American adjustment continues, to face Japan again

BEIJING (AP) Four games into a major tournament, it's unusual for a U.S. women's football team to still be finding its way.

After relying on Abby Wambach for 13 of 61 goals this year coming into the Olympics, six different players have accounted for the seven since the Americans arrived in China.

Adjusting to the loss of Wambach, who broke her leg in the final warmup match just before the Olympics, may also explain an opening 2-0 loss to Norway and the need for an injury-time winner to beat Canada 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

"My glass is half full," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said Sunday on the eve of the Americans' semifinal against Japan. "It's a weakness that we have so many goalscorers. It's also a strength. Now we can get a goal from anyone."

At 1.80 meters (5-foot-11), Wambach was a big target that the United States just hasn't replaced.

"Abby's one of a kind. She brings something different than I bring," said 1.63-meter (5-foot-4) forward Amy Rodriguez, who has benefited from more time with Wambach's absence - and one of the American goals. "Because we don't have Abby, others of us have had to step up, and I think there's proof of that in recent games."

The Japan game will be a rematch of their group clash, which the United States won 1-0.

Wambach's presence seemingly was missed against a traditionally smaller opponent - one which the Americans have beaten 18 out of 21 times, drawn the other three and outscored 67-10. In its last five games, beginning with a 2-1 quarterfinal victory at Athens, the United States won all five and outscored the Japanese 11-3.

"It's been a big loss and adjustment," defender Christie Rampone said. "We're playing more as a team since we haven't had Abby's presence."

While Sundhage called the Americans' domination over Japan an advantage, midfielder Heather O'Reilly takes little comfort from history.

"This is a new year, a new team," co-captain Heather O'Reilly said. "We don't look back on years past. We have a 1-0 victory, and we have to learn from that."

With Germany playing Brazil in the other semifinal, Japan is by far the biggest surprise of the tournament.

After opening with a 2-2 draw against lightly regarded New Zealand and then losing to the United States, the Japanese needed a 5-1 victory over the Norwegians to qualify for the quarterfinals, where it beat host China 2-0.

"It proves to me they're very strong," defender Kate Markgraf said. "They needed a must-win (game) against Norway with a lot of goals, and they did it. Then they had a must-win (game) against China, where the entire crowd was cheering for China, and did it."

If the Japanese have recovered and gained momentum, so have the Americans.

"After the first loss, we bounced back," Rampone said. "Each game we've gotten better. We've been adjusting without Abby."

According to Sundhage, they've been adjusting with Wambach.

"Abby is still with us," she said. "It's all about the journey, and Abby's a big part of the journey."