Abby Wambach

Profile Overview

Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. She played for the U.S. women's national soccer team from 2003 to 2015. With 184 international goals, she ranks second on the all-time list of international goals scored by players of any gender. Wambach is a six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2012. She was included on the 2015 Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.
Wambach competed in four editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup, winning the tournament in 2015. She won the gold medal at the Olympics in 2004 and 2012. In college, she helped the Florida Gators women's soccer team win its first NCAA Division I Championship. She played at the professional level for Washington Freedom, magicJack, and the Western New York Flash.
Wambach is known for scoring goals with diving headers. During a quarterfinal match against Brazil at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, Wambach scored a last-minute equalizer goal from a precise cross from Megan Rapinoe, which helped the U.S. secure victory. The goal set a record for the latest goal ever scored in a World Cup match, and received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Play of the Year. Wambach also won the tournament's Bronze Boot and Silver Ball. In 2011, she became the first soccer player of any gender to be named Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press.
Wambach retired in 2015, playing her last game on December 16 in New Orleans as part of the United States' 10-game Victory Tour following its win at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Wambach's autobiography, titled Forward, was published in 2016. Her second book, Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power and Change the Game, was published in 2019. Both books became New York Times Best Sellers.