Amy Rodriguez scored in the 40th minute to lift the United States to a 1-0 victory over Italy on Saturday and seal the Americans’ berth in the women’s World Cup.
The USA won the playoff 2-0 on aggregate to secure the final spot in next year’s 16-nation women’s World Cup, which will be played June 26-July 17 in Germany.
The draw is on Monday in Frankfurt.
The Americans have won the tournament twice, but were in danger of failing to qualify after an upset by Mexico earlier this month in regional qualifying.
They got a second chance in the playoff tie against Italy and won both matches, starting with a 1-0 win in Padua.
“Obviously this was a little different road than we had expected,” forward Abby Wambach told the crowd after the final whistle. “But this team has resilience. We never gave up. We never lost belief in ourselves.”
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