The Americans are pursuing an unprecedented third consecutive title with Sullivan among 14 World Cup first-timers, nearly twice as many as in the U.S. team that competed in 2015.
But veteran defender O'Hara believes experience on the World Cup stage does not necessarily translate to impact on the field and pointed to Sullivan, who was sharing the stage with her at a news conference on Tuesday, as a prime example.
"Andy is bringing something very different than I was bringing as a player in my first World Cup," said O'Hara, who is competing in her fourth.
Rapinoe, who won the Ballon d'Or in 2019, announced recently that this would be her last World Cup.
The United States open against Vietnam on Saturday.
Persons:
Megan Rapinoe, Denis Balibouse, Kelley O'Hara, Andi Sullivan, Sullivan, O'Hara, Andy, that's, Alex Morgan, Alyssa Naeher, Julie Ertz, Rapinoe, Alyssa Thompson, they're, Amy Tennery, Nathan Frandino, Tomasz Janowski
Organizations:
Soccer, Groupama, REUTERS, United, U.S ., Vietnam, Thomson
Locations:
States, Netherlands, Lyon, France, AUCKLAND, United States, New Zealand, Auckland