USA Loses in Wambach’s Final Game

She was named FIFA’s World Player of the Year (2012). Near the corner, she sent a long cross to Wang Shuang, who hit a volley that deflected off Meghan Klingenberg and into the right corner. The problem was China. Wambach retired from worldwide competition after the game.

USA worldwide Mix Diskerud has responded to Abby Wambach’s criticism of men’s national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann for incorporating non-native players.

– Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant)Congrats go to Abby Wambach as she plays her last game for the #USWNT.

China, meanwhile, capitalized on a rare opportunity, burying a goal against the run of play in the 58th minute.

China won the game 1-0. The U.S. scurried for the final minutes of the second half to try to erase that lead, but for Wambach, the fairytale ended without a chariot ride around the Superdome.

Wambach retires just months after finally adding a World Cup winner’s medal to her collection, even if she only came on as a substitute late in the final against Japan.

Abby Wambach looks on during the women’s soccer match against China at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 16, 2015 in New Orleans.

She exits the game as America’s all-time leading national goalscorer and as the global record holder in goals for both men and women with 184.

But don’t stop there.

But no one – NO ONE – can beat a compliment from the leader of the free world. It nearly seemed to be a relief to get the game over with.

Last year, TBWA/Chiat/Day crafted a farewell to Yankees captain Derek Jeter for Gatorade which was easily one of the most memorable sports ads of the year.

“It was very hard for me”. It would be better if we had won, but the reality is I played in so many games this result doesn’t shape or determine or define my career.

“Her sophomore year I said to a reporter, ‘One day she will be an Olympian, ‘” said Kathy Boughton, former high school coach. Wambach is credited with transforming soccer in the U.S. She inspires on and off the field. When U.S. coach Jill Ellis asked if Wambach was serious about retiring, Wambach didn’t mince words. Whereas, if we go three and out, I’ll be devastated’. “Everybody needs to get that in their head”. Fabian Johnson is as good a player as there is maybe in the Bundesliga right now and I love him and he’s a nice kid.

CNN was unable to contact U.S. Soccer for a response Wednesday, but its president Sunil Gulati told ESPN: “Abby has never been shy of speaking her mind, but today it’s best to celebrate a wonderful career and character”.

It is apparent Wambach’s American teammates will miss the stout, 5-foot-11 forward known for her passionate speeches and playing style, often highlighted by headed goals that are as exquisite as they are determined and powerful. “I scored a lot of goals”. The game is faster. “That, to me, is the biggest thing for me moving forward into the next chapter”. “Her strength and perseverance is what makes her so great and it’s what defenders and opposing teams fear”. She did it loud. But that’s OK. Wambach got her fairy tale when she lifted the World Cup back in July. I learned that from a young age.

“First of all, Klinsmann hasn’t really focused, I feel like, enough attention on the youth programs”. In the process, I grew to appreciate the nuances of the game, which at times was not particularly attractive to me and at other times, truly embodied the moniker “the handsome game”.