U.S. women's national team stars Abby Wambach and Heather O'Reilly visited Bristol, Conn., last week to announce the U.S. roster for this year's Women's World Cup. ESPN.com caught up with them at the end of a busy day of interviews to talk about their World Cup memories and what they expect to see this summer in Germany.
ESPN.com: How did you find out when you made your first World Cup roster? What was that moment like?
Abby Wambach: I found out -- it was in 2003, my WUSA team, the Washington Freedom, was going to play in the finals of the WUSA that year. April [Heinrichs] called me to her house. Drove to her house in Gainesville, Virginia. She told me over lunch that I was going to make the squad and also told me that I was going to be starting. Of course, I got into my car, called my mom immediately and cried for the 30-minute drive home and was pretty pleased with myself. As a young player, you count over and over again in your head all the positions and how many players are going to make it and the roster number. It was one of the greatest days of my life.
Heather O'Reilly: I think that I remember 2004, making the Olympic team, a little more vividly than making the 2007 World Cup team. In 2004, we trained all summer long in residency. At the end of the residency camp, they were going to post -- literally post -- a list on the door at a certain time. I think it was 2 p.m. We finished training around 12, so I had a couple of hours to kill. Myself, Leslie Osborne, Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Chalupny, the four of us hung out all summer long, all the young players. So we got Starbucks and were trying to pass the time. Obviously, [we were] super nervous. [We made] it to the Home Depot Center to check the list on the wall. I remember Abby was there, just kind of watching my expression. Obviously, it's a weird feeling, because you're so excited, but some of your teammates didn't make the team and everybody's been through such a journey together. It's definitely a bittersweet moment, but you know in the end you feel very proud of yourself.
ESPN.com: What would you say to players who didn't make the roster?
Wambach: There are a few things I would say to players who didn't make the roster. One, don't let somebody's decision or opinion of your game be the basis of how you look at yourself. You have to look at your own self and your own game and decide what you feel. Still appreciate all of the time that you spent preparing for whatever team you're trying out for. The other thing is, don't ever give up because that gives whoever decided that roster, who didn't chose you, one up on you. You gotta go back to the grindstone and keep working hard.
ESPN.com: What advice would you give Alex Morgan, who will be making her World Cup debut at 21 years old?
Wambach: I would say, "Don't think about anything. Just run, get the ball and score goals when you get your chance. At the end of the day, let all the veterans and the experienced players be the ones that have the pressure and the responsibility of making your team win games." She just has to go out there and have fun. She's 21 years old. She doesn't need to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. Just go out [and] have the best time. Experience the World Cup, [her] first World Cup, like everybody hopes that they should.
ESPN.com: What do you expect from your group, which features North Korea, Sweden and Colombia?
O'Reilly: I think that we have a very difficult group. I think that we are excited about the challenge. Although we've played North Korea many times in these big competitions, they're sort of the wild card because we don't see them very much in friendlies. We never know what they're going to throw at us, but we know that they are going to be technical and they are going to be disciplined. Sweden, of course, is a big competitor of ours. We play them a lot, we're familiar with a lot of their players and [U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage] is Swedish, so she's very familiar with them. They're obviously a really great team. Colombia -- we don't really know too much about. We do know that they are a very young and talented team. Obviously, they're going to be completely thrilled playing in the World Cup and they have nothing to lose so they're going to come out for us. It's definitely a strong group and we're excited to kick it off.
ESPN.com: Outside of the United States, Germany and Brazil, as a fan, what teams and players would you be most excited to see this summer?
Wambach: I'm excited to see all the games. There's going to be some really great soccer happening this summer. I think England really brought it to us a few weeks ago when we were over there. They were an exciting team to watch. Really fast, really dynamic. [They] scored some really great goals. I think in the end, what I'm most excited to see is the fans in the stands, the kind of commitment in Germany from all of their love of soccer and their education of soccer. Hopefully, [they can] teach our country a little bit of a lesson on how to cheer well.
ESPN.com: There's so much buzz about ticket sales and what the atmosphere will be like in Germany. What do you think it will be like for you team as one of Germany's top rivals?
O'Reilly: It's going to be incredible. We saw a glimpse of it when we played Germany in a friendly at their place. We played in the Augsburg stadium, which is one of the venues. We sort of caught a glimpse of it. That was just a friendly game. It was loud in there and the fans were pretty crazy. The thing that is pretty awesome about the Germans is that they appreciate good soccer. They don't care if it's the men's game or the women's game -- they just want to see good soccer. They're going to pack the stadiums. They're going to be loud and we expect some cheers against us. I think that we do a good job of embracing that and just focusing on the task at hand.