U.S. beats Mexico to earn World Cup berth
A journey that the United States women’s national soccer team hopes will end in Shanghai on the last day of September began with a victory Wednesday night in Carson.
Two goals by Abby Wambach earned the U.S. a 2-0 win over Mexico and a place in the 2007 Women’s World Cup in China.
Canada also qualified for the fifth women’s world championship by shutting out Jamaica, 4-0, on two goals by Christine Sinclair in the first half of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup semifinal doubleheader at the Home Depot Center.
On a cool night in front of an announced crowd of 6,128, the Americans carried the game to their opponent but were met by a rugged defense that kept a disciplined and determined Mexico team in the match until the end.
Wambach opened the scoring in the 10th minute when Mexico goalkeeper Sophia Perez fumbled a shot by Carli Lloyd and Wambach was on hand to drive the loose ball into the net.
Wambach’s second goal came in the 64th minute after Kristine Lilly had beaten a defender in the left corner and crossed the ball for Wambach to redirect into the net with a glancing header.
On Sunday, in the 5:30 p.m. nightcap of another doubleheader, the U.S. will play Canada for the Gold Cup title.
“I can’t say enough about the stress that’s relieved by qualifying for the World Cup,” Wambach said. “It means a lot to every player on this team. We’ve dedicated so much time and so much of our lives. It’s so important.”
The U.S. pushed its unbeaten streak to a record 31 games.
It took Canada 40 minutes to break down Jamaica, primarily because its finishing was not quite precise enough in the early going.
Qualification by the U.S. and Canada, which finished fourth in the 2003 World Cup, means that the field for 2007 is all but complete. Also qualified for the 16-team tournament are China, Australia, North Korea, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, Nigeria and Ghana.
Argentina and Brazil are expected to qualify from South America. The winner of Sunday’s Mexico-Jamaica third-place match at 3 p.m. will play Asia’s third-place finisher, Japan, in a home-and-home series for another place and the final spot will go to the winner of the Oceania qualifying tournament in June.
