All records are made to be broken, but they don’t usually fall on the same day.
The United States women’s soccer team re-wrote FIFA’s record books on Tuesday with their 13-0 drubbing of Thailand in their opening game of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The margin of victory was the biggest in World Cup (men’s or women’s) history.
It also shatters USA’s previous record for most goals scored in a World Cup game. It was seven, now it’s 13.
Seven different USA players scored against Thailand, setting a record, according to FIFA.
USA’s lead at halftime was just 3-0, but the floodgates opened just five minutes into the second half and didn’t close until the final whistle. Massachusetts native Samantha Mewis scored in the 50th and 54th minutes, Alex Morgan tallied in the 53rd and Rose Lavelle struck in the 56th in the most quickest four-goal outburst in Women’s World Cup history.
USA’s 10 second-half goals were the most in any half in World Cup history, per ESPN.
Morgan rightfully claimed headlines by scoring a record five goals and adding three assists. She joins USA legend Michelle Akers as the highest single-game scorer in Women’s World Cup history. Akers did so against Chinese Taipei in 1991, 27 years and 199 days ago, per Opta.
2015 Women’s World Cup hero Carli Lloyd was a second-half substitute against Thailand. She scored USA’s 13th goal, becoming her country’s oldest World Cup goal scorer and the second-oldest in Women’s World Cup history.
Lloyd also tied Birgit Prinz’s record for longest goal-scoring streak in the Women’s World Cup.
USA’s 40 shots and 20 shots on goal against also are Women’s World Cup records, per The Sporting News’ Marc Lancaster and Russell Varner.
We probably won’t see anything like USA versus Thailand again.
