United States vs. France: 6 Things We Learned from USWNT's Olympics Opener

So far so good for the United States women's national team—but only after a major scare.

Team USA recovered from a disastrous start and a two-goal deficit to defeat France 4-2 on Wednesday in both teams' Olympic tournament opener at Glasgow's Hampden Park.

Alex Morgan scored twice, and both Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd added one goal each as the US took all three points in a showdown of Group G favorites.

Up next is a date with Colombia on Saturday. First, though, here are six things we learned from Wednesday's thrilling match.

This Is Not Euro 2012

Duh, you say, right?

The fact that this is not Euro 2012 is both self-evident and, because of the gender of the players, rather obvious.

The differences, however, run deeper than gender.

At Euro 2012—and in most of the major men's tournaments these days—we often saw cagey, tense and somewhat boring matches when two highly-regarded teams played.

Not so in the Group G opener in the women's Olympics tournament. Both teams scored twice in an exciting opening 45 minutes, and both could have had more.

The US took greater control of the match in the second half, but France still had chances, despite eventually losing 4-2.

This match was wide open, almost from start to finish, and it was thoroughly entertaining to watch.

Rarely do we see such thrill-a-minute matches in the men's game.

The Good News

United States coach Pia Sundhage must have seen plenty she liked about Wednesday's match.

After a horrific start, the U.S. players showed strong character and resilience in overcoming an early 2-0 deficit.

Carli Lloyd replaced the injured Shannon Boxx in the first half and later starred.

The attack purred, with several players getting involved. Abby Wambach dominated in the air, and Alex Morgan provided a speedy alternative on the ground. Together, they formed a strike partnership that was as balanced as it was lethal.

"

Better hair than Torres. Better finish too. RT @willtidey: If Alex Morgan keeps playing like this Chelsea will sign her

— Dan Levy (@DanLevyThinks) July 25, 2012"

Most importantly, the Americans won the match and started group play with three points against perhaps their most dangerous rival in Group G.

The Bad News

In addition to the poor start, Sundhage will see plenty of room for improvement.

Most of the problems came in the first half.

The American defense struggled throughout the first half to contain Marie-Laure Delie and Gaëtane Thiney.

French attackers consistently had too much time and space with the ball.

Defending corners proved nearly disastrous more than once.

Too large a gap separated the defense and the midfield.

There were problems in the second half too.

The US struggled to close out the game efficiently, allowing France to counter twice in the final few minutes. The defense was caught out 86th minute as France created a quick breakaway following an American corner.

A poor touch let off the U.S. defense, but what were they doing?

For now, that's only a minor question following a big win. But Sundhage must address it eventually.

Carli Lloyd: Supersub

Midfielder Carli Lloyd entered the match in the 17th minute for the injured Shannon Boxx.

Regardless of how quickly Boxx recovers, we'll probably see a lot more of Lloyd this summer. The 30-year-old's wondergoal threatened to steal the show in the second half.

Lloyd capped a big day with a firecracker of a goal from long distance in the 56th minute. The goal completed the Americans' stirring comeback from down 2-0 and turned out to be the match-winner.

As you'll recall, Lloyd has a habit of scoring big goals for Team USA. Will that continue?

B/R National Lead Writer Dan Levy would probably say so.

Slow Starts Nothing New

The U.S. women are accustomed to slow starts at the Olympics. This time, though, the recovery was immediate.

Four years ago in Beijing, the Americans lost their opening match 2-0 to Norway. They went on to win the gold medal anyway.

Is that an omen? It's too early to say. But a stirring comeback can only be a positive for this team at this moment.

The Value of Rapinoe

Wide midfielder Megan Rapinoe spent the first half in almost total anonymity.

The second half played out much differently.

Rapinoe was at the heart of nearly every U.S. attack after halftime. She sprayed crosses from the right, often to dangerous positions, and had a hand in both goals.

Rapinoe played the final ball to Carli Lloyd for the go-ahead goal in the 56th minute. Ten minutes later, she played a brilliant cross-field ball to Tobin Heath, who passed across the face of goal for a wide-open Alex Morgan to tap in.

After a slow start, Rapinoe turned on the style in the second half.

Not coincidentally, so did the United States.

Follow @MikeCummings37