The Americans walked through the valley of the shadow of Death and they found a starting lineup along the way.

The U.S. women's national team went with Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach and Tobin Heath as starters on Monday, and it paid off right away. The attack looked as stellar as it has all tournament, leading the way to a 1-0 Group of Death-clinching win over Nigeria. The Americans now head to Edmonton, where the knockout round awaits.

The highlight of the match came in the seconds before halftime, as Megan Rapinoe fired a corner kick into the Nigeria box and Wambach leapt high in the air to volley it home with her left foot. But there were several highlights throughout, as the passing was crisp and the attacking Americans finally built some space to create after two stagnant matches last week....

So the U.S. ends group play with two victories and a draw, good enough to win Group D and advance. More importantly, the team looks closer to what everyone thought it would be – a strong contender to return here on July 5 for the World Cup final.