The United States women’s national team needed a good performance from star forward Abby Wambach to get its World Cup campaign back on schedule and an excellent performance is what it got. Wambach netted both goals as the U.S. beat No. 3-ranked Sweden, 2-0, to grab hold of the top spot in Group B alongside North Korea. The Americans, with four points and a four-goal cushion over both Nigeria and Sweden, are now within touching distance of the second round.
Wambach tucked away a penalty in the 34th minute to give the U.S. the lead before driving home one of the best goals of the tournament thus far in the 58th, effectively putting the match beyond the Scandinavians. Out wide on the left, Kristine Lilly spotted Wambach’s darting run between two Swedish defenders, curving a lovely ball directly into stride for Wambach to control on the chest and hammer home with an unstoppable left-footed strike on the half volley; Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl didn’t move as the ball flew past her at the near post.
Wambach, who leads the tournament with three goals, was modest after the match. “Lily played an amazing ball,” she said. “I luckily took a decent touch off my chest and was able to half-volley it.” Far from being a “decent” touch, teammate Leslie Osbourne described her perfectly taken goal as “world-class.” Of course, it took more than one great performance for the U.S. to achieve the result it desperately needed after a disappointing 2-2 draw with North Korea. After “a shaky first couple of minutes,” SI.com’s Mark Betchel said the U.S. back four was “outstanding.” Shannon Boxx and Leslie Osborne also put in strong performances in midfield, while Lily once again proved to be the perfect foil up front for the excellent Wambach.