VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Chosen to start in a Women's World Cup game for the first time on Tuesday, Alex Morgan said she jokingly sought pointers from left back Meghan Klingenberg, who has made all of three starts.
"She's such a veteran," Morgan said with a laugh after the game.
The United States had just defeated Nigeria, 1-0, on a goal by Abby Wambach off a corner kick just before halftime, exploiting its opponent's yawning vulnerability on set pieces.
"It was pretty apparent they were ball watchers," Morgan said.
In 65 minutes on the field, Morgan looked predictably rusty, the result of not starting a match for more than two months while recovering from a bone bruise in her left knee. Still, her performance was one of promise, if not immediate achievement.
Morgan brought movement, energy, speed and dynamism to the American attack. She nearly scored twice in the second half, first on a lobbed shot, then on a galloping run that a sharper Morgan surely would have completed with a goal.
Photo Abby Wambach played 90 minutes on Tuesday but continues to struggle with heading the ball. Credit Ben Nelms/European Pressphoto Agency"We need Alex Morgan to win this tournament, whether it's her starting or coming off the bench," Wambach said. "We feel good about the way she played. Yeah, we want to score more goals. All teams want to score more goals. But she's coming along fine."
Heading into the round of 16, the American attack is still potholed and rutted. No forward has scored in the run of play. The conversion rate on set pieces is anemic. Lauren Holiday and Carli Lloyd are both making too many errant passes and being stranded in midfield without enough outlet options. On Tuesday, the United States could not increase its lead even though a red card reduced Nigeria to 10 players for the final 21 minutes.
Yet, it is important to remember that the Americans finished first in what was considered the toughest and most balanced group in the 24-team tournament, and that they beat Australia and Nigeria around a tie with Sweden.
And now the United States might be afforded a breather. As a group winner, it has a luxurious opportunity to play less-threatening opponents in both the round of 16 and the quarterfinals before a potential meeting with Germany in the semifinals.
"I'm ecstatic," Coach Jill Ellis said.
And while the American attack needs to grow sharper, the defense has proved impenetrable for 243 minutes since conceding a goal in the first half of the tournament opener against Australia.
Goalkeeper Hope Solo is at the top of her game, even as she faces new revelations in an unresolved domestic violence case. Klingenberg rescued a 0-0 tie against Sweden by alertly heading a late shot off the crossbar while guarding the goal line. And center backs Becky Sauerbrunn and Julie Johnston have been calm and resolute after some frantic early moments against Australia.
Asked if the United States could win the World Cup with Sauerbrunn and Johnston as the best players on the field, Ellis said, "If you don't give up any goals, I think you have a hell of a chance."
On Tuesday, Johnston displayed the fierce hustle that Sauerbrunn exhibited in earlier games, chasing down Nigeria's Asisat Oshoala on a breakaway in the 25th minute, getting a foot on the ball and deflecting Oshoala's shot wide of the right post. Johnston also put a shot into the net off a deft headed cross from Wambach in the eighth minute, only to have it waved off for offside.
Photo Alex Morgan's shot in the second half was stopped by Precious Dede, the Nigerian goalkeeper. Credit Darryl Dyck/CP, via Associated Press"We knew we were going to be tested in this group," Ellis said. "There's not a back line in the world that wouldn't be tested in this group with the pace and transition of these teams. I'm really pleased how battle-tested we are coming out of that and how confident we should feel in our back line."
Wambach continues to struggle with heading the ball, however, and she runs the risk of letting her displeasure with artificial turf become a distraction. But she played 90 minutes on Tuesday, tracked back to midfield for the ball and twice flicked passes in the early minutes to create scori ng chances for others.
At 35, Wambach now might have a chance to rest a bit and recover against lesser opponents — the United States will play Colombia, a third-place finisher, on Monday and, if it advances, the China-Cameroon winner in the quarterfinals — and save her stamina for the semifinals. And Morgan, just short of her 26th birthday, should have a chance to extend her match fitness and refine her touch.
"The knee felt great," Morgan said Tuesday night. "I didn't think about it one time during the game, so that was a positive step."
Asked about her fitness, she said: "I feel 100 percent. I felt fast. I'l l have to ask the fitness coach about the GPS to see if I actually was. I didn't feel a step behind like I used to be."
It might be too much to ask of Morgan and Wambach to repeat their outstanding partnership of 2012, when Morgan delivered 28 goals and 21 assists and scored on a dramatic header in extra time to lift the United States over Canada in the semifinals of the London Olympics. Wambach has three more years in her aging legs since then, and Morgan is recovering from injury.
Still, they complement each other, Wambach with her strength, Morgan with her speed, and both offer cavernous determination.
"We're just ve ry honest with each other," Morgan said. "We look up to each other and want to grow as teammates. I love playing with her. I think we complement each other with our runs. We communicate a lot. We're always talking."
It was Tony Readings, the New Zealand coach, who perhaps best described the partnership at the London Games, saying: "Wambach and Morgan are a nightmare. They're both very good technically, and when you nullify one, you find you can't contain the other."
That was three years ago, of course. We will soon see what is left of their precision and of the American team's chances of winning the World Cup for the first time since 1999.
