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ESPNsoccernet: null | |
U.S. striker Abby Wambach says that her side want to win 'beautifully' as she tries to bring the Women's World Cup back to the country for the first time in 12 years.
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Captain Christie Rampone is the only current U.S. player who was part of the 1999 side, but Wambach admits a lot has changed in the women's game since and says her team-mates must be fully focused if they are to walk away with the title.
''The days of USA strolling into every game and winning are over,'' she told FIFA's website. ''Games are much more taxing, there's so much more tactics involved and you have to play well to win every game at this level. We know that if we don't play well in this first round, we might be going home.
''However, if we can put in a full 90 minute performances without any lapses in concentration, we are going to be a really difficult team to beat. All of the losses we've suffered over the past 12 months have given us things to work on and I think it has helped us to improve in the long run.''
Wambach added that the U.S. are keen to impress, while also praising the side's new coach, Pia Sundhage, for their new approach.
''We all want to play good-looking soccer,'' she said. ''We don't want to just win games, we want to win beautifully. That's something which [coach] Pia has brought to the table and that's something which has been a great thing for me to learn.''