Trinity Rodman names 3 areas of improvement from USWNT after Olympics win

The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) kicked off its Olympic journey in expectedly dominant fashion, dispatching of Zambia 3-0 from The Allianz Riviera in Nice, France on Thursday.

Controlling nearly 79 percent of total possession, the Americans notched all three goals inside the first half-hour without allowing a shot attempt, but right winger Trinity Rodman left the pitch with a series of grievances .

"For us, this is a win, and we're going to take that and be positive about that," Rodman told Telemundo Sports after the match. "But our team knows there [needs to be] a lot of improvement. There should have been more goals, there should have been better execution and we should have controlled the game in a lot of areas where we forced it a couple of times."

READ MORE: USWNT's Emma Hayes confronts 'hardest thing to do in coaching' before Olympics
READ MORE: Trinity Rodman and USWNT teammates in full agreement over Emma Hayes

There was no faulting from Rodman's own execution in the early going, however, as her splendid individual effort saw the United States jump ahead of their southern African opposition after just 17 minutes of play.

The Washington Spirit forward drifted centrally to join another American counterattacking opportunity, her diagonal run picked out by Lindsey Horan steps inside the 18-yard box. Rodman's movement was tracked by a pair of Zambian defenders, but a deft back-heel turn created acres of space in front of the penalty spot, allowing the pink-haired phenom to roll her finish past an oncoming keeper.

Horan sparked the States' next scoring move as well in the 24th minute, this time using the outside of her foot to fire a perfectly weighted pass toward Mallory Swanson, who evaded the Zambian goalkeeper with one touch and doubled the American advantage into an empty net. Swanson notched a brace 70 seconds later with a nearly identical finish, and the US was rolling through 25 minutes.

"We have new Olympians here, but players have been in major tournaments before and we know that confidence is a key," Horan said after Thursday's game. "So to start out like this and get a 3-0 win, it propels us onto the next game."

A disappointing first half for Zambia, which achieved its highest-ever FIFA World Rankings ahead of this summer's tournament, spiraled further in the 30th minute after Pauline Zulu was assessed a controversial red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. A player down and vastly outclassed by their American opposition, Zambia appeared in line for a historic drubbing along the French Riviera.

Instead, the Copper Queens only grew into the game, lodging all eight of their shot attempts after the video assistant referee elected to dismiss Zulu. Zambia even looked poised to snap the American shutout, as Racheal Kundananji found a brief, 90th-minute glimpse of the American net before Casey Krueger's well-timed tackle shut down the threat.

The United States' competition stiffens considerably on Sunday, facing off against the fourth-ranked Germans from Marseille's Stade Velodrome before concluding group play in the same venue against Australia on Wednesday.