Abby Wambach is a tough player.
For those who doubt that, check out the video below of Wambach getting drilled in the head, laying there when blood drips to the grass and then just gritting her teeth while the medical staff staples her skin back together on the field.
Convinced? OK — here’s another one.
During the U.S. Women’s Soccer team’s 3-0 win over Colombia on Saturday, Wambach got mauled (through no fault of her own this time) by a woman who actually calls herself Lady Andrade. The two players were just running down the field, and Andrade reached out and punched Wambach in the face.
Play wasn’t stopped for quite a bit, even with Wambach lying on the ground in obvious pain. When the cameras got close, her eye was visibly discolored, and it continued to swell throughout the game.
Wambach was eventually substituted — after she responded to the act (which would have likely been a red card had Andrade been caught) by nailing a great goal in the 74th minute.
Wambach is usually in the middle of the action, as she’s most lethal at scoring goals with her head. She also collects quite a few fouls when she bowls opponents over, often due to her just being the bigger player out there.
But this was clearly a cheap shot, and Wambach responded as she always does — by getting up and letting her game cripple the other team.
While many long-winded opinions could be written about what Wambach means to the U.S. throughout her career and in this year’s Olympic run, the video below shows it best.
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Photo via Twitter/@supphailey
