But the Americans will surely deal with that tomorrow and spend tonight remembering Wambach, whose legacy will be one of the most celebrated in United States soccer history. In the end, the U.S. Women dropped their first game since February, ending a 24-game unbeaten streak as China won 1-0. The US had gone 104 home games without losing since falling 3-1 to Denmark in 2004.
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“I think it was pretty fitting in that I played 70 minutes and we weren’t able to score a goal”, Wambach said during a postgame interview on FS1. That’s the most goals in global play on either the men’s or women’s side.
There were 33,000 people in attendance at the game to bid goodbye to Wambach.
Wambach got her 10th start of the year in her send-off game and also was designated the captain. Now that Wambach has hung up her cleats, she says she’s excited for whatever the future kicks her way.
“I know everybody wanted to get me a goal”, Wambach said. “It was about celebrating, not just my career but the chances that I’ve had with all my other teammates and the time that I’ve spent with them”.
Notes: U.S. Forward Alex Morgan asked out of the game late in the first half after pulling up lame with apparent muscle tightness in her right leg. Morgan was replaced by Horan. Congratulations Abby, you’ve been a class act and America thanks you for leading us to victory.
Wambach was part of a generation of American soccer players that helped bring the sport into the public eye, where they continued to prove their excellence to a hesitant sports audience. Just below the image was the word, “POWER”. Wambach was likely referring to the number of dual citizens that make up the team, including Diskerud, who holds both Norwegian and USA passports. At the same time, she sounded certain she’d never coach another player quite like Wambach. “I will say she will be dearly missed”.
Donovan also said that he told Klinsmann, when he was cut from the 2014 World Cup team, that, “There’s at least a few players that are on your World Cup roster that are going that don’t care in the same way that I do”.
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Despite the criticism, though, ESPN notes that spending on soccer in the US has increased under Klinsmann. She’s already risen to become the top global scorer – male or female – in soccer history. “They’re all happy tears, I’m not questioning whether I should retire or not”, said Wambach.
