MONTCLAIR, N.J. (AP) — The U.S. women are accustomed to being ranked atop the soccer world. What they are not used to is being underdogs.
Despite that lofty ranking and gold medals from the last two Olympics, the Americans won’t be the favorite when the Women’s World Cup kicks off June 26. Germany, which has won the last two world titles and will be hosting the three-week event, is the odds-on choice.
That merely ramps up the U.S. team’s eagerness to get going — and winning.
Star forward Abby Wambach, who will be playing on her third World Cup squad, says “everyone has the final game on our minds, and winning it. But we can’t skip any steps to get there.”
Those steps include a difficult opening group of Sweden, North Korea and Colombia.
