USA vs Nigeria 5-0 (match report)
BAMBOOZLED BY THE US --- Falcons get shut out 0-5 !
Mia Hamm scored two early goals and set up a third as the United States coasted to a 5-0 victory over Nigeria in Philadelphia. The hosts, who also got goals from Cindy Parlow, Abby Wambach and a late penalty from Julie Foudy, are now all but officially through to the quarter-finals. The Americans have six points from their first two matches and will complete their Group A schedule against Korea DPR in Columbus on 28 September. The Super Falcons are all but mathematically eliminated, having now conceded eight goals without reply at USA 2003. The U.S. have won nine consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup matches and will have to suffer a serious loss to Korea DPR to fail to finish top of the group.
The U.S. got on the scoreboard early in this contest, settling their nerves almost before they had the chance to have any. After Parlow went to ground in the box on the end of a high challenge from Nigerian captain Florence Omagbemi, Hamm stepped up to coolly slot her spot kick past a hopelessly confused Precious Dede (1-0, 6’).Shortly after, Hamm was again roaring forward -- her dominance in the opening minutes was total. Finding space and getting on the end of a pinpoint Kylie Bivens cross, her flicked header looked good, but went straight to the waiting arms of the African keeper (11’). And just one minute later, the rampant Hamm grabbed her second goal. Dede drifted off her line to collect the striker’s 35-yard, looping free kick but completely misjudged it, slapped at the air and had to suffer the humiliation of plucking the ball out of her net after a dreadful mistake 2-0, 12’).
Only two minutes after that, Hamm smacked the crossbar with another speculative try from distance. The U.S. were really in the driver’s seat and putting massive pressure on the African champions (14’). The Nigerians thought they pulled one back on a quick break, but Stella Mbachu – who did well to slip the ball home after a brilliant run and shot by Patience Avre - was judged to be offside by referee Florencia Romano (16’).Nigeria managed to stop the bleeding and settle into some competent moments of football as the half wore on. But, they rarely found their way to goal, and the Americans seemed content to let the half expire. The United States came out for the second half in renewed, stunning form. Pushing everything forward, they were obviously not happy with their 2-0 lead. And straight away, Parlow rose well to meet Hamm’s corner and slam the ball past Dede for her second goal of the finals (3-0, 47’).
To their credit, the Nigerians never laid down and came within inches of scoring when Mercy Akide crossed for Perepetua Nkwocha just in front of the U.S. goal. With Briana Scurry beaten, the midfielder just could not manage to slip her right-footed shot into the net (61’).But the U.S. were not wasting their chances. Second-half substitute Abby Wambach sneaked in at the far post and hammered in an inch-perfect cross from Kristine Lilly on the full volley for her first FIFA Women’s World Cup goal (4-0, 65’). The heads of the Africans dropped after the goal, and when Lilly crossed from the left it looked like another goal for the States. But Hamm, in a rare moment of inaccuracy, slammed the ball off the woodwork after Wambach’s shot was saved well by Dede (73’).The Americans still had one goal left in them, and it came after Wambach was taken down hard by Omagbemi in the box. While the crowd expected Hamm to complete her hat-trick, Foudy stepped up to slam the ball past Dede. The kick had to be retaken for encroachment into the box., but again, the captain made no mistake, smacking the ball into the top corner (5-0, 89’)
Deep into stoppage time, Wambach rose to meet a looping ball. The big striker caught Nigerian defender Bunmi Kayode with a sharp elbow to the face. With blood pouring from her cheek, the African had to be stretchered off after nearly a five-minute break in play. (94') In the end, the U.S. were far too hot for the African Champions to handle. Bud Light Player, Mia Hamm was delighted with the win and said: “I think it is important for our team and important for our goal which was to get three points tonight against a Nigeria team that goes out there and plays hard for 90 minutes. We needed those two goals. When we went into the locker room, in no way were we overconfident. Nigeria could have had a goal in the first half that was called back for offside. U.S. head coach April Heinrichs was keen to stress the importance of set-pieces and said: Five goals, with four of them on set pieces, which has been a focus we have had for the last year and a half. We felt that our service had been inconsistent. To score five goals against a team whose number one strength is heading is a great achievement for us. It is a great position for us to be in. On the team’s current position, with six points from two games:“Coming out of two games with six points is exactly what our goals were. We had to progress to the next stage to give Brandi a chance to return to the team within this tournament. We spent a lot of time talking about staying in the present and about Nigeria in the last three days.
