U.S. women

Americans just about clinch Olympics Group G after surviving Brazilian scare 2-0.

THESSALONIKI, Greece (Saturday, August 14, 2004) -- The U.S. survived a horrid first half, but rallied to defeat Brazil 2-0 in the Summer Olympics on Mia Hamm's penalty kick and a low drive by Abby Wambach after the break before 17,123 at Kaftanzolglio Stadium.

If the U.S. (2-0, 6 points) was inclined to take Australia (1-1, 3) lightly in the Group G finale, that tendency was probably cured by the Americans being dominated by Brazil for the opening 45 minutes. Still, regardless of the effort against Australia, a nation that has never beaten the U.S, there is virtually no scenario in which the Americans will not win Group G.

The U.S. (2-0, 6 points) will win its group with a victory or draw Tuesday against Australia (1-1, 3) in an 11 a.m. (ET) match to be televised on MSNBC. Even with a loss to Australia, the American are nearly certain to place first and advance to a quarterfinal meeting with the third-place finisher from Group E or F with the best record. Even with a loss, the U.S. can do no worse than tie for first and has a goal differential five better than Australia and six better than Brazil (1-1, 3).

Brazil "came out and played extremely well and they excited this crowd for sure with their flair on the ball and the opportunities they created," Hamm said. "They gave us a lot of trouble. Bri (goalkeeper Briana Scurry) stepped up and made some huge saves for us and kept us into the game going into the second half. In the second half, we changed our shape a little bit and we are able to possess the ball, which we didn't do the first half. I think our mentality was better the second half, but that first half, there are things we can change. But you have to give credit to Brazil, they put on a clinic."

Wambach, who has 16 goals in her last 17 international appearances, also picked up her second yellow card of group play and will be suspended for the Australia match, likely to be replaced by Cindy Parlow.

"Getting that second yellow is a little heartbreaking," Wambach said. "That's when I had to kick in my professionalism and say to myself that this is the last time I can play in the first round, so I tried to play my heart out and help the team as much as I could without getting a red card and having us play a man down. I want to be able to help my team and wear that jersey every game. That's why I'm here, to help my team, and if I can't do that, I feel like I am letting my team and my country down. But I am confident in the players that will replace me and whatever Australia will throw at us, we'll be able to deal with."

In today's other Group G action, Australia recorded a 1-0 decision over Greece (0-2, 0)

The U.S. is 15-0 all-time against Australia with an overall 58-9 goals advantage. However, the U.S entered tonight with a 15-1-2 mark against Brazil, but was thoroughly outplayed in the first half and lucky not to trail at half.

The strike pair of Hamm and Wambach again spearheaded the American attack. In the 57th minute, Wambach was taken down in the box by Brazil defender Monica while trying to run onto a through ball from midfielder Julie Foudy who had split the defense, carrying for 30 yards before playing a ball in the penalty area.

"We all knew that based on the way we played in the first half how fortunate we were in the second half (to still be tied 0-0)," Hamm said. "I think what were excited about was our renewed commitment. Regardless of our performance in the first half, we didn't give up. We were showed what the Brazilians can do and the passion with which they play, but this team came out of that lockerroom in the second half knowing we had to changes things, and we did."

A minute later, Hamm laced the subsequent penalty kick low and inside the right post beyond the reach of extended goalkeeper Andreia for a 1-0 lead.

Hamm found net for the fourth straight outing and extended her world record to 153 career goals.

"Having her (Hamm) on your side is one of the best things I've been a part of," Wambach said. "She's always a person to take responsibility. She's the boss in my opinion. You want to give her the ball in the penalty-kick situation like that. She's going to put it in the back of the net for you and I'm happy for her. . . (The Brazilian defender) did shove me. I'm not one those players that will flop. Maybe a few other coaches would disagree with me, but I did get hit on the play and the referee saw it."

Lindsay Tarpley, who replaced Aly Wagner in the midfield just before the penalty kick helped spark the U.S. to a 2-0 lead in the 78th minute. Defender Christie Rampone's throw-in went to reserve forward Heather O'Reilly who flicked the ball to Tarpley. Tarpley's hard header skipped to the right side on the ground where Wambach tracked it down and sharply cut back to her left.

Wambach split Monica and Juliana to the inside and moved square across the goal before cracking a left-footed shot to the near post. Andreia, who was leaning to her right to cover the far post, could do nothing to stop the low drive from finding the net to her left.

"First and foremost, you have to give it up for Lindsay Tarpley. She made the whole play happen," Wambach said. "She put her body on the line and stuck her head out. . . She got her head on the ball and made the play that got me in. I did the rest, made a great cutback and opened myself to a wide-open goal. I saw (the keeper) inching towards the far post, so I shot it near post and I think I had my hands up in celebration before it went in."

The crowd was clearly supporting Brazil and had plenty to cheer about in the opening 45 minutes. Scurry, who was not required to make a save Wednesday, stepped up to make several solid stops to keep the Americans even.

In the 14th minute, Brazil midfielder Formiga ran onto a short corner kick and swung in a ball that kissed the crossbar and dropped in the middle where U.S. defender Joy Fawcett quickly cleared it.

Brazil poured it on with 15 minutes remaining before intermission, producing three excellent scoring chances in a stretch of four minutes. After a U.S. foul, Marta sent a swerving free kick from just right of the penalty arc over the defensive wall, but Scurry was able to gather it at the near post with little problem.

A minute later, Brazil came up empty on a golden opportunity when striker Christiane slipped her mark at the back post and slid to get a foot on a cross from Marta, but the shot ricocheted off the right post and was cleared by defender Kate Markgraf.

In the 33rd minute, Marta beat an attempted offside trap and gathered a through ball alone in the right side of the box, but Markgraf closed quickly and the Brazilian forward's rushed shot went directly to Scurry.

Marta caused trouble for the Americans for most of the match with her slick dribbling, but despite plenty of attention from the U.S. defense, she still managed to wriggle free for several dangerous shots and crosses.

"I wasn't overly concerned about (the Brazilian domination) because I have a lot of confidence in our backline and Bri Scurry," U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. "We have played 100 games in which we have done exactly what Brazil did to us and we've hit posts, had a bunch of shots in the first half and haven't come away with a reward. I said to the team at halftime, 'We are in position now that we have weathered the storm, can we bring the game up a notch in the second half? If we can, I don't think Brazil can sustain it, because it's very hard to play as attacking oriented as they did without exposing yourself.' "

The U.S. finally had a chance of its own in the final minute of the first half when Wambach slipped behind the Brazil backline and brought down a high ball from the left flank, but her shot was tackled off her right foot by a retreating Brazilian defender.

The second half was a different and Brazil did not manage another shot on goal. Overall, Brazil outshot the U.S. 11-8, but shots on frame were even at 5-5.

"I think it was a tale of two halves. Brazil had the run of play in the first half, we had it in the second half," Heinrichs said. "I think our players kept their calm and the best part about it was that our players responded to the first half and did some self-evaluating. They said to themselves that we have to bring more mentality, more decisiveness and a little more bite to our tackles and ball winning, so we don't spend so much time chasing. . . Not only did they raise their personal level, but raised our team level and then we started to find space and, when you can find space, you could see we pushed the ball around more confidently in the second half."

Two Brazilians wound up in the hospital from injuries incurred during the game. Kelly broke her collarbone, ending her tournament, while Elaine was treated and released for a problem with her midsection. Brazil coach Rene Simoes pointed out that Marta, Monica and Formiga all had swollen ankles.

"They come in the second half to really go against the player, not to go at the ball, and the referee allowed that," Simoes said. "My doctors worked more than me."

Heinrichs dispute Simoes' claims. "It's not the case and it's never been the case," she said. "I think we've been one of the cleanest teams in the world. If you look at our history of yellow card accumulations in world events, we are always one of the lowest teams. If you look at the foul distribution today, it was 2-1 on their part.

In Group E, Nigeria (1-0, 3) posed a 1-0 decision over Japan (1-1, 3) while Sweden (0-1, 0) was idle. In Group F, Mexico (0-0-1, 1) pulled a surprise in its first Olympic match with a 1-1 draw against China (0-1-1) while Germany (1-0, 3) did not play.

Referee: Dagmar Damkova (Czech Republic) Assistant referees: Emilia Parviainen (Finland), Nelly Viennot (France) Attendance: 17,123 at Kaftanzolglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. Weather: 86 degrees, sunny.