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In a hard fought 90 minutes, the US Women’s Soccer team battled to secure the top spot in Group G with a 1-0 win over North Korea in front of 29,000+ in Manchester, England on Tuesday.
Abby Wambach provided the only goal of the match, converting on a cross by Alex Morgan in the 25th minute of play.
Kim Myong Gum and Alex Morgan
The goal was Wambach’s 141st goal in international competition, and the match capped off an undefeated first round of play for the Americans. They defeated France 4-2 in their first match last week and scored a win over Colombia on Saturday by a margin of 3-0.
Midfield Megan Rapinoe was noticeably absent throughout the second half of play. There is no word yet if she was pulled in order to rest or if there was an injury.
Earlier in the week, US goalkeeper Hope Solo sent shock waves over the Internet when she took to Twitter to criticize NBC soccer analyst and former U.S. player Brandi Chastain's commentary of their match against Colombia. Coach Pia Sundhage met with Solo about her public rants, but Solo didn't back down from her comments.
Chastain criticized US defender Rachel Buehler and the rest of the US defensive line by saying, live on NBC, "As a defender, your responsibilities are to defend... win the ball, and then keep possession. And that's something that Rachel Buehler actually needs to improve on in this tournament."
Solo quickly shot back with a response, "It's too bad we can't have commentators who better represent the team and know more about the game. Lay off commentating about defending and goalkeeping until you get more educated. The game has changed from a decade ago."
According to US Weekly, Chastain addressed Solo’s comments. "My only comment is I am in London to cover women's soccer for NBC in an honest and objective fashion, and that is what I have done, and will continue to do for the rest of the tournament."
The squad now moves to Newcastle for their quarterfinal match scheduled for Friday, time and opponent to be announced.
Images via Getty - Main image Abby Wambach and Kim Myong Gum.
