started the gold medal match. Then there was Thompson, the 19-year-old Angel City FC forward making her first USWNT appearance since a December 2023 friendly against China PR. She played on the right side of a forward line led by striker Lynn Williams and anchored on the left by Mallory Swanson, who scored the only goal of the Olympic final.

Meanwhile, at the opening whistle — and just one day short of nine years since making her international debut — center back Emily Sonnett became the 45th player in USWNT history to earn 100 caps. She was the fifth of Hayes’ 11 starters to have reached that milestone and the fourth to do so this calendar year.

The USA held most of the ball, as expected, with captain Lindsey Horan playing just underneath Williams (and often pressing high) while Rose Lavelle and Sam Coffey took command in midfield. Iceland, ranked 13th in the world, and the owner of a victory over Germany this year, was marshaled in back by Bayern Munich veteran Glódís Viggósdóttir, and proved to be a stout defensive side. It yielded just five goals in six UEFA Women’s Euro qualifiers this year and blanked Germany, the future Olympic bronze medalist, in July.

The top-ranked Americans’ best look at goal in the opening half hour came in the 24th minute when Swanson volleyed high after a beautifully chipped pass from Lavelle. The pressure was close to constant but clear shooting lanes were at a premium. Iceland also looked to counterattack and in the 34th demonstrated its efficiency with the ball when forward Diljá Zomers raced onto a long pass from midfield, forcing a save from the USA’s Alyssa Naeher. Despite the significant disparity in possession, the sides were rarely that far apart in shot attempts.

Thompson, the youngest American on the field, finally gave the hosts something to show for their superiority with an exquisite debut goal in the 39th minute. Williams and Coffey got the play started and combined to feed Thompson on the left, to which she’d shifted following a stretch of sustained American possession. Thompson dribbled toward the near post, then cut to her right foot and sent an unstoppable shot into the upper right corner of the Iceland net. Her first USWNT goal came in her 10th appearance while Coffey tallied her second assist this year.

Iceland removed three starters at halftime, including Viggósdóttir, and then notched a stunning equalizer against the run of play in the 54th. Selma Magnúsdóttir did the damage, finding a sliver of space just outside the penalty area and sending a perfectly placed shot into the left side of the U.S. net that gave Naeher no chance. It was the Rosenborg midfielder’s fifth international goal.

Hayes tried her luck with a triple change in the 66th, inserting Shaw, defender Casey Krueger and NJ/NY Gotham forward Ryan, 25, who made her USWNT debut in her first senior team call-up. Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt, 22, then earned her first cap when she replaced Coffey in the 72nd. Smith took the field as well, and tested Iceland goalie Telma Ívarsdóttir with a low shot from the left in the 83rd. Ryan saw her long-range bid deflect into the ‘keeper’s arms just seconds later.

The field was tilting the USA’s way again, and the stage was set for Shaw.

In the 85th, Sonnett fed Krueger in the right channel, where she won a duel, advanced the ball and then slipped a pass inside to Shaw. The Texas native then put her skills on display, devastating the Iceland defense on the dribble before poking the ball underneath the charging Ívarsdóttir for her eighth international goal and sixth this year.

Jae was NOT to be denied!!! 😤#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/9roWnlXp2b

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 25, 2024

Smith then put the game away in the 88th, knocking down an Icelandic clearance and immediately ripping a 19-yard shot into the lower left corner past the diving Ívarsdóttir. It was Smith’s 24th USWNT goal and team-leading ninth in 2024.

The USA improved its 2024 record to 15W-1L-3D and its advantage over Iceland in the all-time series to 14W-0L-2D. In addition, the USWNT remains perfect at Q2 (3W-0L-0D) and in the state of Texas, where it’s now 34W-0L-0D.

SOPH, YOU CRAZY FOR THIS ONE! 😱#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/OiSc6isyq2

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) October 25, 2024

The USA and Iceland will reconvene Oct. 27 in Nashville, Tenn. for a rematch at GEODIS Park (5:30 p.m. ET; TNT, TruTV, Max, Peacock, Universo), in a match presented by AT&T. The international window will conclude on Oct. 30 with a friendly against 33rd-ranked Argentina at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville, Ky. (7 p.m. ET; TNT, TruTV, Max, Peacock, Universo) in a match presented by Jim Beam.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

USA – Alyssa Thompson (Sam Coffey), 39th minute — Iceland tried to relieve pressure with a ball into midfield, but Lynn Williams made an outstanding recovery and quickly found Coffey in space. Coffey sent a pass toward Thompson, who’d drifted left during a spell of sustained U.S. pressure. Thompson dribbled into the penalty area, backing a defender toward the six-yard box, before cutting right and hitting a perfect shot that grazed off the underside of the crossbar and into upper ride-side netting. USA 1, ISL 0