Wambach's Injury Is Crushing Blow For U.S. Women

2008-09-10T06:59:20-04:00

2008-07-17T09:34:56-04:00

2008-09-10T06:38:32-04:00

2008-07-21T05:58:42-04:00

fwilly

Kailua 444539

It should be said somewhere that Pia has changed the team flow considerably from what it had been in the World cup. In the games that I watched this year the team built the attack much more and you could actually see the team wait for support before attacking. Had this happened with the offense as it was during the World cup where AWab seemed like the only attack strategy (Chalupny's great goal not withstanding), I would say no chance. Now however you have Kai, who has scored or been involved in scoring quite a bit this year, as well a number of other players that have been involved in supporting the attack, so at least the infrastructure to an offense that takes advantage of more players on the team that just the forward is there. That being said, you wonder with the injuries to the midfielders and now Wambach... what's next? Solo and Box goes down in a collision? 2267621

2008-07-17T14:40:37-04:00

PHX-AZ

Phoenix 455183

Abby would say this has never been the Abby Wambach Team. There is still enough talent and confidence to earn a Gold. Yes, the pressure is on, but its always on. These women are not going to just roll over. Everyone's play will be forced to elevate, especially with defense. Let's hope the midfield play picks up, giving the younger legs an advantage. All the elements are still present for US Gold, it will be much harder without the top scorer. This is what they live for! Plus, Abby is likely be cheering on the sidelines, providing tons of energy to give her talented young teammates encouragement. (PHX, AZ) 2246279

2008-07-17T13:52:41-04:00

lil_bit

Dyersburg 455167

Sundhage has done an excellent job in shaping a new style on the US team in a short period of time. Although the team still resorts to the long ball on occasion, a much more possession-oriented team has emerged over the last few months. While Wambach is the leading scorer in 2008 with 13 goals, she only leads by one goal. Kai has scored 12 this year. The good news is that, unlike in 2007 where Wambach was the only target player, goals this year have come from a number of players, such as Kai, Lloyd, O'Reilley, Tarpley, and Rodriguez. I don't deny that the loss of Wambach is a huge blow, but this team is not without a number of other finishers. Plus, in the last few games, the team has shown to have a stellar back line in Rampone, Markgraf, Mitts, and Chalupny. Getting to the platform just become more difficult, but I certainly wouldn't count them out yet. 2245682

2008-07-17T12:01:33-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/286/29/thumb/images.jpg 1387 CO

j11forbes: Go Jo-Jo Go!

Denver 28709

I agree with TNa in the hope that this will force the U.S. women to stop playing long ball soccer and develop more creativity in their attack. That can only be a good thing. Still, I don't think the U.S. team is one of the top two teams in the world right now and this doesn't help this. It will take some great defense and a new style of play for them to succeed. Let's just hope they don't revert to playing catenaccio with their best scorer out. 2244013

2008-07-17T11:56:19-04:00

TNa

Raleigh 233341

I don't think all is lost. Yes, the injury is bad, and comes at a horrible time, but the U.S. has a few players that are capable of stepping up. There's Natasha Kai, who showed last night that she can come in and have an impact. There's also Angela Hucles, who can be a very potent scorer, and has shown an ability in the past to put long range screamers in the back of the net. Hucles is also a veteran that brings experience to the table. There's also Rodriguez, who's got good speed and can finish. Another possibility is shifting player's positions, such as moving Chalupney off the back line into the midfield, and playing Tarpley up front. On another note, I think this injury may force the WNT to play better midfiled soccer, developing their attack with sound passing, rather than sending long balls up top to the taller Wambach. If you look at Wambach's 99 career goals, 40+ have come on headers. That should tell you something about the WNT's offensive style historically. I think Sundhage has been trying to change that style, and it showed last night in what I thought was very good ball possession in the midfield. Basically Brazil was forced to run counters all night, without much passing play. Going into this tourney, I would hardly say this team was a "given" for the gold. Germany, Brazil, N. Korea, and Sweden all are contenders. We'll definitely see now if this team can step up to the challenge. 2243926

The U.S. women’s soccer team’s quest for an Olympic gold medal just got a whole lot tougher. U.S. star forward Abby Wambach broke two bones in her left leg in a full-speed collision with a Brazilian defender on Wednesday night and will miss the entire Olympics. It’s a devastating blow for the U.S. and for Wambach, its best player, who was aiming to score her 100th international goal. The U.S. won the exhibition game in San Diego 1-0, but the team’s real test will be to find a replacement for Wambach, 28, who has led the team in scoring at the last three world championships (Olympics and World Cups). Wambach’s injury was painful to watch. In the 32nd minute of a feisty game that could hardly be called a friendly, Wambach took a pass from defender Heather Mitts and played a give-and-go with forward Amy Rodriguez. The return pass from Rodriguez led Wambach by a hair too much, and in a friendly like this one some players would have shied away from the 50-50 ball. But not Wambach, whose competitive fire burns deep. She went in at full speed just as Brazilian defender Andreia Rosa came in at full throttle herself. And in a move that Wambach no doubt wishes she could take back, she wound up and kicked the ball with her left foot. Wambach’s leg struck Andreia Rosa’s left leg on her follow-through with such force that it broke Wambach’s left tibia and fibula, the main bones in the lower part of the leg.  It wasn’t a dirty play, just a freak mishap that can take place when neither player is willing to give any quarter. Yet there’s no denying that Wambach’s adrenaline was running high: she had already been involved in several skirmishes with Brazilian defender Renata Costa, who’d earned a yellow-card for knocking Wambach down just three minutes before Wambach was injured. Wambach was scheduled to have surgery on Thursday to insert a titanium rod in her left leg. Her recovery is expected to take around three months. The scoring pressure for the U.S. will now be squarely on two forwards: Natasha Kai, the 25-year-old tattoo-covered Hawaiian who has scored 12 goals in 2008 (including the game-winner against Brazil on Wednesday), and Rodriguez, the 21-year-old newcomer known as A-Rod who led USC to last season’s NCAA championship. But neither player has the track record of Wambach. Just yesterday I crunched the numbers to see how Wambach’s scoring rate compared to the greats in U.S. women’s soccer history. And when it comes to goals per 90 minutes, Wambach is at the top of the list for U.S. players who’ve scored at least 50 times: Abby Wambach     .935 Michelle Akers       .904 Cindy Parlow         .791 Mia Hamm             .687 Tiffeny Milbrett      .675 Carin Gabarra        .578 Shannon MacMillan .519 Kristine Lilly          .412 There will be some critics who wonder why Wambach risked an injury by playing in a friendly that was the team’s last game before the Olympics, who wonder why the U.S. scheduled two games against Brazil, a bitter rival that has been known for overly physical play—and has been competing without risking stars Marta, Cristiane and Daniela, who are with their clubs in Sweden. But those same critics were the ones who complained that the U.S. men didn’t schedule tough enough opponents right before World Cup ’06. And while it’s fair to argue that the Brazilian women can be hackers, it wasn’t a dirty play that injured Wambach. Instead it was Wambach’s refusal to play at anything less than full-speed. And it’s awfully hard to criticize someone for that. Now we’ll see what the rest of this team is made of in China. In the wake of Wambach’s injury, do you think the U.S. still has what it takes to win the gold medal? 1306 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/194/315/thumb/wahl_grant.jpg 11 MD

Grant Wahl

Baltimore 194615