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Home , Abby Wambach

Monday, July 6, 2015 MN The Plain Dealer | cleveland.com B5

FINAL MATCH 2015 women’s worldcup United States 5, Japan 2 Wambach’s glorious last stand Analysis: U.S. star burnished her championship legacy by accepting a role as a substitute with grace

DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP Japan goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihor allows the first goal to the United States’ in the first half of the Women’s World Cup championship Sunday in .

Juliet Macur Other stars might have acted awk- grass, not turf, because the women New York Times News Service wardly in their lesser role, but deserved the best playing surface. Wambach showed great character In the team’s quarterfinal against Vancouver, British Co- in coming to grips with being a China, the score was tied at halftime lumbia — During this women’s substitute. when she told her teammates — us- World Cup, Abby Wambach, the She did score the United States’ ing R-rated language — that they soul of the U.S. women’s team, only goal in its final group game needed to score within the first 10 called herself clairvoyant. A seer. against Nigeria. But for most of this minutes of the second half if they A fortune teller. tournament, Wambach has been at wanted to win. Six minutes later, But did she foresee the U.S. team the edges of the matches, and most Lloyd obliged. beating Japan, 5-2, to win its first likely on the edge of her seat on the Then, the day of the semifinal World Cup since 1999, in a match bench, those blue eyes peeking in. against Germany, she randomly told that was 4-0 even before the first “Now I understand what my Johnston, “We’re all going to make half was half-over? No way. parents have been going through mistakes. Don’t worry about it. We And did she know she would all these years,” she said of her new have each other’s backs.” spend most of this World Cup on spot on the team on the bench. “But That was not long before John- the bench, called upon as a substi- I appreciate it. I’m taking it in. I’m ston fouled a German player, which tute only in the late stages of some not upset. I accept my role.” led to a penalty kick that Germany’s games? Definitely not. Sunday’s game was most likely Celia Sasic missed. Later, Wambach We will give her a break for not Wambach’s final World Cup game said that the American team had envisioning everything. And Wam- ever. She’s 35 and admits that her indeed been there for Johnston, bach probably doesn’t care, either. “days are ticking” when it comes that Solo had taken so much time At 35, after so many years of work- to her job as a professional soccer to prepare for the penalty kick that ing and waiting, all she wanted to player. So when she was benched for it psyched out Sasic. do was win this World Cup. the first time — against Sweden dur- After that game, a 2-0 victory for And now, after 14 years on the ing the group round at this World the Americans, Wambach seemed to national team, she finally has — Cup — she probably wasn’t thrilled. stand a little taller than her 5-foot- but not because of her soccer savvy No one of her stature would be. 11 frame. She had become the or her brilliant headers that made When she took the field for warm- team’s resident prophet. the United States team so danger- ups for that game, she walked a bit It would have been nice, though, ous in years past. This time, the behind the substitutes, who ran out if Wambach could have seen this victory came on the backs of her ahead of her. Was it a sign of her World Cup victory coming. That teammates. reluctance to sit on the bench in a way, she wouldn’t have carried Like Carli Lloyd, the U.S. star of World Cup match for the first time around so much angst for so many this tournament who, wearing the since 2003? Maybe yes, maybe no, years about what she has described captain’s armband, scored three but a superstar like her must have as a giant hole in her resume: no times on Sunday. Or , felt strange to go out there with the World Cup titles. who, despite her off-the-field prob- second-stringers, all wearing that Her mother, Judy Wambach, has lems, did her job between the posts. hideous FIFA bib. said her daughter felt that a world Or Julie Johnston, the plucky young But to her credit, Wambach, a vo- championship needed to be on her defender who made a name for her- cal leader, hardly missed a step as resume to “validate her” and for her self within the past month. the tournament proceeded and the career to be complete. Understand- But you know what makes Wam- games grew more important. She able, yes. Realistic, no. bach such a great athlete, and what wasn’t sour, didn’t mope. Abby Wambach did not need this has lifted her above the sport and Instead, her voice as the team’s victory to make her career. made her an icon? It’s the fact that biggest cheerleader only grew stron- Even before Sunday’s victory, she she has scored more international ger, with more conviction. She re- was one of the top soccer players goals than anyone in history but ELAINE THOMPSON | ASSOCIATED PRESS mained fiery, just as she was when in history, with more goals than was fine with her teammates steal- American soccer player Abby Wambach gets a kiss from her wife, , after the U.S. she led the losing battle to persuade legends like or Pele, or ing her spotlight this time around. beat Japan, 5-2, in the World Cup soccer final Sunday in Vancouver, British Columbia. FIFA to hold this World Cup on real anyone else you can think of.

U.S. path to the World Cup championship GROUP D ROUND OF 16 QUARTERFINAL SEMIFINAL

U.S. 3, AUSTRALIA 1 U.S. 0, SWEDEN 0 U.S. 1, NIGERIA 0 U.S. 2, COLUMBIA 0 U.S. 1, CHINA 0 U.S. 2, GERMANY 0 U.S. goals: Megan U.S. goals: None U.S. goals: Abby Wambach U.S. goals: ’53; U.S. goals: Carli Lloyd ’51 U.S. goals: Carli Lloyd (Pen- Rapinoe’12, ‘78; Possession: U.S. 51%, ’86 Carli Lloyd (Penalty) ’66 Possession: U.S. 56%, alty) ’69, Kelley O’Hara ’89 ’61 Sweden 49% Possession: U.S. 57%, Possession: U.S. 53%, China 44% Possession: Germany 51%, Possession: U.S. 56%, Cards: None Nigeria 43% Columbia 47% Cards: Yellow: China 1 U.S. 49% Australia 44% Cards: Yellow: Nigeria 3 Cards: Yellow: U.S. 2, Cards: Yellow: U.S. 2, Columbia 1. Red: Columbia 1 Germany 2