Female American soccer player, Abby Wambach scored the only goal that gave USA the lead as they beat Nigeria to win Group D and advance to the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup. For the Americans, a 1-0 win Tuesday over Nigeria was just enough to top Group D and secure a considerably easier path to the Women’s World Cup, theGuardian reports.
Wambach’s goal was the 14th in a World Cup, making her tied for second highest all-time goals with Germany’s Birgit Prinz, and one behind Brazil legend Marta.
“We needed a goal, and the timing of it was perfect,” Wambach said. “The longer you stay in a third game in any tournament [without a goal], the more a team like Nigeria gets confidence. So, getting that goal right before half was big for us.”
“It feels great to help my team win this game, to help my team advance to number one in the group.”
Although USA were likely to advance to the knockout stage regardless of Tuesday’s result, but the Americans would have had to travel five time zones away and 3,500 miles away to Moncton to face Brazil, who won Group E. With their win, the Americans head to the knockout round in Edmonton where they will face a team that finishes third in another group, to be determined after other groups finish play.
