USA Beats Nigeria 1-0, England Up Next

The USA finished as Group B winners to claim a quarter-final meeting with England.

USA's Abby Wambach fights for a ball with Nigeria's Christie George in the game Nigeria-USA at the FIFA Women World Cup. Photo courtesy: FIFA.com

SHANGHAI, China - A rare old storm is brewing up in the Far East and it has nothing to do with Birgit Prinz, Abby Wambach, Marta or Kelly Smith.

Typhoon Wipha is heading for Shanghai and promises to make life even tougher for the participants at the FIFA Women's World Cup who have already had to cope with high levels of humidity.

Having found the net with the clock showing just 57 seconds, USA not only claimed the second-fastest goal in the tournament's history but also constructed a platform to show the world the full range of their skills and power.

Against Nigeria they fell short of that aim, however, and even though a 1-0 win meant they finished as Group B winners to claim a quarter-final meeting with England, the two-time champions progress with question marks hovering over them.

As the rain lashed down and those in the stands at Shanghai's Hongkou stadium looked with pity on those who turned up in sandals, Nigeria set about trying to recover from the early thunderbolt that arrived as Lori Chalupny jabbed in a shot via a deflection.

It was only the second goal scored inside the opening 60 seconds of any FIFA Women's World Cup match.

The African nation had the support of the locals who in a sub-plot to the real contest, strove manfully to drown out the noisy American voices.

They roared every time the green shirts went forward but it was not to be.

Needing a win by three goals to continue their stay was the toughest of asks for a team who have always lost on this stage against the US.

It is now four defeats in four with 16 goals conceded and just two finding the net at the other end - but Nigeria came close in a late flurry to achieving the satisfaction of a first-ever draw.

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