REIMS, France (Reuters) – Striker Alex Morgan scored five times as holders the UnitedStates began their World Cup campaign with a record 13-0 win over Thailand yesterday.

Morgan opened the goal spree for the title favourites, who are in pursuit of a fourth world crown, with a header in the 12th minute and from then on there was no stopping the champions.

Eight minutes later Rose Lavelle found the net with a left-footed shot while midfielder Lindsey Horan gave them a 3-0 lead going into the interval.

Samantha Mewis opened the floodgates five minutes after the break as the U.S. made life miserable for the Thais by regularly finding the back of the net.
In total, seven Americans scored during the match – Morgan (5), Lavelle (2), Mewis (2),

Horan, Megan Rapinoe, Mallory Pugh and Carli Lloyd all finding their way on to the scoresheet in a performance that is bound to strike fear into all of those teams hoping to end the United States’ reign as world champions.

“We really wanted to showcase ourselves and what we’ve been preparing for and working on and I think we did that,” said Morgan.
“Every goal matters in this tournament and so that’s what we were working on in this

game. We got a lot of attacks and I think we were really clinical in the number of attacks that we did get.

“I am speechless. The ball just bounced my way today and I am looking forward to the next game.

“To see Rose Lavalle have the confidence to go at players, Sam Mewis taking on players and scoring from outside the box, they showed really well. I am really proud of them.”