The United States topped Group D with a 1-0 win over Nigeria on Tuesday
By Ivan Yeo
With first place in Group D on the line and with it, a relatively easy path to the semifinals at stake, the U.S. women’s national team knew that they could not afford another subpar performance in its group stage finale against Nigeria on Monday.
The U.S. did just that on Tuesday evening. Buoyed by several lineup changes, particularly at the forward spots, the U.S. looked much sharper in its match against Nigeria in Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium. Abby Wambach returned to the starting lineup and her goal right before halftime was the difference maker, as the U.S. topped the group with a 1-0 win.
The win means the U.S. will start the knockout stages against a third place team to be determined after the Group E and Group F finales on Wednesday. The U.S. and Australia advance as the Group D representatives while third-place Sweden joins the Netherlands, Switzerland and Thailand in waiting to see if they will be one of four third-place teams to advance to the knockout stages.
After a tense first half where the U.S. controlled the pace of the match, but found that goal elusive, the U.S. finally broke through at just the right time. Megan Rapinoe sent a corner kick into the six-yard box and Abby Wambach charged in and Wambach, usually known for scoring off corners with her head, used her foot this time, as she one-timed a shot past keeper Precious Dede and the Nigerian defense into the back net to finally get the U.S. on the board.
Abby Wambach’s late 1st half goal was all the USA needed in the end to clinch the win and the Group D
The U.S. continued to control the tempo throughout the second half and while Nigeria did have several scoring chances themselves in the match, the U.S. for the most part were able to keep Nigeria in check for most of the match.
Head coach Jillian Ellis made several changes to the starting lineup prior to Tuesday’s match. Tobin Heath got the start in the midfield, but the noteworthy changes were at forward, where Wambach and Alex Morgan were paired up top. Morgan’s presence was certainly felt for the Americans in the match, as twice in the second half she had chances to score. The first chance was set up by Rapinoe, who sprung Morgan from the mid-line, Morgan got inside the penalty area, but her shot was stopped, then scooped up by Dede. Morgan’s second scoring chance came when Ali Krieger crossed a ball into the penalty area right, Morgan timed her run just right and wound up with a point-blank look outside of the six, but Dede stuffed Morgan, parrying the shot back out of the penalty area.
