Tierna Davidson sends in perfect corner assists in World Cup debut (Video)

Tierna Davidson is one of the best defensive prospects in the history of United States soccer, and she showed her quality with one of the best-taken corners imaginable in her World Cup debut.

USWNT coach Jill Ellis made several lineup changes in her last chance to experiment before the final group stage game against Sweden, and 20-year-old defender Tierna Davidson was one of the big beneficiaries.

Making her World Cup debut by starting at left back, Davidson immediately looked like one of the best players on the pitch. Pinching inside and spraying great long balls to Mallory Pugh on the right side of the USWNT formation, Davidson also bombarded forward to directly create chances for her teammates.

But where Davidson made the biggest impact was on corners. Her first was an inch-perfect, drilled delivery to Julie Ertz, who smashed the header past Chile’s star keeper Christiane Endler for the USWNT’s second goal.

The keeper had no chance, and the pace on the ball put by Davidson helped allow Ertz to beat Endler so roundly at the near post. This is as good of a corner as you’ll ever see, and it’s an example of the type of technical class Davidson has, even at the age of 20.

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1140297879472316417

She didn’t stop there, though, as she sent in another wonderful delivery from a corner for Carli Lloyd 10 minutes later. Lloyd headed home perfectly, grabbing a brace within the games first 40 minutes and her 10th career World Cup goal to bump the score to 3-0.

Davidson has a bright future ahead of her, and the Chicago Red Stars standout has certainly made the case for more starting opportunities from Ellis and more opportunities to take corners for the star-studded USWNT team. These were two special corners, and the first of the assists couldn’t have been drawn up any better.