Preview: US vs Nigeria

Needing a win or a tie to advance to the quarterfinals in China, the U.S. WNT is going into the game against Nigeria more focused than ever before. Sure, our team hasn't lost a game in more than years, but there is always that whisper of uncertainty, especially on such a grand stage as this.

Now Nigeria. They head into Tuesday morning's game knowing they need to beat the US women 3 to 0. Quite a lofty goal, especially for a team that has never beat the U.S. in their three meetings. Our Nike Soccer correspondent in Shanghai let us know that it's raining cats and dogs, a factor that will make for an interesting match.

The Nigerians are known to be super-tough, almost over-tough with their foul count to be in the 20's and 30's on a normal basis. The rain and wind could essentially be their 12th man of the match, helping them cause chaos and ruckus against the U.S. throwing the game into a messy and somewhat dangerous 90 minutes.

Even though our U.S. squad needs only a tie to move onto the Quarterfinals, a tie is not a win, and the team isn't happy unless it's a W. Catch the US vs Nigeria game Tuesday morning at 5AM EST on ESPN2.