US smash Thailand’s Cup hopes

ALEX Morgan tied a World Cup record with five goals as the US opened its women’s World Cup campaign with a record-breaking 13-0 rout of Thailand yesterday.

Samantha Mewis and Rose Lavelle each added a pair of goals for the defending champions, who broke the record for goals and margin of victory in a World Cup game.

Lindsey Horan, Megan Rapinoe, Mallory Pugh and Carli Lloyd also scored.

The previous record margin was Germany’s 11-0 victory over Argentina in 2007. Morgan tied Michelle Akers’s record for World Cup goals, set in the quarter-finals against Chinese Taipei in 1991.

“We really just came into the game wanting to showcase ourselves,” Morgan said.

“Every goal matters in this tournament and that’s what we were working on.”

The teams were the last to kick off in the group stage for the month-long tournament.

Ranked No.1 in the world, the Americans have lost only once in their past 38 matches.