USWNT defeats Nigeria to win Group D, earn place in Round of 16

VANCOUVER, Canada (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Nigeria 1-0 in front of a crowd of 52,193 at BC Place in Vancouver to win Group D at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup and advance to the Round of 16.

Abby Wambach’s side-footed a strike in the 45th minute proved to be the game winner. It was her 14th career World Cup goal, which moved her into a tie with Germany’s Birgit Prinz for second on the all-time list. Brazil’s Marta is the leader with 15 goals.

The U.S. defense held off the speedy Nigeria attack for the rest of the match to earn its second-straight shutout.

In the day’s other Group D match, Australia tied Sweden 1-1. The USA (2-0-1; 7 points) topped the group, followed by Australia (1-1-1; 4 points), Sweden (0-0-3; 3 points) and Nigeria (0-1-2; 1 point).

The WNT will continue the tournament against the third place finisher from Group B/E/F, with the opponent to be determined after tomorrow’s final Group Stage matches. The Round of 16 contest will take place June 22 at 8 p.m. ET at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton (FOX Sports 1).

Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA- Abby Wambach (Megan Rapinoe), 45th minute: Megan Rapinoe whipped in a hard corner kick toward the back post. Wambach jumped through the Nigeria defense, met the ball in the air and side footed it in to give the U.S. the lead just before the halftime whistle. USA 1, NGA 0 (WATCH) FINAL

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:
NGA- Precious Dede, 17th minute: Dede mishit a goal kick straight to Megan Rapinoe, who brought it down and took a few controlling dribbles before firing a hard, rising shot toward the upper right corner of the goal from 25 yards out. Dede dove high and knocked the shot away to concede a USA corner kick.

USA- Julie Johnston, 25th minute: Asisat Oshoala ran onto a perfectly weighted through ball for Nigeria and jetted toward the goal down the right side. As she entered the box, Johnston took an angle to catch up with her and made a well-timed slide tackle to deflect Oshoala’s shot out for a corner.

NGA- Precious Dede, 39th minute : Alex Morgan had broken free on the left and was closing down on a ball in the box. Dede went out to meet her and dove in front just before Morgan could cross the ball into the path of a breaking Rapinoe.

NGA- Precious Dede, 62nd minute : Dede came up big again for Nigeria, diving in to smother a close-range shot off the foot of Alex Morgan to keep Nigeria in the game.

Next on the Schedule: The WNT will meet the third-place finisher from Group B/E/F in the Round of 16 on June 22 at 8 p.m. ET at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.

Broadcast information:  FOX Sports 1

2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
Group D Final Standings

Milestone Watch:

• With her first-half goal, Abby Wambach moved into a tie with Germany’s Birgit Prinz for 2nd all-time with 14 World Cup goals. Brazil’s Marta is the leader with 15 goals, including one in this tournament.
• Christie Rampone becomes the oldest player to appear in a World Cup match at 39 years 11 months and 23 days.
• Tobin Heath and Alex Morgan made their first starts in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It was also the first career start for either in a World Cup match. Morgan’s last start came in the WNT’s April 4 match with New Zealand, while Heath’s came in the March 9 match against Iceland.
• Hope Solo recorded her 86th career shutout. It was the second-consecutive World Cup clean sheet for the USA, and Solo’s seventh in World Cup play, the second most by a U.S. goalkeeper behind Brianna Scurry (10).
• Hope Solo now has 173 caps with the USWNT, which ties for the most by a goalkeeper in U.S. history with Briana Scurry (1994-2008).
• Solo has the most starts by a WNT goalkeeper with 167. Solo is also in 10th place on the WNT’s all-time starts list and behind ninth place Carli Lloyd, who earned her 170th start in tonight’s game.
• The crowd of 52,193 was the fourth largest to attend a WNT match outside the U.S.

Additional Notes:

• The U.S. WNT has won its group in the World Cup every year except 2011, when it finished second to Sweden.
• The U.S. now has a record of 5-0-0 against Nigeria all time. In the five meetings, the U.S. has outscored the African nation 17-2.
• Abby Wambach has scored in every World Cup group stage in which she has played (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015). She has scored seven goals, tallying three total in final group stage matches.
• Defender Becky Sauerbrunn is the only player on the roster to start and play every game
• for the USA in 2015. She has played the most minutes (1149) of anyone on the team.
• Megan Rapinoe scored two goals and tallied an assist in the three Group Stage games.
• Seven U.S. players have played all 270 minutes of the tournament so far: midfielder Lauren Holiday, defender Julie Johnston, defender Meghan Klingenberg, defender Ali Krieger, midfielder Carli Lloyd, defender Sauerbrunn and goalkeeper Hope Solo.
• Lloyd earned her 198th cap and could hit the 200 mark during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She would become the 10th player in U.S. history to reach that mark and the fourth on the current roster. Rampone, Wambach and Heather O’Reilly are the other three.
• The USA, Nigeria and Sweden have competed in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• In its last 13 games, the U.S. has surrendered just three goals and has scored 24.

– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –

Match:  U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Nigeria
Date:  June 16, 2015
Competition:  2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup – Group D
Venue:  BC Place; Vancouver, Canada
Kickoff:  8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local)
Attendance:  52,193
Weather:  70 degrees; Cloudy

Scoring Summary:   1          2          F
USA                         1          0          1
NGA                         0          0          0

USA – Abby Wambach (Megan Rapinoe)     45th minute

Lineups:
USA:  1-Hope Solo; 11-Ali Krieger, 19-Julie Johnston, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 22-Meghan Klingenberg; 15-Megan Rapinoe (7-Shannon Boxx, 75), 12-Lauren Holiday, 10-Carli Lloyd, 17-Tobin Heath (3-Christie Rampone, 80); 13-Alex Morgan (2-Sydney Leroux, 66), 20-Abby Wambach (capt.)
Subs Not Used: 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Whitney Engen, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 14-Morgan Brian, 16-Lori Chalupny, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 21-Alyssa Naeher, 23-Christen Press
Head coach: Jill Ellis

NGA : 1-Precious Dede; 22-Sarah Nnodim, 6-Josephine Chukwunonye, 5-Onome Ebi, 23-Ngozi Ebere; 8-Asisat Oshoala, 14-Evelyn Nwabuoku (capt.), 13-Ngozi Okobi; 17-Francisca Ordega (20-Cecilia Nku, 77), 10-Courtney Dike (9-Desire Oparanozie, 50), 7-EstherSunday (12-Halimatu Ayinde, 50)
Subs not used: 2-Blessing Edoho, 3-Osinachi Ohale, 4-Perpetua Nkwocha, 11-Ini-Abasi Umotong, 16-Ibubeleye Whyte, 18-Loveth Ayila, 19-Martina Ohadugha, 21-Christy Ohiaeriaku
Head coach: Edwin Okon

Stats Summary: USA / NGA
Shots: 14 / 7
Shots on Goal: 7 / 2
Saves: 2 / 6
Corner Kicks: 6 / 5
Fouls: 8 / 12
Offside: 7 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
NGA – Sarah Nnodim (caution)                     38th minute
NGA – Onome Ebi (caution)                         43
NGA – Josephine Chukwunonye (caution)      60
NGA – Ngozi Okobi (caution)                        68
NGA – Sarah Nnodim (caution)                     69
NGA – Sara Nnodim (ejection)                      69

Officials:
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)
Assistant Referee 1: Natalia Rachynska (UKR)
Assistant Referee 2: Sanja Rodak (CRO)
Fourth Official: Rita Gani (MAS)

Woman of the Match: Abby Wambach