Carli Lloyd had been blunt leading up to the group match against Thailand: she thought she should be starting for the USA in this Women’s World Cup and disagreed with the coach Jill Ellis’s decision over several months to use her as a substitute.

“There’s nothing there that’s holding me back except for the coach’s decision,” Lloyd said on Friday. But against Chile Lloyd got her chance as Ellis heavily rotated her starting lineup to give preferred players a rest – and Lloyd backed her case with a double, leading the US to a resounding 3-0 winwhich should have been a hat-trick as she missed a penalty.

USA 3-0 Chile: Women's World Cup 2019 – as it happened Read more

With an impressive volley and a towering header Lloyd became the oldest player to score two goals in a World Cup game and the only player to score in six consecutive Women’s World Cup matches, stretching back to 2015 when she was the hero of the USA’s trophy win in Canada.

“Yeah, that’s what everybody’s been saying,” Lloyd said when told about her new record, shrugging. “Whatever. I just want to win.”

For the Americans, fresh off their 13-0 demolition of Thailand, a similar if less spectacular dismantling of Chile was all part of the plan for the world’s No 1-ranked team. The Americans secured their spot in the knockout stages regardless of how their final group game goes and they have put the rest of the World Cup field on notice.

Ellis, seemingly confident about getting past Chile, made a surprise seven changes to her lineup that shellacked Thailand five days earlier. But it was not actually a new tactic; she did the same thing during World Cup qualifying in October, when she made wholesale changes for the USA’s second match in the knockout round of that tournament, only to start her first-choice starting XI through the rest of the games.

Sweden 5-1 Thailand: Women's World Cup 2019 – as it happened Read more

It took the Americans 11 minutes to open the scoring as Lloyd volleyed a poor clearance into goal. Julie Ertz, the defensive midfielder who is perhaps the USA’s best header of the ball, then scored on a set piece in the 26th minute, nodding in on a near-post run.

Ten minutes later Lloyd scored a header of her own off a corner, rising to deliver a driving header into the net. Lloyd could have ended with a hat-trick but in the 81st minute put her penalty wide to the left of goal.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Julie Ertz celebrates after putting the USA two goals ahead. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

The score would have become greater but for the Chile goalkeeper, Christiane Endler, who had a sensational second half, making nine savesincluding several impressive ones, to stem the bleeding. The Paris Saint-Germain No 1, playing in her home club stadium, made a couple of difficult diving parries to deny Christen Press in the 58th and 66th minutes.

“She made four or five saves that were in-the-goal saves,” Lloyd said. “Just incredible.” Ellis added: “As a fan of this sport, they were some spectacular saves. In a game where you feel like you’re going to get the result, there’s less anxiety in terms of her pulling out such worldie saves. She got player of the match in a game they lost 3-0 and I’m good with that.”

The woodwork also helped Chile out three times, with Lloyd hitting the frame twice and Jessica McDonald once. If the Americans showed a chink in their armour, it was in a defence that has yet to be tested in this World Cup. The goalkeeper, Alyssa Naeher, made a bad error in the first half that would have cost the USA a goal but for the offside flag. Naeher came out to cut out a free-kick but badly misjudged it, allowing the ball to roll into the net, but Chile’s Carla Guerrero was ruled offside.

Prior to their meeting in this World Cup, the US and Chile had only faced each other twice in friendlies, both last year, with the US winning by an aggregate 7-0 margin.

With Ellis’s heavy squad rotation, including the addition of substitutes who had not played in the USA’s first match, every outfield player in the American squad has now featured in this World Cup.

“It says that we have a very large player pool and a very high-quality 23,” defender Becky Sauerbrunn said. “We knew everyone could contribute — it was a question of if we were going to be able to get everyone on the field. Luckily, we were able to. We ran up the score a little bit so we could more players in.

Added Ellis: “If we can get players minutes and butterflies are out of the way, it helps us down the line.”

Up next the real test begins for the Americans in their final match of Group F when they face Sweden, the team that knocked them out of the quarter-finals of the 2016 Olympics, the USA’s earliest ever exit in a major tournament. Any talk of throwing that game to avoid France in the quarter-final has already been batted down by Ellis and again after Sunday’s win over Chile she said the Americans will not be holding back.

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“We want to win every game,” said Ellis. “If you get too much into over-thinking or manipulating something, it doesn’t send a good message. You can’t over-think this.”

Chile, meanwhile, face Thailand next, a team who have conceded 18 goals in their first two matches and stand on the brink of elimination.