once at the finals, the united states reached the knockout stage by finishing second in group c behind sweden, the only team they lost to in group play. they advanced through the quarterfinals on a penalty shootout with brazil, in which the united states footballer abby wambach scored an equalizer in the 122nd minute of the game – in stoppage time, the latest goal ever scored in women's world cup play, – to tie the game 2–2 and bring the game into a penalty shootout. the united states then defeated france 3–1 to reach the final.