Give Alyssa Thompson her chance to shine! How the USWNT should line-up in World Cup opener vs Vietnam

One of the few players in this XI that is pretty immune from rotation. Naeher is the starter and, barring injury, we'll almost certainly see her play every minute this tournament.

Well, almost certainly. Casey Murphy or Aubrey Kingsbury could conceivably challenge her for that spot if her form isn't where it should be but, realistically, this isn't the time for goalkeeper drama. Give Naeher the start and let her warm-up for the tougher games ahead.

Could we finally see the great Dunn midfield move in this game? Maybe! Will we? Probably not! Andonovski has shied away from using Dunn in that position all cycle, so it would be pretty wild to see it happen now, even with Lavelle's injury issues.

Instead, we'll likely see Dunn provide some attacking thrust on the left against a team that should have few options to stop her.

Even if Andonovski wanted to rotate at center-back, it's not like he has many options. Girma and Alana Cook are the only two central defenders in the squad, which means there really won't be many opportunities to rest those two throughout.

You could see someone like Emily Sonnett or Ertz start centrally, but it's probably more valuable to get Girma on the field so she can shake out any potential World Cup nerves.

Ditto from above. Andonovski will almost certainly want Cook to get a taste of the World Cup in a game where she likely won't be challenged too much. Let her walk out, hear the anthem, make a few plays and then, maybe, take her or Girma out if he wants to save their legs for the rest of the group stage.

Emily Fox is for sure the better defender but, against Vietnam, is that really going to matter? Huerta is a world-class crosser of the ball, which is something we'll probably be seeing a lot of against a bunkered-in opponent.

The idea here is to let Huerta whip the ball in for this one while saving Fox, the likely starter the rest of the way, for the next two games.

The captain almost certainly will start this one. Horan is a player that may not be vital to their chances to win the game, but will be vital to the USWNT's chances of winning the whole tournament. If the U.S. wants to go all the way, Horan will need to be a world-class level.

Considering she's the only European-based player, Horan could use some games after having several weeks off, so starting her makes too much sense.

It will be really interesting to see how Andonovski handles this spot. Does he go with Sullivan, who has had several chances to lock down a role but hasn't quite convinced? Or does he go with Ertz, who is back in the fold due to that fact? Or does he go with neither, instead going with a super-attacking XI?

We'll go with Sullivan, who could use this as an audition of sorts.

This spot could go to Savannah DeMelo, who would provide the dynamic midfield play the U.S. will need in this one. But it likely will go to Sanchez, who has more experience and could certainly provide the same thing.

Sanchez hasn't quite been noticeable enough in recent games, so this will be a good chance for her to build a bit of confidence.

A bit of a risk? Sure. Why not, though? Why shouldn't Andonovski give the kid a chance? Thompson is a player that simply makes things happen, which is certainly a nice attribute to have against a team that shouldn't trouble the U.S. much. This also gives Thompson a chance to shake off any World Cup nerves that she'll surely have.

It's a tough call, setting up the attack, but the world wants to see what Thompson can do at this level. She's the future of the USWNT and, in this case, she may just be the present.

It's super, super tempting to go with a front three of Thompson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman, resting Morgan in the process. However, it is important to have someone atop the field with World Cup experience, just to prevent panic from setting in if things start off poorly.

Morgan, too, will be eager to add to her goal record here in her fourth World Cup. Maybe she comes off if the game gets out of hand but, until then, she should get her chance.

A candidate for this summer's breakout star, Smith can start the tournament in a big way. She is one of the USWNT's most important players, as a healthy, in-form version Smith may just be the team's best attacker.

She was dominant in 2022 and could be dominant in this one too, so getting Smith into the tournament on the right foot will be super helpful going forward.