On Wednesday evening the U.S. women’s national team opened up their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament in Kansas City and came away with a narrow 1-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.
Abby Wambach scored the lone goal off of Alex Morgan’s cross, with the USWNT struggling to click into gear against stubborn opponents.
Watch the video above for full highlights from Sporting Park, as the USA are back in action on Friday in Chicago with a match against Group A opponents Guatemala who lost 1-0 to Haiti on Wednesday.
Below are more details from our friends at Soccerly, as the USWNT (ranked no. 1 in the world) know they most do better.“We had numerous chances and I think that we feel like we can play better soccer but that’s what happens in tournaments and credit to them for doing what they did,” Wambach told Fox Sports after the match.
Trinidad & Tobago went to the break level with the U.S., to the frustration of the Americans. It was an impressive feat for a Trinidadian team that came to the U.S. with almost no money after enduring terrible training conditions back home.
“I could talk all night about the things we don’t have, but we do have is a team that believes,” Trinidad & Tobago coach Randy Waldrum said postgame.
Morgan nearly put the U.S. ahead nine seconds into the second half, but she blazed a left-footed shot over the bar. Frustrations continued to pile up as Wambach missed an open header in the 48th minute and Rapinoe skied her shot over an open net in the 52nd before Wambach finally found the breakthrough. The goal was Wambach’s 171st of her career, the most in the world for any man or woman.
The U.S. is now unbeaten in 88 straight home matches (77-0-11), dating back to Nov. 6, 2004.Follow @JPW_NBCSports