By CAITLIN MURRAY

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Before Group D kicked off play in the Women’s World Cup, the exaggerated term “Group of Death” seemed like it may be more hype than anything else.

The matches of the Women’s World Cup were going as expected and there was a loose but clear pecking order for how the results should fall. The expanded field of 24 teams meant the real action would begin in the knockout rounds.

But then Monday happened. Or as American forward Sydney Leroux put it: “People didn’t name our group the Group of Death for nothing. They’re going to be good games.”

Leroux and her teammates watched the Nigeria vs. Sweden match while they prepared to face Australia later Monday and it was an exciting start to the tournament, she said. Certainly, fans would agree and it seems the Group of Death is delivering.

To open Group D, Nigeria shocked both Sweden and the fans at Winnipeg Stadium to come back twice for a 3-3 draw. Sweden, picked by many as possible World Cup winners, were dominated for stretches by a team that is woefully underfunded and hasn’t made it out of the group stage in the last three World Cups.

Then, the Americans beat Australia, but struggled to do so, spending the first half looking remarkably vulnerable. A fortuitous deflection on an otherwise unchallenging Megan Rapinoe strike and two massive saves from Hope Solo kept the U.S. in the game as Australia could’ve easily pulled far ahead.

In fact, after Monday’s result, the Australian federation’s own match report summed up the match thusly: “The USA, well, they just aren’t that good.” That’s perhaps a harsh assessment, but the report added that the Americans “were short of ideas going forward and outmaneuvered tactically,” which is something even the American players freely admitted after Monday’s match.

Group D’s first results make it clear that the Americans can’t allow any notions of having an easy game during the group stage, which can be a bit of a grind. For U.S. head coach Jill Ellis, though, the growing pains and challenges early will make her side stronger, which makes the Group of Death an advantage.

“When the draw happened and people talked about the Group of Death, but that was the one positive: you’re not going to ease into these opening games,” she said. “You’ve got to be prepared from the very first whistle. So I think in terms of mentality and having tough matches, going into a halftime tied up, those things serve you well down the line.”

The performance from Nigeria, ranked 33rd in the world, against No. 5-ranked Sweden is particularly interesting coupled with how the Americans struggled to handle Australia’s speed.

With all the pace Australia had to stretch the American defense and get in behind the back line, Nigeria has even more of it. Most of Nigeria’s players have come through their youth team, which has been very successful, including a runner-up spot in last year’s U-20 Women’s World Cup. Of the 23 players Nigeria sent to Canada, 19 are under the age of 24. The USWNT’s average age is around 29.

But first, the Americans will face Sweden, who for all their stumbling against Nigeria, looked scarily potent in the attack, especially Sweden’s third goal, which was set up by a sequence of several quick passes, including a back heel flick, before Linda Sembrant got on the end of it.

There’s also the little matter of their coach, Pia Sundhage, who led the Americans to a 2011 Women’s World Cup final and a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. Now, she leads a Swedish team packed with talent and it seems just about anything can happen when they face the Americans on Friday. In a way, that’s sort of the idea of World Cups, and Group D is delivering.

But for the Americans, as always, it’s business as usual.

“We came here and we didn’t really care who we played,” Leroux said. “We’re going to have to play good teams no matter what. You might as well play them in the group stage.”