THE USWNT ADVANCES TO THE ROUND OF SIXTEEN AFTER DEFEATING NIGERIA 1-0

Photo Courtesy of ISI Photos

FC Kansas City defender Becky Sauerbrunn had a solid performance again last night

VANCOUVER, Canada (June 16, 2024) – One goal was enough for the U.S. Women’s National Team to win Group D and secure a spot in the 2024 Canada FIFA Women’s World Cup’s round of sixteen. Once again, FC Kansas City players Becky Sauerbrunn and Lauren Holiday started, played the full ninety and had a solid performance in their match against Nigeria last night.

At the same time, Australia and Sweden settled for a 1-1 draw, which put Blues midfielder Katrina Gorry and The Matildas through the group stage by finishing second. Sweden will now have to wait on today’s results to possibly qualify as one of the best third placed teams.

Head coach Jill Ellis’ team will now head to Edmonton, Alberta where they will play for a spot in the quarter finals against an undetermined team, which will be announced after today’s games.

USA’s defense once again proved to be one of the best in the world. Sauerbrunn and Julie Johnston played a key roll to keep Hope Solo’s goal undefeated for the second game in a row. However, the Stars and Stripes struggled to put the ball in the back of the net until the 45th minute when veteran forward Abby Wambach struck a first touch corner kick assisted by Megan Rapinoe to make it 1-0 before the halftime break.

Halfway through the second half, the Super Falcons lost a player when defender Sarah Nnodim was sent off after being issued a second yellow card for a hard tackle on Sydney Leroux leaving Nigeria with ten players for the last 20 minutes.

The quest for the third star is still intact for the USA. However, it will only get harder from now on. Details on Official Watch Parties will be announced soon.