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U.S. Women clinch last spot in World Cup

Amy Rodriguez (Getty)

It came in atypical fashion, but the U.S. women's national team qualified for the 2011 Women's World Cup thanks to a 1-0 second leg victory over Italy Saturday afternoon.

A 40th minute goal by Amy Rodriguez was all the scoring the U.S. would need, as they won the two-game aggregate 2-0. The U.S. outshot Italy on the day 13-5, shutting out the Azzurri for the second game in a row.

The draw for the Women's World Cup will be held Monday in Germany, where the U.S. will learn their group opponents for next summer.

Here is the video of Rodriguez's goal:

http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?autoplay=0&deepLinkEmbedCode=Y5Mnl1MTqKq1wnpKtD4ae2EzbOrjQP5Z&embedCode=Y5Mnl1MTqKq1wnpKtD4ae2EzbOrjQP5Z

What did you think of Saturday's game? Can the U.S. women succeed next summer?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. USWNT is STILL the gold standard for women’s national team soccer. Everyone else is definitely getting better in women’s soccer, but they would also still love to trade places with the US … at least for now anyway.

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  2. Leroux is a great player, but this season at UCLA shows she wasn’t even playing her best. If you look at how she plays at UCLA and the national teams….she plays like an individual…sadly kinda like a Marta (takes on way too much).

    I think a Christen Press would be a better candidate than Leroux right now. Just like Buddle and Gomez were on scoring streaks…Press is just tearing it up in all kinds of ways….she’s prob the most deadly striker with the long range strikes too.

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  3. As Abby W said in yesterday’s post game comments that this team has been going non-stop for the last 11 months. The y desperately need to recharge their batteries. That said Pia also needs to bring in more young players like Alex Morgan like LeRoux, Mewis to name a few, but she also needs to tweak the midfield and back line big time. At least she knows what the problem is and will work on it so that is encouraging.

    I am sure no one will want to be in the USA’s group.

    Here are is my mock draw. Teams on top of each group are the seeded ones.

    Germany
    Norway
    Colombia
    Japan

    USA
    Australia
    Eq. Guinea
    New Zealand

    Brazil
    France
    Nigeria
    Canada

    Sweden
    England
    Mexico
    No. Korea

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  4. This team could really use Sydney Leroux. She’s the best young talent we have (that was very much proved at the U-20 World Cup). And the fact that she has dual citizenship between the United States and Canada should be enough of a push for the U.S. to get her while she’s available. A young, athletic, proven goal scorer. What’s the hold up with getting her to be a regular senior team?

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  5. anyone else a bit pissed Alex Morgan didn’t even get a minute of playing time? I’m not saying she should be starting yet, but come on.

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  6. Agreed on the USWNT points. It’s clear there are problems. Hopefully a break and the experience of losing and having to go this route will help. But it is hard to imagine this team coming up big against a Brazil or Germany, the way things have been going (and from before Cancun and qualifying, too). They need some real solutions to get back to the level they have usually been at.

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  7. Thank you for pointing out what should be obvious to anyone who has watched the USWNT over the years. The team is in stasis. Even worse, Pia, who was once a very progressive coach, has locked in (just as every US coach before her) on a handful of players in the pool, who are not even close to be the most talented women in the US. LaRue, Washington, et al, need to get a solid opportunity to show that they are, in fact, the next wave.

    In the meantime, could we outlaw wins and losses in youth soccer in the US and please start teaching kids how to actually play the game, rather than how to WIN a game? “nuff said.

    The current team will do well to finish in the top four @ WC.

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  8. Congrats indeed. The most important part of today’s game was to get the job done, and it’s done. However, they didn’t look like a team with a lot of ideas or creativity. They were instead tactically strong enough in defense, and with a pretty clear advantage in athleticism that showed more and more as the game progressed.

    I think the Sundhage and the players described it more or less accurately after the game when she apologized for the first 20 minutes and (paraphrasing) suggested that we resorted to playing long balls because our possession and build-up play were inadequate. (The commentary from the booth was on top of this as well.)

    I’ll be hoping for the best, but looking for some good improvements in offensive tactics and approach.

    USA! USA!

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  9. I don’t wonder at all. One fluke lost dumped them into a home-and-home against a team that was happy to do nothing but defend.

    The team is 15-1-2 this year, outscoring opponents 48-8 AND has two wins over Germany. There’s nothing wrong with the USWNT. Further, the World Cup is seven months away. PLENTY of time to prepare.

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  10. Congrats..but you have to wonder about their chances headed into the WC. They have not scored many goals recently and one would have thought they would have more decisive wins against the 5th team from Europe

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