Lilly, Wambach team up for U.S.

CHENGDU, China -- Kristine Lilly glanced up, catching sight of Abby Wambach 25 yards ahead racing down the left side toward Sweden's goal. She reacted instinctively, lofting a soaring ball for Wambach to run under.

Wambach did just that, settled it off her chest, and lashed a left-footed half-volley from 15 yards that ripped into the net behind Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl.

It was Wambach's second of the game -- her third in two games in China. It was classic Lilly-Wambach in the 58th minute of Friday women's World Cup Group B game; America's top strikers linking up to seal a 2-0 victory over Sweden and move the No. 1-ranked Americans into a perfect spot to reach the quarterfinals.

"If you like football, you like to see a goal like Abby Wambach's goal today," Sweden coach Thomas Dennerby said. "But for us, it was in the wrong match."

Playing with 11 stitches in her head, picked up in a 2-2 draw with North Korea earlier in the week -- and a sore toe that's numbed before she plays -- Wambach also converted a penalty in the 34th after Lori Chalupny was taken down in the area.

She's now scored 80 goals in 98 games for the U.S. national team, with is trying to win the World Cup to go with titles in '91 and '99.

There was more classic Lilly-Wambach. They gave each other the credit.

"She saw me making a run, and she basically did all the rest," Wambach said. "She put an amazing ball on my chest between the two defenders. I took a decent touch off my chest and was able to half-volley it."

And Lilly: "It was a good ball in, but to deal with it, to bring it down and get the volley off. It was a world-class goal."

The victory boosted the United States to 4 points atop Group B -- the same as North Korea -- with a final group game Tuesday in Shanghai against Nigeria. North Korea defeated Nigeria 2-0 on Friday and faces Sweden on Tuesday in the northern city of Tianjin.

A draw will be enough to get the United States to the quarterfinals, although a victory might guarantee first place and a quarterfinal against Japan or England. If the U.S. finishes second it will have a tougher time against defending champion Germany.