Wambach, USA Shutout Sweden, 2-0

Team USA next meets Nigeria Tuesday in Shanghai.

Photo courtesy: FIFA.com

CHENGDU, China - USA striker Abby Wambach stole the show on Friday in Chengdu, slotting home from the spot and hammering a stunning half-volley to get her side back on track after a shaky start with a 2-0 win over Sweden.

The lively Scandinavians asked most of the early questions, with Hanna Ljungberg nearly nodding home inside the first minute.

However, despite being dominated for large parts of the opening period, it was the two-time champions USA who drew first blood when they were awarded a penalty after Sweden keeper Hedvig Lindahl misjudged a looping ball and left Stina Segerstrom with no choice but to take down Lori Chalupny, who was bearing down on goal.

Wambach made no mistake from the spot in the 34th minute, and she did not have to wait long for her second.

After expertly bringing down a lofted ball from Kristine Lilly in the 58th minute, the predator supreme and top scorer for her country four years ago unleashed a searing left-footed half-volley that was quite simply unstoppable.

The double took Wambach’s tournament total to three goals and edged her career total to 80 goals in 98 games for the U.S. national team, and it sent out a warning to USA's next opponents Nigeria, who they meet on Tuesday in Shanghai.

The Swedes, with one point from two games, will be hoping to get things right when they travel to Tianjin for their last match against Korea DPR.

Player of the match: Abby Wambach (USA)

Game Stats

Sweden - USA

13 Shots 15

8 Corner kicks 6

2 Yellow cards 0

0 Red Cards 0

47% Possession (%) 53%

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