VANCOUVER, Canada: Abby Wambach insists she doesn’t care if she’s on the bench or on the pitch come Sunday, all she wants when the final whistle blows is that the United States have one goal more than Japan in the Women’s World Cup final.
The 35-year-old forward, the United States’ all-time top scorer in men’s or women’s football, has been the star of the American female game for nearly 15 years.
She won her first cap in September 2001 and since then has scored 183 goals in 248 appearances for the ‘Stars and Stripes’.
But one date remains engraved in her memory - July 17, 2011.
“Why is that day special?” she asks. “It was the World Cup final and we lost it. Don’t forget it.
“It’s constantly in our minds.”
She has won two Olympic gold medals and was named FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year in 2012. In May this year Time Magazine listed her among the 100 most influential people in the world.