Megan Rapinoe has admitted that the USA were suffering from nerves during their opening win over Australia at the Women's World Cup.

Rapinoe scored twice for the two-time champions on Monday as they earned a 3-1 victory in Winnipeg.

Despite putting in an unconvincing performance against the Aussies, the 29-year-old believes that the result was the most important thing.

"We were a bit nervous. We couldn't play a lot worse at times," Rapinoe is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "But we settled in a bit and we were able to get some goals. Three points, that's most important, especially in this group that's shaping up a little weird."

The Americans are back in action on June 13 when they take on Sweden, who drew 3-3 with Nigeria in their opening match of the tournament.

Written by
Jack Prescott