The U.S. Women's National Team is making a statement in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Coming off a dominant 13-0 win over Thailand in the Americans' group stage opener — which set a record for most goals scored in a single match — the U.S. brought the same intensity and didn't hold back to earn a 3-0 victory over Chile.
With several line up changes to the Jill Ellis-led team, the Americans secured their spot in the last 16 and will advance to the knockout rounds as they now have six points and are leading Group F.
READ : USA vs Chile, as it happened
HERE ARE THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE USWNT'S WIN
1. DEPTH ON DEPTH ON DEPTH
U.S. national team coach Ellis wasn't afraid to mix it up in the USA's second tournament of the World Cup.
She did something similar to how she handled CONCACAF qualifying by essentially rotating a second-string group.
Ellis made seven lineup changes to the starting XI, including giving veteran Carli Lloyd the chance to start rather than serving as a super-sub. Spoiler alert: The lineup changes didn't impact the game for the U.S.
With Ellis' new starting XI, Tierna Davidson made her World Cup debut by starting Sunday's match, while Morgan Brian saw action for the first time in France.
Mallory Pugh, who came off the bench against Thailand, made her first World Cup start and Christen Press also got a start after coming off the bench in the USA's first game.
Becky Sauerbrunn returned after sitting out the opener with a quad injury as precautionary.
The only two Americans to start both games were Lindsey Horan and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
For comparison, Chile only had one change from its last game against Sweden as Claudia Soto started for Yanara Aedo.
Ellis' decision to rest some of her best players makes sense and could be the difference in winning the tournament down the stretch as the Americans could potentially play seven games in the tournament.
READ: Women's World Cup 2019: USA's Carli Lloyd sets tournament scoring record
2. CARLI LLOYD STILL HAS A LOT TO GIVE
There were some questions around Carli Lloyd and how much she has left in the tank as she entered her fourth World Cup at 36 years old — but any concerns should be put to rest after watching her performance against Chile.
She earned the start, and it's safe to say she delivered.
With her first goal in the 11th minute, Lloyd set a record to become the first player to score in six consecutive Women's World Cup appearances.
She scored again in the 35th minute as she nodded in Tierna Davidson's corner for her ninth goal across that six-game period, giving her another record.
She became the oldest woman to score more than once in a single World Cup match.
Sunday's match marked Lloyd's 20th World Cup game, making her sixth all-time in World Cup matches for the USA, moving her past Christie Pearce and Brianna Scurry.
If she keeps playing like she did in the first two games of the tournament, Lloyd — who has hinted that this will be her last tournament — will leave a legacy that will be hard to match.
READ : Carli Lloyd leads reigning champions into last 16
3. TIERNA DAVIDSON MIGHT BE THE FUTURE OF USWNT
Tierna Davidson may be young, but she's powerful. The 20-year-old made her World Cup debut and she's the youngest player to start a Women's World Cup match for the USWNT since Tiffany Roberts did so against Norway at the 1995 World Cup.
What's more is she's just sixth player under the age of 21 to start a World Cup game for the USA, joining Julie Foudy (’91), Mia Hamm (’91), Kristine Lilly (’91), Tiffany Roberts (’95) and Holly Manthai (’95).
Despite her age, she certainly proved she can make an impact on the World Cup stage in Sunday's game against Chile.
Davidson's delivery and crossing was on another level, allowing her to make several key assists that converted to goals for the U.S. The most notable one came when Davidson assisted with a cross to Lloyd, who then made a header from the center of the box to the bottom left corner.
If Davidson keeps playing like this as she gains more experience in the coming years, it could be argued that she'll be the next to lead the USWNT.
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